TRADOC This WeekA publication of the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command

Victory Starts Here...FORT EUSTIS, Va. ■ Issue 7, Vol. 1, Sept. 30, 2011 ■ http://www.facebook.com/USArmyTRADOC

1

Gen. Cone speaks on challenge of change

As a 20-year-old cadet at West Point, Bob Cone stood in front of a group of senior officers and faculty, his already ruddy complexion turning red. West Point had just gone through a cheating scandal, and Cone, who served on the honor-code committee, was getting grilled about how code-violators were being handled. Were some violators, they asked, being treated dif-ferently than others? Cone was in a tough position — officially, any violator was supposed to be dismissed, regardless of the serious-ness of the offense. But his committee hadn’t been handling lesser violations by their peers that way. Cone stood thinking. Finally, he said frankly: “Yes. They are.” Instantly, “his credibility with the audience went sky-high,” says Howard Prince, who tagged him right then as a future faculty member and high-level leader. “His candor made him stand out.” From the frank way he spoke about the U.S. Army’s shortcomings on Friday, it was clear that his candor hasn’t changed. Cone, MA ’87, still speaks truth to power—ex-cept now, as the head of all Army training and the highest-ranked Army leader ever to have graduated from UT, he is power. And from his position, there is a lot he wants to see overhauled. “We’re terrible bureaucratically,” he said of the Army to an audience of ROTC members, special guests, and civil-

Innovation at Fort Leonard Wood could point way toward TRADOC future

by Darrell Todd Maurina, Pulaski County Daily

FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. (Sept. 23, 2011) — When the deputy commander of the Army’s Training and Doctrine Command came Sept. 23 to Fort Leonard Wood to preside over the change of command from Maj. Gen. David Quan-tock to Brig. Gen. Mark Yenter, he noted that it’s unusual for Distinguished Service Medals to be awarded for a time of service as short as that of Quantock, who came to the post in May 2010 and is leaving in the early fall

of 2011. However, Lt. Gen. Jack Sterling said leaders at TRA-DOC know commanding Fort Leonard Wood has become a major task and said that throughout the Army, “the very fabric of our schoolhouses is undergoing huge changes. “How can somebody in that short a period of time ac-complish all the things that we normally associate with the Distinguished Service Medal?” Sterling said. “I’m here to tell you today that Dave Quantock has earned this medal many times over. For the rest of this story, click here.

Lt. Gen. Jack Sterling speaks to reporters following Friday’s change of command ceremony at Fort Leonard Wood.Photo by Darrell Todd Maurina,Pulaski County Daily

(See Gen. Cone, on page 2)

by Lynn Freehill, Univ. of Texas The Alcalde

photo by Kae Wang

FORT EUSTIS, Va. ■ Issue 7, Vol. 1, Sept. 30, 2011 ■ http://www.facebook.com/USArmyTRADOC

ians. “We do brain surgery with an ax, is how we go about business.” He made a powerful case that a military branch he called “very, very unbalanced” has to change. In Iraq and Afghanistan, young leaders had 534 Army training manuals that hadn’t been updated in 10 or 15 years, and they had to turn to wiki-type websites to share lessons learned. The military, Cone believes, needs to develop digi-tal apps and video games to train soldiers. “We gotta get smarter, we’ve gotta use digital applications, we’ve got to understand how this generation learns,” he said. “If we do not capture their energy and imagination for the future of our Army, we will fail. We cannot go back to the Mr. Potato Head training of the past.” There should be fewer leaders for a military that on Jan. 1 will become a peacetime force, he said. But the brightest among them need to help write new doctrine and manuals. To do that, Cone believes many should first be sent back to graduate school. After military college at West Point and several years in the service, that’s what Cone himself did when he came to The University of Texas to study sociology. Prince, now director of UT’s Center for Ethical Leadership and a man intimately involved with turning around West Point after the cheating scandal, had “bird-dogged” him to get his master’s degree. The challenge at age 28 of defending ideas, examin-ing assumptions, reevaluating beliefs, and debating with classmates helped Cone later, he said. The negotiating skills he learned came in particularly handy in dealing with lead-ers like President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki of Iraq. But Cone also has faced down leadership crises no amount of classroom training could prepare him for. He commanded Fort Hood for several years, including during the 2009 on-base shooting that killed 13 and injured many more. He has been a four-star general since April, and he doesn’t plan to dial down the candor. Fellow “clear-eyed, blunt” leaders like new Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey and Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odi-erno are helping change the culture too, he said. Above all, Cone believes honesty earns respect. “When someone asks me a question I don’t know, I say I don’t know,” he said. “If cadets think their leaders are sugarcoat-ing things and talking in circles, they don’t have a lot of hope that things are going to get better.”

(“Gen. Cone,” continued from page 1) MCoE Soldiers connect with 4G digital applications

FORT BENNING, Ga. –The same technology that powers high speed commercial cellular networks will be driving the voice, video and mission command capabilities for Spiral G during the Army Expeditionary Warrior Experiment here Oct. 17 through Nov. 4. Although the Army has predicted for some time that smart phones will play an important role in the Sol-dier’s job, it is yet unclear just how large a role theirs will be. During recent years, IT engineers at the Signal Center of Excellence at Fort Gordon, Ga., have been pumping out iPhone and Andriod apps to satisfy today’s tech-savvy Soldiers. When it comes to information flow on the battlefield, AEWE’s use of 4G as the vehicle to support tactical op-erations may provide insight into how an unprecedented amount of information available to the Soldier level can help shape the fight. For the rest of the story, click here.

