Land Warfare: Practice, practice, practice | ADM Nov 2010

In spite of a growing list of casualties, Australian troops in Afghanistan are performing with distinction and creating a reputation for both fighting ability and winning hearts and minds.

The secret lies in training and mission preparation.

Gregor Ferguson | Sydney

The mounting toll of Army casualties in Afghanistan and the recent decision to refer charges against three members of 2nd Commando Regiment following a tragic incident in early 2009 have focussed attention on the type and quality of training ADF personnel receive before deploying to combat zones such as Afghanistan.

As the 2nd Commando regiment would probably attest, appropriate training covers not only mechanical skills – shooting, physical fitness, tactical driving, and so on – but also the necessary mental conditioning and discipline to maintain communications and unit cohesion while in action and to follow closely their Rules of Engagement (ROE), even under stressful conditions.

A quick survey of the open media would suggest that the ADF’s record in this respect is exemplary: small unit leadership and individual integrity haven’t broken down under the strain of sustained operations or exposure to an implacable and sometimes cruel enemy.

The ADF Special Operations Task Group and Mentoring Task Force appear to have been successful in creating the right sort of reputations for themselves, both as a fighting force and in the more delicate ‘hearts and minds’ aspects of helping Afghanistan along a difficult journey.

The other ADF units deployed into theatre are also handling themselves with distinction.

This is all the more remarkable because for almost an entire generation, until the deployment to East Timor in 1999, the Army had little opportunity to refresh its expertise in large-scale preparation for war or for other testing missions.

And even as recently as 2003, it was the highest-readiness units such as the SAS, rather than line infantry regiments and the specialist combat arms, which were best trained and attuned psychologically to the realities of a combat environment.

However, the ADF has an outstanding record for learning and applying lessons for which other defence forces have often paid in blood.

Despite its lack (until fairly recently) of large-scale operational experience, the ADF has always impressed coalition partners with its proficiency and professionalism, across the board.

This is due in large part to the basic training which every service man or woman receives, regardless of trade, specialisation or rank.

The ADF also prepares its personnel carefully before deploying them into a theatre of operations and debriefs them carefully when they return.

Defence uses its Army Operations Rotation Cycle Planner to ensure that future commitments are filled with appropriately trained units and personnel.

This is designed to ensure that when a force element rotates out of theatre there is a trained, worked-up replacement ready to take its place.

This cycle to a great extent dictates troop rotations and determines the optimum size of the force which can be sustained comfortably in the field for specific types of operation.

Formal pre-deployment training for new force element begins up to three months before departure and its exact nature depends very much on the operation in question, a defence source told ADM.

The process begins at unit level with individual training to ensure soldiers meet their individual preparedness requirements, along with collective training to ensure the core soldiering skills of all personnel are up to scratch.

“Training programs are specific to the operation on which personnel will deploy and are designed to ensure that personnel are able to deal with threats and other conditions that force elements are likely to face,” ADM was told.

“Lessons learnt from previous operations and expectations of upcoming activity or climactic conditions are part of this preparation.

“Relevant trainers are also brought in to ensure personnel are well prepared for their deployment,” ADM was told.

“This training also draws on the experience of recently deployed personnel who are able to engage with training programs.”

The majority of this training is conducted under replicated operational conditions designed by the Combat Training Centre (CTC) based in Townsville.

The deploying troops train with the same vehicles, weapon systems and other equipment which they’ll operate in-theatre.

The role of the CTC is vital.

Its Mission Rehearsal Exercises (MRX) exercises are specific to the operation on which personnel are about to deploy: “This training takes into account issues such as force protection measures, terrain and weather,” ADM was told.

It also includes live role players on occasion, which adds to the realism.

More importantly, the syllabus is refreshed constantly thanks to a now well-refined ‘lessons learned’ feedback mechanism.

This ensures that the group preparing to deploy into theatre is training against the tactics and technology (for example IEDs) that the incumbents are dealing with.

“The Army has developed a proactive system for feeding information on lessons learnt on operation back into the training program for upcoming deployments,” according to a Defence source.

“This includes information that is provided from theatre following incidents and other activities, as well as information derived from post-operation reports and seminars.

“[Also], personnel undertake a specific program upon their return to Australia.

“This includes undertaking a psychological evaluation, contributing to a post operational report and participating in Lessons Learnt seminars.

“Inserting lessons is a continuous process so that personnel can be fully prepared for their upcoming deployment.”

This is a stark contrast with the First World Wars when all too often soldiers found their training didn’t prepare them for the conditions, tactics and threats they encountered when they went into action.

The ADF learned a hard lesson about training from this conflict and seems to have kept it close to heart.

Former Chief of Army Peter Leahy told ADM last month the work of the CTC is “magnificent” – it provides an extremely realistic training environment which stresses the players and builds unit cohesion.

More than once, he told ADM, soldiers in Afghanistan have told him, after seeing action for the first time, “It was just like the training.”

Much of the value of the CTC lies in the level of instrumentation it embodies and the resulting ability to play back exercises and identify lessons, errors and insights.

This is where the CTC is able to introduce deliberate ambiguities and dilemmas which soldiers and leaders must resolve satisfactorily in real time.

The playback facility helps teams of soldiers develop their joint skills and teamwork, while individuals learn to exercise judgement and apply ROEs under ambiguous circumstances, aided by lawyers who can explain their precise application and context.

The training is made as realistic as possible so that tactical problems and leadership and personal decisions are confronted under conditions of stress and fatigue, it was pointed out: “The role of the CTC is to replicate an operational environment that is appropriately realistic with scenarios that are operationally relevant,” ADM was told.

“Tempo is closely managed in order to draw out and integrate lessons prior to deployment.”

This all builds upon the character- and values-based training instilled in Australian soldiers throughout their basic training, says Leahy.

While some would argue that soldiers shouldn’t be put in a situation where stress and the pace of action put rational, moral decisions out of the reach of an individual, the incidence of such circumstances is probably so low as to make the argument largely irrelevant.

The training instilled in the Diggers themselves and their junior leaders tends to ‘pull them back’ from, or actively avoid, circumstances where such a crisis could occur, it has been suggested to ADM.

The fact that such training is the subject of media coverage demonstrates how far the Army in particular has come in barely a decade since the East Timor deployment.

Comparing photos taken then of Australian troops with contemporary images of Australian infantrymen in Afghanistan shows how the equipment, the environment and the threat have changed and with it the type and level of training required to keep Australian soldiers safe and effective.

The Army has achieved a generational difference in a single decade.