The Air Force has updated AFI 36-2903, dated 7 Feb 2020. The biggest change is dealing with beards. Don’t get too excited. They are still only authorized for medical or religious accommodation. It’s just that now, there is guidance on how they should look.
A major oversight is that the new AFSC Special Reconnaissance has been left out of the AFI. Technically, they are no longer authorized a beret. Weather Parachutists however, are still authorized to wear the Grey beret.
ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. — When 20th Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosives (CBRNE) Command Headquarters and Headquarters Company commander, Capt. Ivan Cho, first started playing tabletop wargames in eighth grade, he never would have thought he’d be playing his favorite games while wearing the Army logo.
Cho, and three other Army active duty and reserve Soldiers, did just this as the U.S. Army eSports’ Warhammer 40,000 Team at the Las Vegas Open on January 24, 2020, which hosts the largest Warhammer 40,000 Tournament in the world.
“It really opens up avenues for civilians and other parties to see that the United States Army has opportunities within it if you are willing to branch out and try new things,” said Cho.
The U.S. Army eSports Team is a competition team of the U.S. Army and pulls its members from the Regular Army and Army Reserves. The Team has various sub-teams that fall under the Army eSports Team, including the Army eSports Warhammer 40,000 Team. Members play competitive Warhammer 40,000, a tabletop wargame where players enact battle by using miniature models of warriors and combat equipment on top of the layout of a battlefield.
“For a lot of veterans, Warhammer 40,000 is considered great for morale and therapeutic because of the vast hobby aspects that come with it including building the miniatures, painting them, then being able to compete against other players and hobbyists,” said Cho.
Cho and his teammates competed against over 750 players and played more than six rounds of games. Each round was roughly two and a half hours long, totaling about 15 hours of gaming over the course of two days. All four team members made the top 25 percent of players, competing with some of the best players in the world.
“I think it will have a lot of benefits for future Army players to know they have the backing of the United States Army to play and compete in a hobby they love to do,” said Cho.
The Army eSports Warhammer 40,000 Team consists of six active members from across the Nation: Capt. Red Powell of U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, Capt. Ivan Cho, Capt. Matthew Talley of U.S. Army Forces Command, Master Sgt. Justin Pizzoferrato of the U.S. Army Cadet Command, Staff Sgt. Shane Watts of Defense Information Systems Agency, and Staff Sgt. Jason Rider of 1st Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division.
“At this time, we are in the works for opening up more slots on the active team and create a second team to encourage more growth in the Warhammer 40,000 community as well as show the rest of the world that you can be a Soldier and still do your normal hobbies,” said Cho.
By Rebecca Nappi, 20th CBRNE
WASHINGTON — U.S. special operations forces have no “systemic” failures of ethics, but a review points to the need for strengthening leadership at all levels, the commander of U.S. Special Operations Command said.
Army Gen. Richard D. Clarke told reporters at the Pentagon Tuesday that he ordered the comprehensive review of special operations culture after several instances of misconduct and unethical behavior threatened public trust and caused leaders to question special operations forces’ culture and ethics.
The review team looked at all aspects of the force and interviewed thousands of individuals, the general said.
Clarke said the review showed the vast majority of special operators maintain the highest standards of conduct every day, and they do so in some of the most challenging conditions around the globe.
However, he added, the review team did find that some aspects of the special operations culture did, at times, set conditions favorable for inappropriate behavior.
“We have a ‘can do’ culture with a bias toward action,” he said. “This culture is part of what makes us great. Nearly 20 years of continuous conflict have imbalanced that culture to favor force employment and mission accomplishment over the routine activities that ensure leadership, accountability and discipline.”
Force generation, force training and leader development are at the heart of the solution, Clarke said. “We need to improve our leader development programs and improve accountability in our training and management processes,” he said. “Leaders drive culture, and maintaining a healthy and high performing culture requires present and actively involved leadership.”
Clarke said some of the command’s professional military education is inadequate, and the command is taking steps to improve it.
The study also found that the pressure of deployments meant that leaders often were not present, or not involved, in training. “Our force has spent the last two decades rushing to get back into the fight,” the general said. “In doing so, we have often been too complacent as we build, train and certify our teams for the rigors of operating in a complex world. We are renewing emphasis on proper accountability and supervision, and setting conditions for leader presence in the right places.”
