Military Review English Edition January-February 2017 | Page 77

BREAKING THE CRUCIBLE

2nd ABCT deployed, the 1ID was essentially a one
ABCT division, with all of the responsibilities and
missions of a fully manned division.
The 1ID Combat Aviation Brigade (CAB) was in the
midst of the Army Restructuring Initiative, while supporting division training requirements and getting ready
for a deployment to Afghanistan. The division also stood
up the 1ID Division Artillery (DIVARTY), which would
have a major role in the WFX and precious little time to
train. The division possessed many talented, hardworking people, but they would need to coalesce into a team
across the division, and into unit-level teams, to make the
commander’s vision for the warfighter a reality.
Commander’s intent and risk. A simple and clear
commander’s intent is the key to disciplined initiative, and it is the basis for transforming “thought into
action.”7 A mission statement and commander’s intent
help integrate and unify tasks during operations. As
the 1ID struggled to come to grips with its myriad
challenges, division leaders seized upon the upcoming
WFX as a venue for focusing effort across the division
and post. The WFX is the “culminating event within the Army force generation process” for division
headquarters and staffs.8 Although scheduled for April
2016, nearly eight months away, the exercise served as
the center of gravity for the commander’s vision, and it
would drive all division activities.
Risk is inherent in all Army operations. It was no
different for the 1ID. Division leaders recognized they
would need the full attention and focus of the staff
and subordinate units. The staff had to commit to the
work it would take to prepare the division, including
numerous repetitions of deliberate planning, rehearsals, and command-post exercises. Deciding to “go all in”
on the WFX meant that the division would accept risk
to other priorities.
While complete commitment was required for WFX
success, risks would need to be articulated early and often
during planning. Commands at all levels accepted the
risk inherent in committing to a rigorous planning and
preparation schedule, and risk was a constant topic of
discussion over the months leading up to the WFX. It is
important to note that the command knowingly accepted significant risk to other missions. For instance, at the
division level, long-range planning virtually ceased so the
planners could lead multiple iterations of WFX planning. Subordinate units such as the 1st ABCT sacrificed
MILITARY REVIEW  January-February 2017

precious tactical training time to man and train response
cells for several command-post exercises, and they risked
leadership resiliency due to constant training for both the
WFX and upcoming deployments. Commanders analyzed these risks, ultimately deeming them prudent.
The increased preparedness for the WFX and the
reciprocal benefits of having highly trained staffs and
units outweighed the potential for negative consequences. However, the division had to overcome the
second- and third-order effects of their risk decisions
for many months following the WFX, including the
disruption to ongoing division campaign planning
efforts, 1st ABCT preparations for deployment to the
National Training Center, and division headquarters
deployment preparations and planning.
The warfighter team. Upon establishing a vision and
priorities, the division’s leaders set about building the
WFX team. The 1ID’s parallel maxims of “Training and
leader development are one word in the First Infantry
Division,” and “Every training event is a venue for leader
development,” set the stage for team building. The division
commander emphasized strict adherence to doctrinal
planning processes, and he personally coached the division
staff. Over the ensuing months, the planners gained greater understanding of the commander and his intent, while
building mastery of planning processes, decisive action,
and offensive tasks.
The 1ID established
Maj. Stacy L. Moore,
four battle-staff teams
U.S. Army, is a RAND
Lt. Col. Jerem G.
Swenddal, U.S. Army,
is the chief of current
operations for the First
Infantry Division and
the former chief of the
First Infantry Division
Commander’s Initiative
Group at Fort Riley,
Kansas. He holds a BS
in mechanical engineering from the U.S.
Military Academy and
an MMAS from the
School of Advanced
Military Studies at Fort
Leavenworth, Kansas.

Arroyo Center Army
research fellow. Her
recent assignments include
executive officer to the
commanding general of the
First Infantry Division at Fort
Riley, Kansas, and secretary to the joint staff for
the Combined Joint Land
Component CommandIraq. She holds a BS in
biology from Creighton
University, an MS in military
logistics from North Dakota
State University, and an MS
in international security and
intelligence studies from
Bellevue University.
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