With the sunsetting of the Digital Training Management System (DTMS), the legacy Combined Arms Training Strategies (CATS) viewer and the standard mission-essential task list (METL) viewer are no longer available on the Army Training Network. To access these viewers, the Training Management Directorate (TMD) has implemented a temporary non-standard solution. Until full viewer capability is reestablished in the Army Training Information System (ATIS), all approved CATS and METLs are available as downloadable reports, listed by proponent and unit type.
What CATS Does for You:
CATS are the U.S. Army's standardized, proponent-approved planning tool for designing unit training plans, ensuring combined arms proficiency across active and reserve components. CATS gives commanders and small‑unit leaders a proponent‑approved roadmap for building effective, METL‑based training plans. Built around each unit’s Table of Organization and Equipment (TOE), CATS helps leaders:
· Identify the mission‑essential tasks that matter most · Build logical, progressive training plans (crawl–walk–run) · Understand which collective tasks support those missions · Estimate the resources needed for training events · Improve readiness across the force
CATS is user‑driven, too—feedback from the operational force helps TMD and proponents keep strategies accurate and relevant. CATS generates task sets which logically group collective tasks that are best trained together, concentrating on the capabilities and functions the unit was designed to perform. The CATS tool then produces a menu of crawl, walk, and run-level training events from which the trainer can select to most effectively train the unit, building and sustaining unit readiness.
Hosting CATS on ATN is a bridging solution until ATIS capabilities are completed.
To access the temporary CATS workaround:
Don’t know your SRC? No problem—just browse by proponent and pick your unit type. Inside each download, use the tabs at the bottom to explore: · UTL: Collective tasks associated with the unit · MET Battle Task Crosswalk: Tasks below company level that support your company METs
Training and Evaluation Outlines (T&EOs) for collective, individual, and drill tasks referenced in the CATS reports are not currently resident in ATN. The CATS T&EO task search takes the user to Central Army Registry (CAR). Use the search field at the upper right of the screen to search by task number. If the task number is unknown, copy the number from the MET-to-Event Crosswalk spreadsheet to receive the corresponding T&EO, or use proponent code and echelon. This will return a list of tasks meeting the description. (Proponent code and echelon can be found at the following link: https://atn.army.mil/getmedia/66bbc258-dc58-4ae8-a71b-01d642d23b99/Proponent-Codes.pptx.)
To access standard METL pages, navigate back to ATN homepage and click on Standard METL button at the bottom of the page. All approved HQDA Standard METLs are available as static .pdf slides. Click on the appropriate proponent and follow on-screen instructions to search the slide deck.
TMD remains focused on developing training management doctrine and providing training management products to the Army. TMD is updating training management doctrine, unit training management lesson plans, and interactive multimedia instruction to integrate ATIS as the Army’s new training management system of record.
To learn more about CATS, visit the CATS Knowledge Base on ATN. TMD, under Combined Arms Command, maintains training management podcasts, tutorials, and tools to help commanders and small unit leaders build sound training plans, conduct more efficient and informative training meetings and briefings, and successfully plan, prepare, execute, evaluate, and assess training exercises. Visit us today at https://atn.army.mil/.