Leaders discuss lessons learned in the Pacific Theater

Story by Maj. Kelly Haux

 

Maj. Stoney Portis, executive officer for 1-23 Infantry, speaks about the importance of building relationships for logistical and maintenance considerations when traveling overseas, May 31, 2017, at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash. Portis was taking part in a Key Leader Symposium to discuss lessons and key strategies learned during Pacific Pathways 2017. (U.S. Army Photo by Maj. Kelly Haux)

 

From February to May 2017, Soldiers of the 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry, developed their combat and interoperability skills in a series of joint bilateral exercises with allies in Thailand, Korea and the Philippines.

In order to expand upon the experience gained during these exercises, collectively known as Pacific Pathways, senior leaders of the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Ghost Brigade, held a Key Leader Symposium, May 31, 2017, at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., to discuss key practices developed by 1-23 Infantry during Pacific Pathways.

“It’s about how we see ourselves now and where we see our formation, the Stryker Brigade, in the future” said Col. David Foley, the 1-2 SBCT commander and host of the KLS. “Our purpose is to examine the lessons learned from Pacific Pathways and how best to resource our formation.”

Pacific Pathways is an innovative training deployment or “pathway” for Army forces, linking existing exercises with partner-nation militaries and demonstrates U.S. commitment in the Pacific Region. 

Col. David Foley (facing away), commander of 1-2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team, speaks with Lt. Col. Teddy Kleisner, commander of 1-23 Infantry, about the importance of training frequency to build skills into muscle memory, May 31, 2017, at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash. Both Foley and Kleisner were taking part in a Key Leader Symposium to discuss lessons and key strategies learned during Pacific Pathways 2017. (U.S. Army photo by Maj. Kelly Haux)

The overall assessment of Pacific Pathways was that it enabled the Soldiers of the Ghost Brigade to develop skills on the asymmetric battlefield similar to the situations they might encounter in the Middle East or in Africa. Not only did the training opportunity enable the Soldiers to grow in their tactics and skills but to learn from other nations’ professional military forces, increasing the reputation of the US Army as a premier fighting force.

During Pathways, military tactics was a common language among allied nations and an avenue of overcoming a perceived language barrier.

“A squad attack is a squad attack,” said Lt. Col. Teddy Kleisner, commander of the 1-23 Infantry. “Of course there are some nuance differences between how it is carried out between U.S. and partnered nations, but essentially it is an easy common language between Soldiers.”

The common terminology, along with the frequency of live fire maneuver training during Pacific Pathways allowed a strong muscle memory to be developed, which in turn creates better Soldiers and leader, Kleisner said.

Kleisner further explained interoperability with allies is much more than using the other nation’s military hardware. In some cases it requires keeping plans simple, assigning language-capable liaison Soldiers with radios to the right leaders, or using “old school” signal solutions such as signal flags to ensure everyone can communicate effectively.

Attendees at the leadership symposium later collaborated efforts and described what they learned when they participated in group break-out sessions, which were designed to develop strategies to enhance the Ghost Brigade’s future training and campaign plans.

Additionally, brigade staff sections presented future training opportunities, discussed training objectives, challenges, possible risks and concerns which would provide details for future combat training center rotations.

In his closing remarks, Foley praised the participants for their active engagement in the conversation about the Ghost Brigade’s future and how each of them has contributed to the unit’s success.

"This has really been a great opportunity for us to actively participate in discussions about what we’ve learned, and where we’re headed collectively as an organization,” Foley said. “We don’t look at this as an end state for we’re barely scratching the surface of what we can do as we empower, develop and grow our leaders and prepare for the future.”