daftandbarmy
Army.ca Dinosaur
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So, what should the ''perfect ATP for a rifle coy look like? Reg or eserve, there must be some common themes.
The Perfect Rifle Company Annual Training Plan
- Thread starter daftandbarmy
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Sweeping, mopping, setting up tables, and the odd range day. Sounds like a reg ATP for a rifle coy. 
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In General my Coy (Reserve) does the following each year:
4 X weekends IBTS related activities (Rifle, Support Weapons, BFT, FA, etc...)
2 X weekend Jungle Lanes/Urban Ops
3 X weekend Collective Trg Ex
1 X week South Bound Trooper in Virginia
3 X days ceremonial (Remembrance Day, Xmas Dinner etc...)
Thurs are spent preparing for the upcoming Ex, or cleaning up from the last one.
4 X weekends IBTS related activities (Rifle, Support Weapons, BFT, FA, etc...)
2 X weekend Jungle Lanes/Urban Ops
3 X weekend Collective Trg Ex
1 X week South Bound Trooper in Virginia
3 X days ceremonial (Remembrance Day, Xmas Dinner etc...)
Thurs are spent preparing for the upcoming Ex, or cleaning up from the last one.
daftandbarmy
Army.ca Dinosaur
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I'm an opponent of the 'walk before we run' approach. I prefer to see a full on tactical ex to start with, followed by a good range ex. Then fill in the blanks as the year progresses. Too much adminsitrivia at the start of the cycle doesn't give anyone an opporuntiy to identify problems that need fixing until too late IMHO.
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Assumption: Everyone in the rifle company is trained to their rank level (Individual training is complete)
Assumption: The rifle company is essentially at full strength: Coy HQ and three platoons of three sections each.
Assumption: The rifle company is not gearing up for deployment.
Assumption: The training year begins on 01 September, and ends the following 31 August.
Assumption: The training year begins just following summer block leave.
Assumption: Every year, there are new members in the company, from command level to recent graduates of trades training.
Tasks throughout:
PT. Not just "move to the right, with me BEGIN" style of PT in which the officers show up and proceed to run the guts out of the troops. It follows the Army Fitness Plan, beginning with an assessment and then proceeds at a progressive pace. PT is the last thing cancelled in the event of "other duties", not the first to go. Establish standards of PT, and enforce them.
Marksmanship. Just as the PT program, it is progressive, including use of SAT, dry shooting, and employs all soldiers as coaches and firers, the NCOs as instructors and the warrant officers and commissioned officers conducting live fire ranges as Range Conducting Officers (The OC is the "OIC Exercise" on every range).
Battlecraft. Just as with PT and Marksmanship, this must be progressive. The sections and platoons must have time together prior to the company working as one. If a section can do an effective section attack, then the three sections together, along with the weapons det and under the platoon commander, can do an effective platoon attack. Same at the company level. Keep it simple. Too often I've seen attempts to include "kinetic and non-kinetic effects-based platoon training events". If soldiers master the basics, then the other fancy stuff will come easy, because you will have by that time a very efficient machine.
Ceremonial. We are an army of traditions, and in any given year, there are parades, such as Remembrance Day, Regimental days and Civic Holidays at which military presence is requested (such as Canada Day). Make the parades more than marching in, advancing, moving to the right and marching off. Establish standards of drill and enforce them.
Tasks specific to the command team:
Make a schedule and keep to it. You may not know two months out that you will be doing 'x' at 1400; however, you should have an idea that you will be in the field that week, doing defensive ops at the platoon level (as an example). Nothing causes more frustration than trying to make it up as you go. When that happens, stuff is cancelled, and usually that is PT.
Have a weekly parade at the company level, but no more. If nothing else, it establishes routine, and it give the company commander the opportunity to address all of his subordinates at once. It also puts proper emphasis on the chain of command. But don't have the troops fall in at 0630 for a 0715 parade. It gives the false impression that the officers are tardy, when all too often it is a perfect example of the flinch factor (OC says 0715, so CSM says 0705, so Pl WO says 0655, so section commander says 0645 and so on). Use these parades to recognise soldiers as appropriate. On the "don't cancel" priority, this is second to PT.
Weekly orders groups follow the NATO Format (Situation, Mission, Execution, Service Support and Command and Signal). Even though you may be talking about an upcoming Annual Technical Inspection (do we still do those?), putting the O Gp into this format will force the leadership to conduct estimates, and it will also keep information received by subordinates in the same format as Operation Orders. It also has a nicely established format, and even if it comes out as "Command and Signal, no change", well, at least you covered it, and the subordinates will prompt for questions when they dont' hear it when it matters most: during periods of war. That's right, it helps enforce "muscle" memory. If you're wondering where to put all the dogshit, I would recommend under the Execution paragraph. As well, as a commander, giving the company a weekly mission statement will nicely lay out priorities for the week. The mission verb may not be a doctrinal mission verb, but that's ok. It could be something as simple as "A Company will maintain weapons and vehicles in order to be ready to deploy to Wainwright on 06 May 09". Nothing like clarity to pass on intent!