The review team concluded that special operations culture is overly focused on force employment and mission accomplishment, creating contexts or situations that allow misconduct and unethical behavior to develop.
“The review team uncovered not only potential cracks in the [special operations forces] foundations at the individual and team level, but also through the chain of command, specifically in the core tenets of leadership, discipline and accountability,” the review says.
Clarke said he will emphasize the need for leaders at all levels in the organization to be there for their troops and provide the corrections needed when teams are going astray. Leaders can give guidance on the ethical and moral aspects of irregular warfare and can model “what right looks like,” the general said.
The force knows how to produce ethical warriors, Clarke said, noting that standard operating procedures detail the training, education, exercises and certification needed to deploy. But the pressure of deployments sometimes means that troops go through these hoops without leaders present, the review found.
“U.S. Special Operations Command must manage the institutional bias towards employment and reclaim resources for investment in the other key areas by applying leadership, discipline and accountability to force employment processes and business rules,” the review states. “These actions will enable and complement those recommended under force accountability, focusing on bringing discipline to force generation processes, emphasizing active and engaged leadership during these periods.”
The press of operations and the seemingly endless demands for special operations forces has prompted a breakdown in force generation, which, in turn, disrupted leader development. “Bringing more structure and emphasis back to these areas enables [Special Operations Command] to reinvest in leader development and groom leaders with the required balance of character and competence,” the review says.
The command will invest the money and time needed to ensure units can institutionalize these changes. The command will also scrub the joint force’s current special operations requirements. “This assessment will impact SOF requirements for continued counter violent extremist organization efforts and inform [the command’s] transition as part of broader DOD alignment towards great power competition,” the review says.
As in most things, the review’s findings and recommended actions require a strong implementation plan and the will to execute it.
“This report reemphasizes our enduring responsibility as leaders and informs a consolidated, focused effort to drive necessary change across our formation,” Clarke said. “I am forming an implementation team that will follow through on these findings and recommendations, assess results, and refine our policies accordingly.”
The review team found concern about the force from all levels of special operations. Special operations noncommissioned officers spoke about the need for the presence of leaders and the need to ensure teams train together before they deploy, said Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Greg Smith, senior enlisted leader for the command.
Clarke and Smith agreed changing a culture takes time, and that the command is willing to invest the time.
By Jim Garamone, Defense.gov
Bobby Ray Inman is a retired Navy Admiral. An Officer Candidate School graduate and the first Naval Intelligence Officer to earn four stars as a Flag Officer. During the 1970s and into the early 80s, ADM Inman served as Director of Naval Intelligence, Vice Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, Director of the National Security Agency and Deputy Director of Central Intelligence. Interestingly, he held these last two posts simultaneously for a period, pushing the two agencies to work more closely. He did this by sending memos back and forth to himself, approving them as he went along.
In response to the Beirut bombings of the US Embassy and Marine Barracks, ADM Inman chaired a commission on improving security at U.S. foreign installations.
Some SSD readers may know him for sitting in the Board of Directors of Academi, a corporation formerly known as Blackwater.
His list of rules are well known within the Intelligence Community and may seem at first glance only suited for senior officers working in Washington. While some are specific to that unique arena, many should be implemented immediately upon starting a career and consistently throughout.
