APRIL 4, 2025 – Classrooms at the Command and General Staff College, organized to replicate a real division command post, were a flurry of communications and activity March 26-28, 2025, as students participated in a Division Offensive Operation practicum.
Significant time was devoted to conducting a targeting working group, which was a student led replication of division staff directing combat actions and setting conditions for division offensive operations in a large-scale combat operation.
Additionally, students benefited from on-the-spot mentoring from experienced leaders.
Department of the Army Tactics Instructors, Matt McKinley and Brian Leakey, bring decades of technical and education experience.
Two targeting warrant officers, CW4 Calvin Cameron and CW3 Jerry Burks, enhanced student understanding through candid conversation based on their operational experience with targeting.
Students who complete the practicum are prepared for their future roles as division staff officers responsible for providing recommendations to commanders to lead their organizations in combat.
“In our first field grade roles as junior majors, our job is to integrate operations at echelon within the division,” Cpt. Michael West, CGSOC student stated. “This past year has been an opportunity to learn from the different branches in our small group and understand how to synchronize information, planning, and execution preparation. Over the last three weeks, the opportunity to see this at the division level was good preparation before going into our next job.”
Students had specific roles and were responsible to identify and nominate targets for the division, corps, and joint assets to enable a division offensive operation 24-96 hours out from execution.
Planning and preparing the operation in detail, rehearsals in time and space, and constant communication across cells ensured synchronization of the overall operation across multiple echelons and divergent staff sections.
Maj. Stewart Tice filled the role of a division chief of staff and shared that the TWG allows participants to understand the various roles and functions in warfighting and how those processes integrate across time.
“We learned to conduct current operations while leaning forward to determine what we are doing next, or how we respond if something happens,” Tice said. “It’s thinking beyond where we were in our careers, focused on here and now; and thinking what we need to do today, to enable the brigade’s success tomorrow.”
To culminate the event, students presented an after-action review to leadership.
“Everything we do training wise is meant to replicate real-world experiences we will face when we go back to the force,” Maj. James Corbitt said. “This is a good, immersive exercise to see the way rotations are run, practice processes, and take feedback with the AAR, as it’s the major last part of the military operations process.”
Reviewing and assessing outcomes of actions and decisions as division staff during a large-scale combat operation captures lessons learned and reinforces the learning objectives.
“Before attending CGSS, I completed a broadening assignment with the Mission Command Training Program. I realized our discussions before execution were very similar to what takes place at MCTP, so this is a sign of success,” West stated.
By Jessica Brushwood
The Army University Public Affairs Office