Sgt. Byron Arnold, of A Company, 1st Battalion, 29th In-fantry Regiment, the Experimentation Force, or EXFOR, for Army Expeditionary Warrior Experiment’s Spiral G demonstrates using the Nett Warrior System Sept. 22 at McKenna MOUT Site on Fort Benning, Ga. The Nett Warrior System provides networked situational aware-ness and command and control capabilities to ground forces. The AEWE will be held at Fort Benning from Oct. 17 through Nov. 4. Photo by Kristin Molinaro.

by Jennifer Gunn, MCoE Public Affairs

2

Other News in TRADOCFORT EUSTIS, Va. ■ Issue 7, Vol. 1, Sept. 30, 2011 ■ http://www.facebook.com/USArmyTRADOC 3

TRADOC leads charge in Fires

As we look to the future of the U.S. Field Artil-lery, the Fires Center of Excellence and the Army, we must take a hard look; assessing deficiencies, forging new doctrine, and charging ahead with a renewed confidence in the strength of our field artillery units, leaders and Soldiers.

All of the changes we are making across the Army (recruiting efforts, retention programs and new doctrine, adaptability through mission command, and tactically smaller units) are leading us to the Army of tomorrow. We are maintaining a level of readiness expected of the field artillery by producing a well-rounded,functional and effective fires force. For the rest of the story, click here.

by Brig. Gen. Thomas S. Vandal, U.S. Army Field Artillery School

MCoE’s new Maneuver Battle Lab captures synergy of Infantry and Armor by Ben Wright, ledger-enquirer.com

Maj. J.D. Evans, commander of A Company, 1st Battalion, 29th Infantry Regiment, uses the WAVE Communicator Sept. 22 on board a HMMWV. The WAVE Software creates virtual radio channels over a standard data network to establish multi-echelon voice communications between any computer or cell phone in lieu of a dedicated tactical voice radio. A Company is the Maneuver Battle Lab’s experiment force, or EXFOR, to test emerging technologies and con-cepts for the AEWE campaign of experiments, currently in Spiral G at Fort Benning, Ga. Photo by Kristin Molinaro.

MCoE takes charge of emerging technology experiments

In a move to consolidate the battle lab of the infan-try and armor, Fort Benning officials will break ground Sept. 30 on a $30 million Maneuver Battle Lab simula-tions facility. The 88,000-square-foot building will feature a 200-person classroom and multiple large and small simulation bays that can be reconfigured for simulation experiments. It will be built on a site adjacent to the Smith Fitness Center on Dixie Road. As part of the Base Realignment and Closure deci-sion in 2005 to move the Armor School to Fort Ben-ning, the new facility is a key piece in consolidation of the Infantry Center Battle Soldier Lab and the Armor Center Mounted Maneuver Battle Lab that relocated on post from Fort Knox, Ky. Virtual simulations are now conducted at Mabry Hall at Fort Benning. When the new facility is completed, the combined facilities will make the Maneuver Battle Lab the Army Training and Doctrine Command’s premier facility for experimentation and play a major role in all future Army experiments. Some key initiatives of the Maneuver Center of Ex-cellence include work on the Squad, as the Foundation of the Decisive Force, 21st Century Maneuver Training and Brigade Combat Team 2020.

Family members of Cpl. Jerry W. Wickam cut the ribbon Sept. 23 at the dedication ceremony for McGinnis-Wickam Hall at Fort Benning. Photos by Mike Haskey

Building dedication marks unity of Infantry, Armor schools

FORT EUSTIS, Va. ■ Issue 7, Vol. 1, Sept. 30, 2011 ■ http://www.facebook.com/USArmyTRADOC

Follow TRADOC through its social media sites:

4

Top shooters from across the globe travel each year to Fort Benning, Ga. Maneuver Center of Excellence to compete in the annual International Sniper Competi-tion. The two-man teams will compete in 14 events in-cluding a sniper stalk, urban shooting and orienteering exercises, firing under stressful conditions and other tests of marksmanship and sniper skills. The 72-hour event runs virtually nonstop, with only two four-hour rest breaks in the three days of competition. The competition is hosted by the U.S. Army Sniper School, whose mission is to hone warrior skills, exhibit the Warrior Ethos, determine the world's best snipers and further the warrior mindset across the Army. The Sniper School develops Warriors who are part of the Strategic Squad and are able to dominate while con-ducting wide area security and combined arms maneu-ver.

Snipers hone strategic squad capabilities Fort Lee: Home of CAC, ICoE, MCCoE, SCoE set to host Army’s finestby T. Anthony Bell Senior, Fort Lee Traveller

FORT LEE, Va. (Sept. 29, 2011)-The annual competition that show-cases the skills, personal strength and commitment of the U.S. Army Soldier will make its 10th start here next week.

The 2011 Department of the Army Noncommis-sioned Officer and Soldier of the Year Best Warrior Competition, commonly known as “Best Warrior,” will commence Sunday. It will feature five days of field, classroom and boardroom challenges to determine who achieves distinction as the Army’s standout warriors. Twenty-six junior-enlisted troops and NCOs from Army commands around the world are slated to compete in the only major Army-wide event open to Soldiers of all military occupational specialties. Events include weapons qualification, a board appearance, ur-ban orienteering and several of the Warrior Tasks and Battle Drills that are key to survival in combat. Fort Lee, which has hosted Best Warrior since 2002, traditionally launches itself into event planning nearly a year in advance, putting to use a large infra-structure of people, equipment and facilities that are essential to a seamless operation. Command Sgt. Maj. Daniel Reid is commandant of the Logistics NCO Academy. A key figure in the plan-ning and execution of the event, he said preparation is the biggest factor. For the rest of the story, click here.