1. Conservation of enemies.
2. When you are explaining you are losing.
3. Something too good to believe probably is just that, untrue.
4. Go to the Hill alone.
5. Wisdom in Washington is having much to say and knowing when not to say it.
6. Never sign for anything.
7. The only one looking out for you is you.
8. If you think your enemy is stupid, think again.
9. Never try to fool yourself.
10. Never go into a meeting without knowing what the outcome is going to be.
11. Don’t change what got you to where you are just to get to the next place.
12. Intelligence is knowing what the enemy doesn’t want you to know.
13. Nothing changes faster than yesterday’s vision of the future.
14. Intelligence users are looking for what is going to happen, not what has already occurred.
15. It is much harder to convince someone they are wrong than it is to convince them they are right.
16. For Intelligence Officers in particular there is no substitute for the truth.
17. By the time intelligence gets back to a user with the answer the question usually has changed.
18. Always know your blind spots, get help to cover them.
19. The first report is usually wrong, act but understand more is to come and it will be different.
20. You can never know too much about the enemy.
21. Tell what you know, tell what you don’t know, tell what it means.
22. Tell them what you are going to say, tell them, then tell them what you told them, they might remember something.
23. Never have more than three points.
24. Never follow lunch or an animal act.
25. Believe is correct, intelligence officers never feel.
26. The absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.
27. Boredom is the enemy, not the time to any briefing.
28. If you can’t summarize it on one page, your can’t sell it to anyone.
29. Always allow time to consider what the enemy wants me to think, is he succeeding or am I?
30. If you can’t add value, get out of the way.
FORT JACKSON, S.C. — Watching the Army recruits run to their designated location, the drill sergeant could feel the tension, the excitement, the anticipation. The only question now was, who was more excited–her or the trainees?
Drill Sergeant Alycia Perkins is a new drill sergeant. In fact, she has only been ‘on the trail’ for a few weeks and everything is new and exhilarating to this U.S. Army Reserve drill sergeant. Fresh out of the U.S. Army Drill Sergeant Academy, this young noncommissioned officer is full of the latest knowledge and knows all the regulations, training goals and safety protocols. She had worked extremely hard on earning her Drill Sergeant Hat and Badge, and now, here she stood before a group of civilians she had helped transform into Soldiers. They were just days away from graduating from U.S. Army Basic Combat Training, and Perkins could not be more proud.
“During this Blue Phase (the third and final part of Basic Combat Training), I have gotten a lot of hands-on mentoring. It is not so much of the yelling and the teaching them anymore, it’s more about helping them understand who they are and what kind of Soldier they CAN be, and then helping them realize their goals,” said the all-wheeled vehicle mechanic from Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 485th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 98th Training Division (Initial Entry Training).
As a U.S. Army Reserve Drill Sergeant, Perkins had not been with the trainees through their entire cycle of three phases: Red, White and Blue. Reserve drill sergeants typically assist Active Duty drill sergeants for a phase rather than a complete cycle. However, they can stay longer based on needs and availability. Perkins entered this particular cycle at Fort Jackson, South Carolina cycle in the Blue Phase, which allowed her to do more mentoring and less yelling.
“The screaming and yelling [in Red phase] is more of a shock. It is to put the trainees into a stressful environment so they can learn to think on their feet, because that is the environment you would have when deployed,” said the Columbia, South Carolina resident.
“As you move on through the different phases, you kind of step back from being ‘the Hat and the Badge,’ and what people typically think a drill sergeant is, and you go more towards a mentoring phase and mentoring position,” said Perkins.
In her short time on the trail so far, Perkins said she finds this part of the job the most rewarding, and the main reason for her own transformation into becoming a drill sergeant.
“I don’t know if [the Drill Sergeant Academy] changed me necessarily, as much as built what was already there. I have always been a pretty motivated Soldier and wanted to help people.”
In the teacher and mentor phase, Perkins discovered people from across the Nation and with varying reasons for joining the Army. And some of the motivation she witnessed surprised the young drill sergeant.
“You expect a base level of motivation, but some of the trainees who come through here really have some personal stories and personal attachments that help drive them to be a Soldier, and help get them through Basic. So hearing these stories, and where people are coming from, and how diverse it is, surprised me a little bit.”
Of course, motivation alone will not get a trainee through Basic Combat Training. They have to meet all the standards and pass all the physical and mental requirements. The drill sergeant is only there to guide the recruits and give them all the tools to succeed. But in the end, the trainee must do it on their own, just like Perkins did when she completed the Drill Sergeant Academy.
After spending time with the trainees and getting to know them a little, it can be hard for a drill sergeant to see motivated trainees fail out for various reasons, said Perkins.
“On the flip side, it is very rewarding to see a trainee who has struggled, overcome those struggles and make it to graduation,” said Perkins looking out over her Soldiers practicing for graduation.
Of course, being new to the responsibilities of a drill sergeant, Perkins admits that she still has a lot to learn.
“Just because you graduate the Academy does not mean the learning is over. Things are always changing. Even since I graduated, things have already changed. A drill sergeant has to keep themselves up-to-date and be as knowledgeable as they can be.”
With the eyes of every recruit looking to drill sergeants as role models, Perkins said there is no choice but to strive to be the epitome of perfection. It’s not an easy goal to achieve but it is just a responsibility of the role.