So, instead of a schedule, I leave it to you to conduct your own estimate to come up with a plan. PT, Marksmanship and Battlecraft are the necessities of any rifle company. Nail these down, and the rest will come.
Assumption: The rifle company is essentially at full strength: Coy HQ and three platoons of three sections each.
Assumption: The rifle company is not gearing up for deployment.
Assumption: The training year begins on 01 September, and ends the following 31 August.
Assumption: The training year begins just following summer block leave.
Assumption: Every year, there are new members in the company, from command level to recent graduates of trades training.
Tasks throughout:
PT. Not just "move to the right, with me BEGIN" style of PT in which the officers show up and proceed to run the guts out of the troops. It follows the Army Fitness Plan, beginning with an assessment and then proceeds at a progressive pace. PT is the last thing cancelled in the event of "other duties", not the first to go. Establish standards of PT, and enforce them.
Marksmanship. Just as the PT program, it is progressive, including use of SAT, dry shooting, and employs all soldiers as coaches and firers, the NCOs as instructors and the warrant officers and commissioned officers conducting live fire ranges as Range Conducting Officers (The OC is the "OIC Exercise" on every range).
Battlecraft. Just as with PT and Marksmanship, this must be progressive. The sections and platoons must have time together prior to the company working as one. If a section can do an effective section attack, then the three sections together, along with the weapons det and under the platoon commander, can do an effective platoon attack. Same at the company level. Keep it simple. Too often I've seen attempts to include "kinetic and non-kinetic effects-based platoon training events". If soldiers master the basics, then the other fancy stuff will come easy, because you will have by that time a very efficient machine.
Ceremonial. We are an army of traditions, and in any given year, there are parades, such as Remembrance Day, Regimental days and Civic Holidays at which military presence is requested (such as Canada Day). Make the parades more than marching in, advancing, moving to the right and marching off. Establish standards of drill and enforce them.
Tasks specific to the command team:
Make a schedule and keep to it. You may not know two months out that you will be doing 'x' at 1400; however, you should have an idea that you will be in the field that week, doing defensive ops at the platoon level (as an example). Nothing causes more frustration than trying to make it up as you go. When that happens, stuff is cancelled, and usually that is PT.
Have a weekly parade at the company level, but no more. If nothing else, it establishes routine, and it give the company commander the opportunity to address all of his subordinates at once. It also puts proper emphasis on the chain of command. But don't have the troops fall in at 0630 for a 0715 parade. It gives the false impression that the officers are tardy, when all too often it is a perfect example of the flinch factor (OC says 0715, so CSM says 0705, so Pl WO says 0655, so section commander says 0645 and so on). Use these parades to recognise soldiers as appropriate. On the "don't cancel" priority, this is second to PT.
Weekly orders groups follow the NATO Format (Situation, Mission, Execution, Service Support and Command and Signal). Even though you may be talking about an upcoming Annual Technical Inspection (do we still do those?), putting the O Gp into this format will force the leadership to conduct estimates, and it will also keep information received by subordinates in the same format as Operation Orders. It also has a nicely established format, and even if it comes out as "Command and Signal, no change", well, at least you covered it, and the subordinates will prompt for questions when they dont' hear it when it matters most: during periods of war. That's right, it helps enforce "muscle" memory. If you're wondering where to put all the dogshit, I would recommend under the Execution paragraph. As well, as a commander, giving the company a weekly mission statement will nicely lay out priorities for the week. The mission verb may not be a doctrinal mission verb, but that's ok. It could be something as simple as "A Company will maintain weapons and vehicles in order to be ready to deploy to Wainwright on 06 May 09". Nothing like clarity to pass on intent!
So, instead of a schedule, I leave it to you to conduct your own estimate to come up with a plan. PT, Marksmanship and Battlecraft are the necessities of any rifle company. Nail these down, and the rest will come.
daftandbarmy
Army.ca Dinosaur
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geo said:full throttle at the get go.... range ex.... and then you throw in the blank ammo ??? >
I wasn't too clear there, my bad.
I'm a fan of having a thorough 'shakeout' type FTX at the start of the training cycle, followed by a standard range ex, then debriefing the two and coming up with a plan to improve where needed through the rest of the year/ cycle. Finishing off with another good, hard FTX and a range ex (preferably field firing) is a good motivator, as well as a good way to confirm the effectiveness of your training plan.
I find that if you 'walk before you run' and gradually work up to a final exercise, you don't have a chance to clearly pick out issues up front that need to be addressed over the longer term.
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