Photo By Marie Pihulic | A small contingent gathered in Searby Hall Jan. 27 for the first Army Targeting...... read more read more
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Working group focuses on Army targeting readiness
FORT SILL, Okla. -- Seventy-one stakeholder organizations across the globe gathered in person and virtually Jan. 27 for the first Army Targeting Working Group (ATWG). Guests shuffled into seats and dialed in to the conference call with the goal of bridging the gap between what the Army has versus what it needs and synchronizing the Army's targeting activity with joint efforts.
The ATWG is made up of Soldiers from the Army National Guard, Army Service Component Commands, Department of the Army, Forces Command, Intelligence and Security Command, Training and Doctrine Command, Army Reserves and more. Their many voices shared insight into what it takes to support Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley's vision of readiness.
“There is no other number one priority,” said Williams, quoting Milley.
The first meeting on Army targeting is a milestone for the FTC. Formerly the Joint and Combined Integrated Directorate, or ”JACI,” the FTC was established March 2, 2015, with the mission of addressing Army targeting doctrine, policy and program oversight within the joint community.
This transformation happened after an operational targeting study in 2014, which compared the Army's abilities against joint requirements as well the methods other services implemented to address similar issues. The study focused on target development, targeting responsibilities, joint certification and integrating capabilities across all warfighting functions.
Recommendations from the study were for the Army to establish a targeting center, designate proponency over targeting matters and conduct leadership education focused on targeting.
Maj. Gen. John Rossi, Fires Center of Excellence and Fort Sill commanding general, was designated as the Army force modernization proponent for targeting in September of last year as a result of the study.
“When General Rossi speaks to the Chief of Staff of the Army or [Department of the Army] level staff, he now speaks on behalf of the Army when it comes to targeting. He’s not just speaking as a TRADOC entity commander,” said Burke.
“The Army didn’t have a fully vested seat at joint targeting forums where these policy decisions were made, but now that the Army has a proponent for targeting we can start making inroads to those joint organizations and joint decision makers,” said Williams.
Defining The Problem
To begin to find a way to address targeting gaps in the Army, questions such as, “What is the scope of Army targeting? How do we educate and train Soldiers in joint targeting tasks?” and “Who in the Army requires joint certification?” were raised during the meeting.
“We get a lot of great recommendations coming to us at FCoE, and we’re seeing many issues that need to be addressed. I know those in the operational force would love to have everything fixed tomorrow. We intend to get to where we need to be in an efficient manner by establishing a common view of what the priorities are,” said Burke.
The issue of manpower in a time of Army restructuring was also a topic of discussion.
The representatives from the component commands were concerned with how to address their targeting requirements while facing personnel reductions.
"We’re going to get after it with what we have and that’s going to cause us to innovate” said Col. Brent Parker, U.S. Army Pacific Chief of Fires.
Another goal for the ATWG is to inform those involved in making decisions.
“This targeting issue touches all warfighting functions. It certainly touches the intelligence warfighting function because they do the heavy lifting with respect to target development,” said Williams. “We need to make sure the Army educates and trains people so they are prepared and ready to execute targeting process and functions at the operational and higher levels.”
He said currently the method for training Soldiers in Army operational units to meet joint targeting standards is having them attend Air Force and joint schools.
“We can do better than that. This forum and its anticipated results [are] a big step forward,” said Williams.
He said they need to ensure joint targeting is responsive to the largest consumer of joint Fires: the Army.
“Over the past several years, I’d say basically since the early 90s, and certainly after 9-11, the joint targeting environment has been dominated by the Air Force and the Navy, shaped by their experiences in the Central Command [area of responsibility]. They’ve had the largest say in writing joint standards and the [Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff Instructions] that drive these processes, but in some cases these [joint standards] may not work best for the Army, again the largest consumer of joint Fires.”
The ATWG discussed how hurdles will be addressed by subgroups. There will also be a charter established so the different organizations can vote on important matters giving the FTC and the ATWG a consolidated voice at the quarterly Military Targeting Committee meetings.
The next ATWG is scheduled for April.
Marie Berberea is currently the editor for the Fires Bulletin.
| Date Taken: | 04.01.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 01.31.2017 11:17 |
| Story ID: | 222000 |
| Location: | FORT SILL, OKLAHOMA, US |
| Web Views: | 166 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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