Military Review English Edition July-August 2016 | Page 122

Certification/
Qualification Level

Partnership Capability

(Commander decision based on METT-C*, host-nation partner force structure and
proficiency, equipment and resources available in theater, and assessment of risk)

Squadron/Battalion

- Squadron combined arms live fire
exercise or fire coordination exercise
- Combat center training rotation
- Command post exercise
- Commander/Command Sergeant
Major longevity
- Field grade longevity




Ideal readiness level entering deployment
Best postured for a broad range of contingencies and partnerships





Theater reserve force/contingency response
Capacity-building at battalion level
Interoperability training at the company level





Conditional contingency response
Capacity-building at the company level
Interoperability training at platoon level




Capacity-building at the platoon level
Interoperability training at the squad level



Capacity-building at the squad level

Troop/Company

- Troop combined arms live
fire exercise
- Troop lanes
- Troop commander longevity
- 90% Bradley commander/
gunners longevity

Platoon

- Platoons qualified (Bradley Table X)
- Platoon lanes
- Crews qualified (Bradley Table VI)
- 90% Bradley commander /
gunners longevity
- Platoon leader/platoon
sergeant longevity

Squad

Team

- Team live fires
- Team leader longevity

Readiness

- Squad live fires
- Squad leader longevity
- Team leader longevity

Time
*Mission, enemy, terrain and weather, troops available, time available and civil consideration

(Graphic courtesy of Lt. Col. Chad R. Foster, U.S. Army)

Figure 2. Training Readiness Levels for Regionally Aligned Forces Partnership
A telling example of this principle in application
was one troop commander’s efforts to improve the
unit’s partnership with a host-nation border guard
force (BGF) and further build the capacity of those
forces. When the troop arrived in the summer of
2015, the BGF training program consisted of a
well-established basic course of instruction for new
recruits. Operating within the squadron commander’s
guidance to provide (within unit capabilities) what
the host-nation forces assessed as their most important training needs, the troop commander sought out
key host-nation leaders and established a series of
functional training courses that addressed the most
urgent needs identified by the BGF unit commanders
in the field. These included an Advanced Training
Course for company-level officers, long-range
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marksmanship instruction for unit snipers, and mortar training. With only a broad set of guidance and
few specific directives, the troop commander and his
team met the squadron commander’s intent perfectly,
and, in the process, provided a unique professional
development experience for himself and the young
officers and NCOs under his command.

Leader Development and the
Sustainable Readiness Model
Effective leader development is decisive to implementation of sustainable readiness and, therefore, to
RAF. Adaptive and empowered leaders will figure out
a way to meet their commander’s intent regardless of
changing conditions or new missions. As anyone who
has deployed recently to any of the aligned theaters
July-August 2016  MILITARY REVIEW