Leaders from the 244th Expeditionary Combat Aviation Brigade gathered around the table, plotted their air corridors, and collaborated in the preparation for their aerial assault planning for this year’s command post exercise, hosted by the 87th Training Division located at Fort Knox, Ky.
The 87th set the conditions coming into this exercise that would both evaluate and validate the 244th’s ability to facilitate the Military Decision-Making Process, synchronize staff functions, coordinate with combined and intra-agency support for air asset management, as well as execute both aerial reconnaissance, patrol and assault operations.
Col. Thomas Westrick, commander of the 87th, 2nd Brigade, 2nd Mission Control Training Detachment, understood that each training unit has a different mission set, however the fundamentals of MDMP remain the same.
“Part of our mission is to build staff readiness in preparation for large-scale combat operations,” said Westrick. “Challenging the staff through situations or injects that require rapid decision making in response, all while managing the air space and coordinating with fires and air defense, create the conditions for a better, more prepared staff.”
Col. Casey Martinez, the 244th commander, regularly emphasizes the importance of staff training opportunities that refresh and enhance staff capabilities, given the dynamic mission set of today’s Army Reserve and their citizen Soldiers.
“Training is essential due to the lower frequency of training opportunities that provide a sufficient environment and space,” said Martinez. “Talking theoretically about the MDMP process can be beneficial however in practice., we can discover the cracks in our efficiency which these training events help us identify.”
The commander’s role is to provide guidance to the staff along with overall mission objectives to accomplish while evaluating processes to improve efficacy.
“Our goals are to refine systems and processes while seizing opportunities to test our skills and gain experience,” said Martinez. “It helps us to better understand the integration of war fighting functions from a multi-component perspective.”
Some of these multicomponent assets embedded within the 2MCTD are air defense and air threat management specialists, that analyze the battle space, provide technical expertise in adversarial threat capability within the operational environment, and air defense system coordination for friendly asset protection.
Chief Warrant Officer 5 James Morgan, the 2MCTD Air Mission Survivability Officer, analyzes key terrain characteristics and offers guidance based on potential enemy threat capabilities.
“I advise the commander on the most effective, efficient and safest course of action to execute any given mission,” said Morgan. “This ensures highest survivability rate for our crews and success rates for neutralization of enemy air defense assets.”
Morgan integrates and collaborates his analyses with intelligence and air defense officers for multifaceted perspectives that offer the staff a more wholistic understanding of any given operational environment.
Intelligence is vital in any battle space, and for the 244th ECAB, understanding enemy intent and communicating information to the commander is essential, as the unit S2 Capt. Emily Wiebe states,” My role is to provide enemy information be it plans, patterns, or trends, that may impact friendly forces during the mission.”
The air defense officer acts as the liaison between the 244th and the air defense asset during an operation. Their role is to ensure proper air space management through air corridor control and identification management.
Regardless of any particular mission set, the 87th provides a comprehensive curriculum of simulations that both challenge a unit’s staff to react and refine their MDMP processes and enable them to efficiently adapt to any given environment.
They utilize a variety of tools to include real time computer simulations, effects, injects, and observer coach trainers, all built within a well-developed scenario providing realism invaluable for staff development.
This CPX has prepared the 244th for their role in the WARFIGHTER exercise at Fort Drum, NY next year in support of the 10th Combat Aviation Brigade.
“Ready to Serve”
