Last year, the 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment (ACR) of the Tennessee Army National Guard conducted Operation Victuals, a computer-based logistics simulation exercise. This exercise focused on the entire logistics system that supports an ACR from troop to corps level.
The regiment's challenge was to develop a training exercise that allowed supporting elements from Alabama, Kentucky, and Ohio to participate with 278th ACR units, which are located throughout the state of Tennessee. The solution was to use a computer-based simulation that would duplicate the ACR's area of operations and represent all associated support and combat units. The objective was to present a bleak logistics picture that would require the staff to enforce priority of support and ensure the commander's intent was followed while rebuilding combat power.
The regiment developed a computer-based simulation using the Janus combat simulation computer system. Janus replicated, in real time, the movements occurring on the battlefield during an exercise. It simulated inoperative vehicles; soldiers wounded in action; soldiers killed in action; transportation support; classes I (subsistence), III (petroleum, oils, and lubricants [POL]), and V (ammunition) resupply; aerial resupply; and medical and maintenance evacuation. After careful planning, the Janus system successfully simulated the logistics functions on the battlefield with minor limitations and great flexibility.
Time is always a factor when planning a training exercise for the National Guard. The planners' first decision was to build upon other training events to make maximal use of available training time. Operation Victuals took 5 months to plan and coordinate and was built on two primary training events. The regiment used an operation order produced at the Leaders Training Program at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California, and then fought a regimental battle focusing on the artillery battlefield operating system. The regiment then used the end of that battle, which was fought in the Janus simulation, to set the stage for the regeneration operation to serve as the logistics exercise.
The scenario was set for the regiment to undergo a regeneration of combat power from a 50-percent readiness rate to a 70-percent readiness rate within 24 hours and in time for the next mission. Combining the Janus simulation and the regeneration operation linked all the training events together and maximized the training time for the regiment.
Observer-controller/trainers (OC/Ts) controlled the exercise. Each OC/T had to cover his assigned section by ensuring that the unit conducted training and that it was carried out according to Army standards. They initiated events and ensured that the units completed missions on time and that any needed retraining occurred.
It took 57 OC/Ts to cover the regiment from troop level through corps level. Their specialties ranged from combat to combat support to combat service support.
The controlling document for the exercise was a mission events list (MEL). This list served as a master document for the OC/Ts to follow during the exercise. The MEL also provided vehicle bumper numbers for the troops and the maintenance system to use in tracking vehicles. A node number allowed for crosstracking in the Janus system. Each event had a notes section that allowed for a description, such as a maintenance fault or a wounded-in-action injury.
In the ACR, support begins at the troop level with the first sergeant and the combat trains. The first sergeant normally supports his troop with maintenance and medical assets forward. Next, squadron assets are arrayed for support. Each squadron has a maintenance platoon, medical platoon, and support platoon. The maintenance platoons work at the unit maintenance collection point (UMCP). The medical platoons establish squadron aid stations to provide medical support. The support platoons are located in the regimental support area and represent the field trains. The headquarters troop executive officer controls these platoons.
The regimental support squadron's assets include a supply and transport troop, a direct support maintenance troop, and a medical company. The corps provides support through a corps support battalion that is tailored to support the mission of an ACR. The exercise simulated all of these support elements.
A control cell kept track of MEL execution and monitored the status of the exercise. The control cell introduced certain events into the scenario and provided administrative assistance to the OC/Ts when needed. This cell also controlled all communications for the exercise, to include conducting a net call with all OC/Ts each day to provide an updated picture of the operation and the resupply effort.
A headquarters element controlled each support element. These headquarters elements set up their command posts in field conditions to control the movement of their assets during the simulation.
The combat trains command post controlled the maintenance and medical assets at squadron level. It directed the maintenance and medical support that was required during the mission and ensured that assets were allocated according to the priority of support.
The regimental logistics operations center controlled the regimental assets that provided support to each squadron. The regimental materiel management center managed all classes of supply and conducted logistics estimates. The corps support battalion (CSB) support operations cell managed the CSB assets in support of the regiment's resupply priorities.
The fix function of logistics allowed the units to train on battlefield maintenance flow from troop level through corps level. Janus provided inoperable vehicles either at the start of the exercise or at any time an OC/T required one. Each vehicle had a Department of the Army Form 5988E, Equipment Maintenance Worksheet, indicating its fault. The first sergeant of each troop received the 5988E and passed the information on to his maintenance sergeant located in the UMCP area. Once the maintenance sergeant determined the priority of recovery, the first sergeant decided whether to fix the vehicle forward or dispatch an M88 recovery vehicle to move the vehicle to a UMCP for repair.
