Like many going through Professional Military Education courses at Fort Leavenworth, I often wondered if there was value in what I was being taught. I often would wonder whether the course material would ever achieve practical application. Twelve months later I wonder no more. Below is a compilation of my thoughts on the CGSC curriculum that was useful throughout my deployment to Afghanistan as a J35 FUOPS Chief followed by a series of command post exercises in preparation for a division warfighter exercise.

MDMP Works

The military decision making process works regardless of the headquarters, the mission, or the problem set. As a major on a division staff, you will be expected to know, teach, and personally lead the staff through the process. Competence and confidence are expected. The staff will possess varying levels of proficiency with MDMP and will expect you, the major fresh out of school, to be able to coach, teach, and mentor.

Your peers, subordinates, and superiors will oppose going through the formal steps of MDMP. You will hear voices of resistance say things like, “we don’t need to use MDMP, we just need to make slides and brief the CG.” You must champion what you know. A staff can’t “just make slides” that pass the muster to enable a commanding general to make an informed decision which impacts thousands of people without first understanding the current situation, the desired end state, the problem, and courses of action that have been war gamed to ensure they are valid. MDMP walks you through that process ensuring that all bases are covered. Take the MDMP practical exercises serious.

Stick to the basics because they work. The development of a detailed synchronization matrix, decision support template and other staff products is absolutely essential. The field grade leader is expected to be able to lead the staff through the generation of these products, then integrate and synchronize this information through the conduct of war games (COA Analysis), tabletop exercises (TTX), and rehearsals. Developing high-quality products will pay dividends throughout the execution of an operation as they enable the commander and staff to rapidly understand the OE/ problem and make decisions to execute a COA or exercise a branch plan.

Rehearsals are the instrument for success. Exercising the actions of every warfighting function, decision point, and branch plan ensures that each staff element and subordinate unit understands the synchronization of their task and purpose within space and time. More rehearsals will generate a better plan, which increases the likelihood of a successful operation.

Tactics and Exercises are Invaluable

The multiple iterations of decisive action warfighting at CGSC is priceless. Majors can expect to arrive at their division headquarters and immediately fall in on a warfighter training cycle. These field grade leaders will be expected to immediately contribute to the teaching of classes at academics or plan and execute operations at the command post exercise. The exposure and repetitions to the Decisive Action Training Environment, development of staff products, and briefing of senior leaders lays a firm foundation for officers rapidly earn the trust and respect of their peers, subordinates, and superiors in a pressure-filled environment.

Global Force Management (GFM) is a Real Thing

While in the classroom, I did not see great value in the F100 (Force Management) module at CGSC. I could not imagine any possible way I would be involved with generating or managing personnel and equipment requirements. I thought “that is something only an FA50 has to worry about.” I could not have been more wrong. While serving in Afghanistan, our division headquarters operated under six distinct missions or sets of authorities. One of these was to serve as the National Support Element (NSE) for all US Service Members within Afghanistan; the Title 10 (Man, Train, Equip) responsibility for all Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines in theater.

When President Trump released his new South East Asia Strategy, it included an increase in Service Members and equipment to Afghanistan. The division staff worked quickly to synchronize the operational employment concept and the sustainment concept to generate a list of requirements. From this, a series of Operational Needs Statements (ONS) and Requests for Forces (RFF) were produced to ensure we received the right combination of capabilities to meet the President’s intent.

Next, when the main effort for CENTCOM shifted from Iraq to Afghanistan, it included the employment of the Security Force Assistance Brigade (SFAB). Once more, our staff collaborated to generate more force management actions to fill new theater requirements. GFM is a process to ensure the right combination of capabilities are aligned against a mission and every Major could be involved in this process. Global Force Management is an essential function leaders of all branches need to understand down to the tactical level as it will dictate what mission you will execute, with what assets, and at what location.

Set the Theater is Real

While at CGSC, the multiple exercises we conducted focused primarily on MDMP and maneuver, at the expense of “setting the theater” and numerous aspects of the sustainment warfighting function. “Setting the theater” is a real action that cannot be handwaved in practice. When informed of the increase of forces in Afghanistan, to include the SFAB, what became readily apparent was that the coalition had closed or transferred the majority of its tactical infrastructure to the Afghan Government. Additionally, it had reduced the majority of its contract support and key equipment sets to bare minimum quantities. Thus, before forces could flow into Afghanistan, the theater had to be reset. Engineers had to construct life support facilities, communications teams had to generate mission command hardware and networks, contracts had to be developed to support service members, equipment had to be shipped and delivered, and all of these myriad actions had to be synchronized with the time-phased force deployment data (TPFDD). The division transportation officer had to understand the operational priorities of the J3, the build timelines of the Joint Engineer (JENG) directorate, the delivery of sustainment functions from contracting and the J4, and other units or staff sections to ensure all the capabilities arrived at the right location on the agreed upon timeline. Don’t leave CGSC thinking “setting the theater” is a sustainment function or that it will just magically happen. Even in a mature theater like Afghanistan, re-setting a theater is a task that consumes an entire staff, requires significant time, and demands detail and precision by all.

