Multi-state Army National Guard and 1st. Inf. Div. Soldiers build readiness during combined exercise

FORT RILEY, Kansas - Soldiers from the National Guard's 35th Infantry Division loaded up their equipment and convoyed the 125 miles from Leavenworth to Fort Riley, Kan. June 9-23 to embark upon an unprecedented training event for the division: a combined command post exercise with the 1st Infantry Division.

The two divisions generated the concept of a combined CPX in response to the shift in the priorities of the Army, which has identified the division as the new unit of action in support of the National Defense Strategy.

Just a few years ago, the National Guard's eight divisions were divisions in name only, with most being comprised of a headquarters element without being assigned any subordinate brigades like their active-duty counterparts. But that's since changed with the establishment of the National Guard's division operational alignment, which seeks to build those division headquarters out by establishing aligned relationships with brigade combat teams, aviation brigades, sustainment brigades and other support elements you would typically find in a traditional division structure.

"The Director of the Army National Guard's priority right now is to develop eight, multi-capable divisions that are ready to fight and win in large-scale combat operations; we're one of those eight divisions," said Col. Larry Leupold, 35th Inf. Div. chief of staff.

In order to prepare the 35th Inf. Div. for this role, staff developed an exercise that was unique in several ways, combining not only two division headquarters - the Army National Guard's 35th Inf. Div. and the active component's 1st Inf. Div. - but also National Guard Soldiers from four of the 35th Inf. Div.'s seven aligned brigades: the 35th Division Artillery Brigade from Kansas, the 110th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade from Missouri, the 230th Sustainment Brigade from Tennessee, and 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team from Oklahoma.

"Interoperability is the number one commander's training objective," said Leupold. "People, processes and systems, and equipment - but there's really a relationship component too. In a LSCO environment, we would not be out there alone; there's going to be corps with multiple divisions side by side on the same battlefield."

Maj. Mike Anderson, operations officer for 1st Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division said the coordination between the two units leading up to the exercise went smoothly.

"We had great open lines of communication prior to the event," said Anderson. "We received the 35th Inf. Div. planning standard operating procedures and tactical standard operating procedures beforehand, so we understood some of their specific terminology and the way they do business. Seeing the division staff talk it and put it onto a piece of terrain has been pretty invaluable."

Anderson said that although he has had opportunities to train with National Guard units in the past, it was not in a command post exercise of this capacity.

Because the active component lacks some of the military occupational specialties and organizations that are required to support the total Army force, Anderson said, it is critical that the active component trains with the National Guard and Reserve components to achieve total Army readiness.

"We know that we rely on the other components," said Anderson. "And the last place that we want to do it for the first time - to understand the personalities and to understand the capabilities - is in combat."

In addition to allowing division headquarters the opportunity to practice operating together, Anderson explained that training events like this CPX are important because they give leadership at multiple echelons the opportunity to give and receive feedback.

"Sometimes we come up with a plan, and are not our own worst critics," said Anderson. "It's hard to get the feedback without a subordinate unit saying, 'hey, this is my detailed planning two echelons below you, and these are the impacts I see that might desynchronize your higher headquarters' plan.'"

The importance of being able to practice synchronizing at echelon was echoed by 35th Division Artillery Brigade Operations Officer, Maj. Chris Koochel.

The 35th DIVARTY is a brand new unit, which will celebrate it's official activation at a ceremony in September.

"Generally, DIVARTYs go hand in hand with their division," said Koochel. "As a new organization to the 35th Inf. Div., our main focus was integrating - figuring out how we delineate between the division fires cell and DIVARTY. That comes in many forms, whether it be targeting processes, or product development, the Military Decision Making Process, and distinguishing what the roles and responsibilities are by organization."

"We are an executor of the division's plan, so the more we know about the division's processes, the better off we'll be as we continue to work together," said Koochel.

Koochel said the exercise was fast-paced, with a lot of learning on the fly.

"We condensed a lot of planning processes into a few days," said Koochel. "And then we executed those plans through the air tasking order through a 48-72 hour 'fight.' I think now we have a much better shared understanding, but there's always room for improvement."

The 35th DIVARTY, which is co-located with the division headquarters in Leavenworth, said that a continued relationship with the 35th Inf. Div. following the CPX will be integral to the success of the division.

"We were able to begin building the scaffolding and infrastructure for our standard operating procedures," said Koochel. "And then as we progress into the future, getting more repetitions through other exercises, plans, and operations orders that we'll receive over the next several months, we'll continue to validate that scaffolding and build on it to codify our standards and processes."

At the close of the exercise, 35th Inf. Div. leadership said they count the combined CPX as a major accomplishment.

"What's significant is that the 35th Inf. Div. is transitioning from a unit lifecycle standpoint: we are making that pivot from the modernization year to training year one," said Leupold. "So we are very early in the readiness build to be engaging in a CPX of this level with a component one division."

Leupold said the CPX provided an opportunity for the division staff to not only create a learning environment where the two divisions could share best practices, but also served as a critical step in the 35th Inf. Div.'s overall training plan.

"During this CPX, we're getting additional practice on MDMP and orders production, as well as actually rehearsing through key events that we'll be expected to conduct during the enhanced response cell when we go on to support 36th Inf. Div. for Warfighter 25-5," said Leupold.

Leupold said that ultimately, the 35th Inf. Div.'s goal is to build the foundation early on with quality "sets and reps" as the division prepares for their own validating exercise, Warfighter 26-4, and follow-on operational assignments.

"We're looking to not only be able to perform a task, but to master the craft and get to that band of excellence as we move through the readiness build," said Leupold. "You can't just show up to a warfighter and say, 'ok, now we're at this culminating event and we're going to do really great.' We all know that starts now."

Maj. Gen. John Rueger, 35th Inf. Div. commanding general, said starting now means taking the lessons learned from the CPX and all the partner organizations involved as we move forward.

"This exercise was unprecedented for the 35th," said Rueger. "We've innovated to drive our training. This CPX helped us see ourselves, and I don't think we could have gotten this level of training any other way. Now we need to take the input and identify what things we need to work on over the next several months into the next CPX, and beyond."

Public link

Please use the above public link if you want to share this noodl on another website.