At the UMCP, the Unit Level Logistics System-Ground (ULLS-G) clerk entered the identifying data on the part requested on the 5988E into the system. He then sent the request via signal encryption node to the Regimental Support Squadron B Troop (Maintenance) class IX (repair parts) section for issue. If the part was not on hand at the regimental support squadron level, the request was sent to the corps level for resupply. The support operations cell then coordinated for the part to be sent to the unit by logistics package (LOGPAC) resupply. If the part was high priority, the regiment could use aerial resupply. When the part arrived at the UMCP, the OC/T then allotted the time listed in the maintenance allocation chart to repair the vehicle.
Maintenance nodes and functions replicated during the exercise included the UMCP, class IX and shop operations, and vehicle recovery. Using the Janus computer, the unit's vehicle and prescribed load list data were entered into the computers according to the task force organization.
Each vehicle was added individually to preclude home-station faults caused by projecting uncontrolled data. Each unit's database was loaded onto the Janus computers to allow them to be used as ULLS-G computers during the exercise. The units could leave their ULLS-G computers at their home stations to avoid corrupting unit operations data. The ULLS-G operator for each unit performed all of his basic functions by ordering and receiving the status of parts. This provided valuable training on ULLS-G operations during the exercise.
The Regimental Support Squadron B Troop (Maintenance) provided repair parts for the exercise. The 115th Signal Unit provided signal encryption node support that allowed the UMCP to send data via mobile subscriber equipment to the class IX warehouse during the exercise.
The ULLS operators requested parts and received updated status of parts throughout the exercise. When the system registered a status code of "BA," the clerk knew that a part was issued and ready for pickup at the class IX warehouse in the regimental support area. The squadron motor officer or squadron motor sergeant sent the part to the UMCP. When the part arrived at the UMCP, the UMCP allowed the time designated on the maintenance allocation chart to pass. After that, the deadlined vehicle became fully mission capable and was reported as available combat power.
The class IX warehouse forwarded requests for 02-priority parts that it did not have on hand to the materiel management center, which queried the CSB. If the 02-priority part was available at the CSB, the support operations cell coordinated pickup and delivery. Air resupply was the primary transportation mode for high-priority parts, with direct delivery to the respective UMCPs.
Once the support assets were laid out on the Janus battlefield and the required support information provided, the vehicle repair function of logistics was put to the test.
To exercise the aviation unit maintenance (AVUM) troop, several MEL events were initiated to simulate a wide variety of helicopter maintenance situations, ranging from minor component malfunctions to major battle damage. Based on these events, the AVUM production control (PC) officer entered the data needed to track and report aircraft status into ULLS-Aviation (ULLS-A) and then initiated actions to recover and repair the affected aircraft.
To deal with minor component problems, the helicopter was flown back to either the maintenance troop area or the aviation intermediate maintenance (AVIM) company area. For more serious problems such as severe battle damage, downed aircraft recovery teams went to the site to slingload the helicopter back to the designated maintenance facility.
The ULLS-A clerk recorded aircraft faults, generated internal unit and AVIM work orders, and ordered repair parts from the AVIM company. The OC/Ts simulated the AVIM operation and gave the AVUM PC officer the status of each part requested and the maintenance status of each work order submitted. The AVUM PC officer used this information to continuously update the information in his ULLS-A computer and generate reports for higher headquarters on current aircraft status.
The class III/V platoon initiated MEL events that simulated supplying POL to aviation assets on the battlefield. The platoon leader maintained the status of supplies on hand and predicted their use based on the number and type of aircraft participating in missions. The class III/V platoon also was given equipment maintenance scenarios requiring vehicle recovery and maintenance. The platoon used ULLS-G maintenance and reporting procedures to track the status of damaged equipment.
The class III/V platoon also practiced forward area resupply point (FARP) operations by establishing multiple FARPs to resupply aircraft. To support an assortment of aviation missions, these FARPs varied in size, location, and time of operation.
The medical platoon leader set up an aid station to treat and account for wounded soldiers and to evacuate them when needed. The medical platoon executed MEL events that evaluated its reporting procedures as well as its coordination with higher headquarters. The platoon established primary and alternate casualty evacuation routes and initiated medical resupply transactions. The platoon also had to move the aid station to minimize damage from enemy artillery attack.
The medical platoon's focus was on sorting casualties for evacuation and tracking and reporting them from levels I through III (battlefield through hospital) care. Medical personnel within the regiment not only worked within individual elements, but also saw the relationships among, and the importance of, each level of care.