The Leader, Not the Branch, is What Matters

Time and time again, what mattered most was not one’s branch, but the quality of the leader. Oftentimes majors would be given tasks outside of their area of expertise with the expectation that they could lead a series of operational planning teams (OPTs), generate consensus, develop solutions, gain a decision from the chain of command, and execute. Whether it was an armor officer in charge of the fielding of the Land-Based Phalanx Weapons System or an infantry officer leading efforts to coordinate the Humanitarian Assistance/ Disaster Response (HA/DR) response to a natural disaster within Afghanistan the field grade leader is expected to get results. The field grade leader is expected to be able to quickly study and understand, lead, and accomplish the mission regardless of branch. Don’t ever think, “someone else will do this,” just get the job done.

Center of Gravity Analysis, Operational Frame Work, and Strategy are Useful Tools

From 2014 to 2016, the Joint Force experienced a sudden increase in the use of commercial off the shelf technology modified for war, to include Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS). Upon arrival in Afghanistan, one of our first tasks was to develop a counter UAS strategy to ensure the same successful TTPs used in Iraq and Syria do not replicate in Afghanistan. To accomplish this, we started by doing a COG analysis to understand the critical capabilities (CC), critical requirements (CR), and critical vulnerabilities (CV) of these systems. The COG did not matter, but understanding the system did. Dr. Jack Kem’s, “Planning for Action: Campaign Concepts and Tools” lays out how to conduct center of gravity analysis, develop an operational framework, and develop a strategy. Using Dr. Kem’s approach we developed an operational framework that incorporated friendly and enemy CC, CR, and CV to ensure we targeted the enemy and defended friendly capabilities. This process would result in a series of DOTMLPF recommendations to the Joint Staff, and it all started with a book by Dr. Jack Kem. At CGSC, one will gain many ways to think, plan, and lead. They all have appropriate times to be employed, but you, the field grade leader, must leave Leavenworth understanding what they are and be ready to employ these tools when required.

Relationships Matter

Relationships matter and are a combat enabler. While serving on a division headquarters in Afghanistan, I had peers serving as BCT S3s, BN S3s, and other subordinate staffs across the theater. In the end, the majority of the successes we shared are attributable to personal relationships, wherein we could pick up the phone and design solutions to the problem of the day. When the CENTCOM’s main effort shifted from Iraq to Afghanistan and we were reallocating capabilities from one theater to another, it was largely the work of peer majors from the two HQs. Shared respect led us all to work more diligently, for we did not want to disappoint a friend, a unit, or their Soldiers.

Seek out peers at other installations, and in adjacent units, who have been through similar mission sets. Obtain their products and learn from their efforts. Use this as a starting point to guide your actions when starting new actions.

 The relationships you will build on a division staff will also be a major combat enabler. These relationships will sustain you and provide a source of resilience through arduous times. On numerous occasions, Majors would sit down, discuss the topic of the day, get frustrations off of our chest, and seek words of wisdom from one another. You all will hit breaking points at different times, and peer support is an invaluable source of strength as a field grade leader. Mission accomplishment will come through the generation of friendships with your counterparts across all the staff sections.

Organizational Change and Leading within Joint and Combined Teams

One of the most beneficial aspects of CGSC is that it provides a joint and combined experience. While serving in Afghanistan, our headquarters reorganized and absorbed large portions of the Resolute Support headquarters. This changed our HQ from a US only joint HQ to a joint and combined HQ. I soon found myself working alongside Majors from multiple NATO countries and reporting to LTCs from the UK and Australia, a COL from New Zealand, and a Brigadier from Australia. The formal and informal lessons from Leavenworth were invaluable to enabling this success. Leadership courses with texts like John P. Kotter’s, “Leading Change” greatly enabled us to rapidly merge two separate and distinct HQs with different cultures and processes. Leading change is hard. It takes strong and competent field grade leaders to lead by example and influence others to fit the new construct.

You are a Leader

Above all, do not forget you are a leader. Make no mistake about it, you are always a leader, regardless of duty, title, or job description. Many of the scenarios presented in the Ethics and Organizational Leadership modules seemed farfetched and unimaginable. But after witnessing a myriad of 15-6 investigations, one quickly realizes how critical it is to be a leader, to set, and enforce standards.

Finally, have fun and be bold. Your attitude and effort will make a difference within your organization. Peers, superiors, and subordinates alike will feed off of your example. As an organization leader, you will have the ability to influence lives in rewarding ways.

Major Kyle Trottier is an armor officer, a graduate of Texas Christian University and holds a master’s degree in Organizational and Business Security Management from Webster University and a Masters in Military Art and Science (Theater Operations) from the School of Advanced Military Studies (SAMS). MAJ Trottier is currently serving as the 3ID FUOPS Chief.