Another responsibility for drill sergeants is making sure all the training requirements are accomplished. The simple logistics of moving a group of trainees around in an efficient manner to complete the fast-paced schedule of Basic Combat Training is an education that Perkins found invaluable, and a bit taxing.
“What I found to be the most challenging was all the paperwork and the behind the scenes stuff you do as a drill sergeant: setting up training, getting with everyone else to make sure the schedules are online…This is my duty week this week, so I am really learning everything that goes into planning just one training exercise. That has been the most difficult, for me at least.”
So while Perkins has been leading trainees, she has been learning herself. The Training and Doctrine Command environment is a very supportive place full of people willing to help, which has allowed me to become more confident, said Perkins.
“I have realized, I can handle more than I think I can.”
This type of confidence is critical for a leader required to be a role model, an example of Army perfection. However, it is something that any noncommissioned officer could achieve, said Perkins.
“Anybody can be a drill sergeant. If you have the time, the motivation, and the patience to do it…and the drive. It does take a lot. These are very long days–4:30 a.m. to 7:30 or 8:30 p.m. on a normal day. So it’s not for the faint of heart,” explained the new drill sergeant.
The responsibilities of the job are not for unmotivated people who don’t care about the quality of their work. It requires a disciplined effort and a generous amount of pride and ownership in the end goal, said Perkins.
“You have to really care for the trainees and care about the product you are putting out to do this kind of job.”
No one at the U.S. Army Drill Sergeant Academy said the role of U.S. Army drill sergeant was going to be easy. In fact, they clearly explained the challenges. Yet, among the long, and somewhat grueling days, they said there would be rewards. In just a few cycles on the trail, Perkins has seen those rewards and that is a product she has found pride in.
“There have been moments when I am teaching a class on why a regulation is the way it is, and it is very rewarding to see that light just click on for them. Helping them understand takes away any obstinacy. When you can get into why things are important, it really helps them connect with the Army in general and the material you are putting out.”
Finding a way to connect the trainees with the Army is a way to ensure our Nation’s future, said Perkins.
“That is what we are defending–that heritage going into the future. We are building a stronger Army. A more competent Amy. A more intelligent Army. All those compiling factors are what you, as a drill sergeant, are working to instill in those trainees who will defend our Nation eventually. So the product you put out, that time you put into that trainee, really reflects, and will define our future Army.”
Knowing she is playing a part, making a difference in not only the lives of future Soldiers but the Nation itself, makes Perkins immensely happy and proud to be a drill sergeant.
“It is always said, ‘the trainees are a direct reflection of their leadership.’ That really makes me feel that what I put into them, is exactly what they are going to put out into the rest of the Army. So, that is a really good feeling.”
By MAJ Michelle Lunato
Green Berets with 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) lent their expertise during a combat marksmanship range where they mentored Soldiers from 4th Battalion, 4th Security Force Assistance Brigade, Nov. 18-21, 2019.
See the story and more photos at www.fortcarsonmountaineer.com
After removing TC 3-20.40 Training and Qualification, Individual Weapons for several months to make revisions, they’ve republished it with Change 1.
Download your copy here.
Concurrent with signing the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act into law, a sixth military service, the US Space Force has been created.
From: SECAF <secaf@us.af.mil>
Sent: Friday, December 20, 2019 20:25
Subject: Space Force
To the Men and Women of the United States Air Force and United States Space Force:
Today, the President signed the National Defense Authorization Act, and with the bipartisan support of Congress, established a sixth branch of the armed forces – the United States Space Force. The U.S. Space Force, an independent service singularly focused on protecting our interests and security in space, launches the nation into a new era. Combined with the standup of U.S. Space Command in August 2019, our nation is now well postured to preserve and protect space.
Forging a new service is an historic opportunity to deliver world-class capabilities to the American people. As of today, the law re-designates Air Force Space Command as the U.S. Space Force. Space professionals will soon have the opportunity to permanently transfer into the new service, while U.S. Air Force Airmen will continue to support the space mission. More information is available at spaceforce.mil.
Together with our joint teammates and our spacefaring allies and partners, we will establish a service that meets the highest standards of excellence, built on a foundation of integrity and service. We’re proud to serve with you!
Barbara Barrett
Secretary of the Air Force
David L. Goldfein
General, U.S. Air Force
Chief of Staff
John W. Raymond
General, U.S. Space Force
Chief of Space Operations
