Military Review English Edition July-August 2015 | Page 89

REGIONALLY ALIGNED FORCE

Six Lessons Learned From the First
Regionally Aligned Units

thirty-four African countries within its first six months of
employment.10 The majority of these missions consisted
of two- and three-soldier teams deploying to the African
continent for approximately one-week increments to train
African soldiers. Examples included sniper training in
Burundi and engineer and mobility training in Malawi.11
Additional missions included advising Guinea, Chad, and
Niger security forces; participating in the Shared Accord
13 Live Fire Exercise; and supporting the Eastern Accord
14 Command Post Exercise.12
Small-unit leaders of the 2nd ABCT displayed great
personal initiative to ensure the intent of each mission
was accomplished to standard. However, the validity of
assessments left much to be desired. Missions tended to
be subjectively assessed by participants without benefit
of a coherent system for collecting, analyzing, and comparing data over time in a systematic way.

The yearlong 2nd ABCT experience provided
numerous lessons regarding the Army infrastructure
that supports regionally aligned forces. Six of the most
significant lessons related to support systems follow:
A standardized assessment system is needed to
enhance planning and objective measurement of mission accomplishment.
Tailored and streamlined administrative personnel processes are needed to make complex predeployment activities more efficient.
Life-cycle personnel management procedures
aimed at assigning and retaining personnel with specialized skills are needed to improve continuity.
Efficient business rules are needed to facilitate timely allocation of forces and ongoing adequate and timely
support arrangements for missions.
Army sustainment channels
allocated specifically for regionally aligned units are needed to
ensure units can obtain support
during missions.
Revised budgeting models
and a higher priority of funding are
needed to provide for operations,
maintenance, and training costs.
These lessons learned are
discussed below to contribute to
the future success of both operating and generating forces when
preparing for similar regionally
aligned force missions.
A standardized assessment
system is needed to enhance planning and objective measurement
of mission accomplishment. First,
USAFRICOM, USARAF, and staff
members of regionally aligned forces
need an end-state-driven assessment system, using outcome-based
training for measuring mission
effectiveness and generating quantifiable results that can be compared,
(Photo by Sgt. Takita Lawery, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team PAO, 1st Infantry Division)
Pfc. Cody Anderson speaks with a Senegalese soldier as Spc. Lassana Traore translates
tracked, and analyzed over time. The
25 June 2014 during Exercise Western Accord 14 at Camp Thies, Senegal. Traore, a food
2nd ABCT supported more than
service specialist, and Anderson, a wheel mechanic, both serve with Company E, 1st Batone hundred eight missions across
talion, 28th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division.

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MILITARY REVIEW  July-August 2015

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