The exercise gave the medical platoon and first sergeants the opportunity to see mass casualties on the battlefield, where they were forced to decide rationally which casualty to evacuate first and by what means. The first sergeant was given casualty feeder cards in triplicate for each injured soldier in his troop. He sorted and prioritized the cards as urgent, priority, or routine and then ordered assets forward to evacuate the wounded soldiers. This part of the process was critical because it had to be completed according to the strict timeline laid out in Field Manual (FM) 8-10-1, Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures for the Medical Company, and FM 8-10-6, Medical Evacuation in a Theater of Operations Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures. The MELs dictated whether the casualty received buddy aid, combat lifesaver aid, or treatment by a medic.
Who treats the casualty and when are different for each category of evacuation. Once given proper care at the point of injury by a level I care giver (buddy aid, combat lifesaver, or medic), the casualty was evacuated to level II care. This was a critical part of the training, since the greatest loss of life usually occurs during this timeframe.
The first sergeant kept one copy of the casualty feeder card. The other two copies went with the ambulance crew. The ambulance crew gave one copy to the unit's combat trains command post. The final copy remained with the casualty at level II care. If the casualty required a higher level of care, the casualty feeder card went with the casualty to the corps medical facility.
Each level I and II aid station kept a daily disposition log that was sent to the squadron S1. When a casualty needed care beyond level II, this log was especially useful because the level II caregiver did not have a casualty feeder card on hand to reference since the third copy must remain with the casualty. The OC/T closely monitored casualty evacuation, and when timelines were not met, the "wounded in action" became "died of wounds." The high degree of coordination involved in executing an evacuation mission was a key training aspect.
In continuous operations, an ACR on the move
can consume more than 80,000 gallons of fuel a day.
The regiment used the regimental materiel management
center to forecast requirements and request pushes from
the CSB. The CSB used tankers to transfer fuel to the
supply and transport troop, and the support platoon
pushed class III resupply to the squadrons by
LOGPAC.
Ammunition Supply
The regiment had to rearm during the exercise. To do this, it replicated the class V supply system. The regimental materiel management center projected required class V pushes to the CSB. The CSB then coordinated for class V pickups at the ammunition supply point, which was replicated in Janus with over 100 pallets of direct and indirect ammunition. The regiment activated an ammunition transfer point and coordinated with the corps to transfer ammunition on the support squadron's vehicles. The support squadron then pushed the class V supplies to the squadron by LOGPAC resupply.
A bigger challenge to class V resupply was supporting the 3/155th Direct Support Artillery Battalion, which consumed most of the artillery resupply for the regiment. The regiment was forced not only to run an internal ammunition transfer point but also to request a corps-controlled ammunition transfer point for the artillery. This replication went very well because the Janus system runs in a real-time setting.
The regiment also coordinated for the resupply
of class I. The class I supplies were requested
by the units and pushed to them by the support platoons.
The resupply of class I occurred through CSB and
regimental support squadron pushes. Ice also was simulated
in the movement because of its importance in
resupply.
Planning for the use of all transportation assets within the regiment was a critical factor during the exercise. The real-time movement produced by Janus replicated the great distance and time that support units must cover during their missions. The regimental support operations officer had to plan and coordinate with the CSB constantly to ensure that units linked up at the correct time and that supplies were delivered on time. Priority of support was a key factor in determining which units received transportation support.
Operation Victuals presented the first opportunity for the 278th ACR to use all logistics assets, from the troop through corps, in a training environment. It allowed the regiment to see the complex nature of resupplying an entire ACR on the ground using a National Training Center scenario. Although limitations within Janus created certain challenges, the regiment overcame them easily. All regimental units participated and identified problems to be corrected before an actual National Training Center rotation or a real-world deployment. Each unit within the regiment also was able to put standing operating procedures to the test in a training environment, identify problem areas, and update the procedures as needed. Although it took a great deal of coordination to put together an event of this magnitude, the exercise proved to be an invaluable tool for training the 278th ACR. ALOG
Major Christopher D. Hardin, TNARNG, is the A Troop Trainer for the 2_409th Training Support Battalion, in direct support of the 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment. He has a bachelor's degree from East Tennessee State University and a master's degree from the University of Oklahoma. He is a graduate of the Armor Officer Basic Course and the Combined Logistics Officers Advanced Course.
Lieutenant Colonel Mike Johnson, TNARNG, is the Commander of the 2-409th Training Support Battalion, in direct support to the 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment. He has a bachelor's degree from East Tennessee State University and a master's degree from Webster University. He is a graduate of the Armor Officer Basic and Advanced Courses, the Army Command and General Staff College, and the Armed Forces Staff College.