Over several years of sustained conflict in Afghanistan and Iraq, forward logistics units in the Army lost a sizeable amount of institutional knowledge regarding base defense. This became painfully obvious during a recent decisive action training exercise rotation, Saber Junction 2018, at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center. The event highlighted how the wisdom previously held at the junior noncommissioned officer (NCO) and company-grade officer levels no longer exists. Tactical expertise and field craft, once plentiful and taken for granted, atrophied after nearly two decades of fighting the Global War on Terrorism, making base defense truly a lost art. I will begin by stating the obvious: there is never enough time to train on everything. As logisticians, we identify the most important tasks necessary to survive and win in a multi-domain environment while providing uninterrupted support. We must therefore anticipate, determine, and prioritize where to place training focus and where to assume risk.
展开▼
