Close-Combat Force Truths

Modernized equipment alone cannot make someone a lethal Warrior.  Superior weapons & equipment can only make someone already a Warrior more lethal.  Technology is only an augmentation to skill / talent; it does not create it, nor is it a substitute for it.  The overlooked reality of DOTMLPFP regarding Lethality in the Close-Combat Force is that Training is ultimately more important than Material.  The Close-Combat Force’s priorities are clear:  Lethality down to the lowest level.  The Army can acquire overmatching weapons & equipment & put it on property books with every Fielding, but that material will never truly affect Soldier / unit Lethality unless it is combined with superior individual Training, beyond New Equipment Training (NET).  Understanding that 2/3 of the Close Combat Force is comprised of junior enlisted, Lethality can only be achieved by effectively training every single individual Soldier in the Close Combat Force.  No gadget will ever replace extensive, fundamental skill; it can enhance it, but never replace it.  Training has been discounted for far too long and true Lethality can now only come from external Subject Matter Expert (SME)-conducted training.

There will be no opportunity to properly equip nor effectually train any rapidly-deploying unit.  The Close-Combat elements of a Global Response Force must have had already been training extensively & recurrently in order to rapidly deploy Lethal.  Get lethal now, or fail in future combat.  The Army must become proactive, investing in effective training conducted frequently & mastered by the bottom of the formations in order to be prepared for strategic effectiveness.  That training must now be conducted by external SMEs in order to achieve maximum Lethality / Readiness. 

The shortage of Soldiers is apparent, but what hasn't been acknowledged is the lack of exceptional talent & experience to conduct effective training internally.  The Army must accept the fact that there is a mission-critical need to outsource Subject Matter Experts to fill training roles without borrowing manpower from the line / maneuver formations.  Charter Counsel's professionals have already been that essential training asset for several years.

Soldiers cannot achieve Lethality by watching classes or relying on synthetic training environments.  Nor can they with mere “familiarization” firing & only Qualifying - versus actual skill development.  In order to affect true Lethality through weapons application, every Soldier in an Infantry, Stryker and Cavalry platoon, including every leader and all their attached Direct Support (Sappers, Forward Observers, Medics), must conduct extensive, effective & reoccurring Combat Marksmanship & Tactics training on a regular basis.  Units are continuously & endlessly "tasked out" and inundated with non-combat (albeit necessary) duties & events to now rely entirely on internally-conducted training with a reasonable expectation of true Lethality.  Leadership must now prioritize a modernized & progressive approach to Lethality / Readiness by providing cutting-edge, installation-based and recurrent training for every Close-Combat Soldier.  That includes redirection & additional allocations of resources – time and funding, to provide for that training.  Outsourcing SMEs to conduct recurrent & sustained training is the only feasible course of action to develop the Lethality of the Close-Combat Force.

Normally, less than 10% of a unit attends specialty training, resulting in only a nominal effect on whole-unit Lethality.  The rest of that unit can never subsequently replicate that training’s results due to resources and priorities.  Moreover, most of the Soldiers attending that training are usually not from leadership.  Concepts get lost in translation and are often forgotten or dismissed altogether, especially after those exclusive Soldiers PCS / ETS.  These limitations apply especially to New Equipment Training (NET).  As internal training is now ultimately insufficient, external SME-conducted training is required in order to achieve maximum Lethality / Readiness.

"Good artists copy, great artists steal." - Picasso 

Most principles & doctrine required for the Lethality / Readiness of the individual Close-Combat Soldier in the regular Army actually mirror that of the individual Special Operations Soldier.  “How do the Rangers do it?” should be a common starting point for most individual-though-platoon tasks & training in every Infantry & Stryker Brigade.  Proven procedures & training programs from Special Operations Forces, which are constantly evolving, have always been the best answer.  Our SMEs stay abreast of & adapt our Training / Advising programs to the modern battlefield & equipment and current SOF & Close Combat Force training concepts, tactics, techniques and operating procedures.  Former SOF & Combat Arms SMEs are the proponent for the most proven-effective Lethality / Combat Readiness Training & TTPs.  And as the consolidated authority for that expertise, we can proliferate those superior Lethality principles across the entire Close Combat Force.  Augmenting & capitalizing off Regiment's Charter Time, Charter Counsel is the single, centralized, sole source for the best, most effective Lethality development for the Close-Combat Force.