Staff Weenie said:
*Sigh* I'm already seeing the rumblings as things wind down. All those spit and polish types who have hidden in the dark corners for years, are now coming back out into the light. Conformity and snappy drill will now replace functionality and combat capability.
Then it's time that someone sits down and writes the combat skill maintenance plan, or at least a way to keep unit chains of command and troops busy with useful work, within the constraint envelopes.
Assumptions -
1. A tighter budget; no money, no ammo, limited mileage allowance for "A" vehicles.
2. No regular operational tour on horizon, i.e., no regular pre-deployment training cycles.
3. Train to need lifts its ugly head driven by budget constraints; no authority for running course without define training requirements.
Welcome back to the 1980s, when the parade square, cleaning vehicles/kit, and the platoon room were all equally unsatisfying solutions to "keeping busy" between exercises.
Unfortunately, when the numbers of disgruntled troops increases because they are unsatisfied with garrison life; there's an exponential increase in the pers admin burden the minority creates for the chain of command. Time which could be spent on planning low budget local training gets consumed writing C&P memos and recommendations for BPSO interviews (etc., etc., etc.) With most officers and many NCOs tied to desk and computers by this surge in admin, and still no frequent exercises, you're left with the remaining unit staff and a lot of bored troops and nothing on the schedule for six weeks before a change of command. Unfortunately, in the absence of a more defined plan, the "solution" becomes obvious to any Sergeant Major trying to keep troops busy enough to reduce extra admin and disciplinary problems (at least during working hours).
New solutions are always welcome, and the Army Journal is always looking for articles.
