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thedrifter
12-16-05, 04:40 AM
Marines train Republic of Georgia battalion staff
Marine Forces Europe
Story by Staff Sgt. Jonathan C. Moor

KRTSANISI, Republic of Georgia (Dec. 16, 2005) -- Between the Caspian and Black Seas, walled by the ancient Caucus Mountains, there is a sprawling and sleepy valley blanketed by the sweet, pungent smell of sage where two groups, born sworn enemies during the Cold War, came together in unity to defeat an evil foe.

As partners in the Global War on Terror, Marines of the Georgia Sustainment and Stability Operations Program U.S. Task Force finished training the former-Soviet Republic of Georgia 22nd Light Infantry Battalion staff at Krtsanisi, Georgia, Dec. 16.

The GSSOP-trained 22nd Light Infantry Battalion troops will form part of the dedicated force called for in UN Security Council Resolution 1546 to protect UN forces in Iraq.

“In Battalion Staff Training, you gather the staff together and the object is to train them under the Military Decision Making Process,” said Capt. Jason P. Richter, 37, the GSSOP operations officer and native of Rochester, Mich. “My mission is to train the battalion staff on behalf of Task Force GSSOP.”

The training consisted of nine instructors from the elite 54-member U.S. GSSOP Task Force teaching the 14-soldier staff of the 22nd Battalion. Richter along with his operations section was supported by instructors from the administration, intelligence, supply, and communications specialty fields joined with the GSSOP Task Force first sergeant, executive and commanding officers to complete 16 weeks of comprehensive staff officer training in the Deliberate Planning Process.

According to Maj. Melvin L. Chattman, 38, the GSSOP Task Force commanding officer and native of Memphis, Tenn., the staff training will help the Georgian staff handle command and control of their battalion during their deployment to Iraq.

“The purpose behind the battalion staff training is to develop within the battalion staff the ability to appropriately employ those skills associated with the command and control of their maneuver element, which are their three line companies,” said Chattman. “The battalion staff training they received has given them the tool set needed to coordinate for those missions that can be given to them once they arrive in Iraq. It gives them a template for battalion decision making.”

Richter started the training with basic war fighting concepts.

“Since MDMP was one of our goals we had to look at, we had had to ask the question, ‘what pre-qualifications do they need’,” said Richter. “We identified these as basic warfighting concepts that the Marine Corps teaches, the definition of warfare, evolution of warfare, NATO terminology and graphics, as well as the six war fighting functions centered at the battalion level specifically for a light infantry battalion.”

He explained, “The mechanics involved were teaching them the Deliberate Planning Process taught by the Army, which is a seven step process very similar to the Marine Corps Planning Process. The reason we chose MDMP is that the 22nd Battalion will be working with U.S. Army forces while in Iraq. We figured it more appropriate to teach the Army version of the planning process, so once they are established there they won’t be unfamiliar with the system they will be working with.”

According to Richter, the MDMP equips the staff to do everything from receiving the initial order from a higher authority all the way to finishing and publishing a full fledged operations order with annexes to issue to subordinate units.

At the beginning Richter used a hands-on teaching approach with the Georgians.

“In the first phase I walked them through step-by-step, showing them the manual and explaining ‘this is how you do it’,” Richter said.

One challenge the Task Force members faced during the course of training was both the U.S instructors and the staff needed to devote time daily to the real-world administrative and operational support that keeps the GSSOP Task Force and the 22nd Battalion running.

“We decided to train them only half-a-day,” said Richter.

Due to the later Georgian business schedule the battalion conducted training 9 a.m.-2 p.m. each day.

“We took that five-hour block and divided it into three different segments,” he explained.

For the first hour and a half period of each day Richter trained the staff as a whole in war fighting concepts, MDMP and other basic concepts.

After the group training, each staff section broke off and provided job-specific training for the individual sections in two more periods. The second period the Marines taught their Georgian counter parts functions of their individual jobs related to the group class. During the third period of the day the Georgians learned about job-specific functions not necessarily related to the group class.

During the training instructors used a variety of teaching tools, such as maps, hand outs, Power Point presentations and a sand table. “We tried to expose them to as many ideas and different ways of doing things as possible. We get them as comfortable with each type of media and method of training we can,” Richter explained. The reason behind the variety of teaching tools was to make the Georgian staff comfortable operating under any condition.
Another aspect of the training focused on setting up and operating a combat operations center either out of tents or a hardened shelter, something similar to what the battalion would encounter while they are in Iraq.

In the second phase Richter issued the order and the Georgians began to run the operations while the Marine trainers stepped back to function in an advisory capacity.

“We were there to answer questions and give them coaching,” he explained.

Over the training evolution the Task Force personnel intentionally gave the Georgian staff more and more leeway in running the operations while increasing the complexity of the orders to ease the 22nd Battalion staff into operating full-force in the U.S. doctrine.

Once the Georgian staff was familiar with how to set up and conduct day-to-day business properly, the Marines began integrating company level training into staff operations as a stepping stone to prepare the staff for battalion level training.

“It’s worked out very well, making the staff members confident in their own areas. They have a lot more to offer now in the military decision making process,” Richter said.

The field training portion consisted of planning and embarking the staff and moving them to a field environment to conduct operations.

The battalion level training brought together all the elements the staff had been trained on.

At end of the training the U.S. instructors turned into evaluators for the final exercise, Operation Lion King, a week-long event which demonstrated the 22nd Battalion’s overall readiness for deployment to Iraq.

During Operation Lion King, the battalion staff was evaluated on everything they learned. They received a joint operations order and had to issue a battalion level order to ensure the proper execution of the mission.

The final exercise brought all the training together.

“The Military Decision Making Process training we’ve given them and the Command Operations Center training we’ve given them not only taught them how to receive an order from us, process it, come up with a plan, but also how to actually go out into the field with their companies and execute it much in the same manner as you would find any other battalion in western forces,” said Richter. “Top-down planning, bottom-up refinement.”

The instructors have had to overcome issues such as a lack of equipment, frequent power outages and no running water at various times in the training.

“It’s been a challenge, especially in the austere environment we have here, doing a lot of making something out of nothing,” said Richter.

By the time the 22nd Battalion graduated the Georgia Sustainment and Stability Operations Program the staff had proven them selves ready for their mission in Iraq.

“The 22nd staff is motivated. They’ve given us 100 percent. We very satisfied with the level of eagerness and motivation they put forth,” said Richter.

Ellie