Military Review English Edition November December 2016 | Page 46

Transformative Staff Training in Ukraine Col. Nick Ducich, U.S. Army Lt. Col. Nathan Minami, U.S. Army Maj. Ryan Riggin, U.S. Army Capt. Jacob Austin, U.S. Army T he events of March 2014 shocked the world: Russian forces invaded Crimea, and Russia annexed the Donbass region of eastern Ukraine. Subsequently, the Russians employed hybrid tactics that included using conventional forces and Russia-sponsored separatists to destabilize eastern Ukraine (which is on the Russian border). In response, the Ukrainian government authorized antiterrorism operations in Donbass. To support Ukraine, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) formed the NATO–Ukraine Commission (NUC). The NUC includes the NATO– Ukraine Joint Working Group on Defence Reform, which conducts security force assistance. In addition, the United States, Canada, Lithuania, United Kingdom, Estonia, and Ukraine created the Joint Multinational Training Group–Ukraine (JMTG–U) to conduct complementary efforts for robust defense reform. Col. Nick Ducich, U.S. Army, is the commander of Joint Multinational Training Group–Ukraine. He holds an MS in nuclear engineering from the University of Maryland and an MSS from the U.S. Army War College. He is pursuing an MS in space studies from the University of North Dakota. 44 Lt. Col. Nathan Minami, U.S. Army, served as the battalion commander for 3rd Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment. He holds an MS from the systems design and management program at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a PhD in business administration from Northcentral University. The JMTG–U, comprised of a brigade-level he adquarters that included U.S., Canadian, and Lithuanian instructors, was tasked with training five Ukrainian battalions, developing a combat training center capability, supporting a doctrine-and-education advisory group, and providing mission command for a task force from the U.S. Army 3rd Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment. This article is written from the perspective of officers from that task force, which was the partner-and-advise training team (PATT) battalion headquarters at the International Peacekeeping and Security Center (IPSC) in Yavoriv, Ukraine, from 15 February 2016 until 17 July 2016. The 3rd Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment’s task force trained two Ukrainian battalions; this article focuses on the first. The PATT headquarters developed training that transformed a Ukrainian airborne battalion staff from an antiquated and centralized Soviet command style to a contemporary mission-command focus. In contrast to the Soviet command style, using mission command would help optimize warfighting function integration and staff functional capability. The PATT’s leaders understood that a traditional training approach would not accomplish the desired transformation. Therefore, the PATT used Army design methodology to develop problem-solving and instructional approaches that would incorporate action learning and andragogy. Framing the Operational Environment The dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 resulted in Ukraine possessing the fourth largest army in the world and a nuclear capability. Within twenty years, November-December 2016  MILITARY REVIEW