Photo By Spc. Travis Terreo | Canadian Army Reserve Chief of Staff Brig. Gen. Kelly Woiden and U.S. Army Maj. Gen....... read more read more
FORT HUNTER LIGGETT, Calif.- Chief of Staff of the Canadian Army Reserve Brig. Gen. Kelly Woiden and Canadian Army Reserve Chief Warrant Officer Gerard Brennan visited Fort Hunter Liggett, California, July 28, 2014, to survey Warrior Exercise (WAREX) 91 14-03.
Woiden and Brennan observed the training alongside U.S. Army Maj. Gen. David W. Puster, the commanding general for the 84th Training Command in Fort Knox, Kentucky, with the hopes of potentially sending Canadian troops to participate in future WAREX and the Combat Support Training Exercise (CSTX).
Throughout the two exercises, Soldiers experience what it is like to be in the first wave of a war, when fighting is heavier and bases are being established, and the second phase, when bases are already established, fighting continues and rebuilding begins.
The visit allowed Woiden to witness the abilities of the 91st Training Division, the 84th Training Command, the Medical Readiness Training Command and the First Army.
Woiden and Puster have built a professional relationship through their common experiences with the American, British, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand Armies' Program (ABCA) and through Canada-U.S. (CANUS) conferences, said Puster. Both programs advocate cross-border training between their members.
While the Canadian Army Reserve has yet to participate in WAREX or CSTX, they are no strangers to training in the U.S., said Woiden. Previously, they trained alongside the U.S. Army Reserve and Army National Guard in the Golden Coyote Exercise in South Dakota and are looking forward to the possibility of future bilateral training.
“In the last 15 years, Canada has been focused on operations,” explained Woiden. “We have been in Afghanistan, and Bosnia before that. Before all of this, though, we took very seriously the opportunities going across border to train with the United States Army Reserve and National Guard. If you don't do that, you don't have the opportunity to build relationships.”
Canada and the U.S. have fought alongside one another in engagements such as World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Gulf War, the Kosovo War and Operation Enduring Freedom. Fighting alongside foreign allies often requires a large amount of coordination and familiarity. One way to bring the forces together is to train together.
Training is an important factor in how armies perform in theater, said Woiden. If training is lacking then performance will be too.
“I have had the great privilege of fighting and training alongside American Soldiers from the Reserve, active duty, and National Guard. I have even commanded American troops in Afghanistan,” said Woiden. “This has been a great opportunity to see that this is consistent. What I saw in theater is what I saw here today.”
The transferring of skills learned in training to the battlefield is a motivating factor in maintaining a top tier training regimen. Every WAREX and CSTX ends in an after-action report that allows each unit participating to make any flaws in the training known. These reports create a constantly evolving and improving exercise that appeals to Woiden.
Many Canadian soldiers signed up during conflict and have served multiple combat tours, but have never experienced the military outside of conflict, said Woiden. Now that the conflicts are winding down for Canada, battling complacency has to be given some more consideration.
“We still need to maintain an operational level of training and remain prepared to go if needed,” said Woiden. “One way to do that is to be innovative with training like WAREX and CSTX are.”
There are a few aspects that set WAREX and CSTX apart from other training, said Puster. First, Soldiers participating in the exercise begin the moment they arrive. Because of this, units must plan and strategize prior to arrival.
“There is no time for them to sit back and analyze the situation once they arrive,” explained Puster. “They have to hit the ground running.”
The second difference is that these exercises place participants in theater. Units that come to the exercise are told where to go and have to figure it out for themselves from there.
“Units have to learn their place on the battlefield. They have to know their mission and the missions of the units around them, how to accomplish their mission, why it is their mission and also what the enemy is doing,” said Puster.
In WAREX and CSTX participants are not fighting an imaginary foe, there is an oppositional force (OPFOR) comprised of other Soldiers.
“One thing this year that's really an innovation is the OPFOR,” said Puster. “We have an active duty or National Guard infantry battalion come and act as the opposing force, and they are unscripted. They have their own missions and are conducting their own training, but in the process of executing those, are aggressing against our units.”
Because they are unscripted, the OPFOR actively seek out and expose any weaknesses they find, not just those that are planned for, which makes them unpredictable, explained Puster. It also means that anybody who enters the operational area is in play, whether or not they are there for the exercise. Given the chance, the OPFOR will attack.
WAREX and CSTX are an important part of the U.S. Army's total force policy, which is a program that is designed to bring the Reserve, National Guard and active component together so that readiness is improved across the force.
Canada, much like the U.S., has realigned their divisional structure to include both active and reserve components in an attempt to improve unit cohesion and readiness, explained Woiden. While the realignment has occurred, the Canadian Army Reserve has not done much training at the divisional level.
“You have to train like you fight,” said Woiden. “The Reserve fights alongside the regular army, so they need to train alongside them. This was a great opportunity to see how the U.S. does divisional training. I was absolutely impressed.”
| Date Taken: | 07.28.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 08.23.2014 14:06 |
| Story ID: | 140217 |
| Location: | FORT HUNTER LIGGETT, CA, US |
| Hometown: | FORT KNOX, KY, US |
| Web Views: | 218 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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