What are your lessons learned as a TOC Battle Captain?

2016-10-16T20:25:28-04:00

Response by SGM Barry Kindred made Oct 16 at 2016 8:27 PM

2016-10-16T20:27:07-04:00

How fricking hard coordination can be with changing priorities.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 16 at 2016 8:31 PM

2016-10-16T20:31:01-04:00

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 16 at 2016 9:03 PM

2016-10-16T21:03:31-04:00

Obviously I was never a Battle Captain but I did work in a battalion TOC for awhile. The few things I can tell you for a smooth running TOC are:

1. Information flow. Make sure everyone who works in the TOC understands the SOPs for information flow. It keeps you informed of the things you need to be informed of and gets rid of the trivial sh*t the Battle NCO can take care of.

2. Maintain TOC control. People love to stick their heads in and give their 2 cents. It's your show, Sir, don't be afraid to kick people out of the TOC.

3. Update your Analog Trackers. This is one of the biggest ones. Never rely on CPOF or any other digital system. They go down. Ensure your map, battle tracker board, and all of your separate trackers are up to date.

4. Have a good RTO. Make sure your RTO isn't an idiot and can multitask. He/she needs to understand all of the above as well and need to be smart enough to handle the task. It's a big job and they need to own it.

Hope this helped, Sir!

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 17 at 2016 1:14 AM

2016-10-17T01:14:59-04:00

You are the data filter for the boss. If it trips one of his/her CCIRs, you need to ensure the proper folks are notified. Make sure you are tracking not only your boss's CCIRs, but all the other sets of CCIRs for whoever he/she cares about (seniors he/she reports to most obviously, but also supported/lateral commands as needed). This gets pretty chaotic when you are performing a battle captain role at echelons above reality (joint and combatant commands).

The first report is almost always wrong. Continue to press for more information in order to give your boss the most accurate picture possible so he/she can make an informed decision, but don't sit on the information too long. Rise above the "garbage in, garbage out" - don't let garbage come out of your operations center; ask questions when reports are unclear or missing critical details.

Continually ask yourself if there is anything else that you or your staff should be doing when you find yourself or your staff sitting idle. Facebook, YouTube, and ESPN live in our operations centers today, which is a bit different from days past. I've seen many folks lately get distracted by this stuff while on their shifts and it takes away from the ability of the operations center to do what it should be doing.

Close out information reports - make sure you get as much information as you can from them, pass it along to the right decision makers/coordinate necessary action, and follow through to completion. Briefing stale reports to the boss is asking for trouble. Sending stale reports up the chain is really asking for trouble.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 17 at 2016 1:57 AM

2016-10-17T01:57:04-04:00

Here is a piece of advice I would give. Always log any changes, and brief all changes to your replacement during your shift changeover. Had this happened in one particular incident that I am aware of, friendly forces would not have been on the receiving end of "friendly" 120mm mortar fire.

Response by CSM Chuck Stafford made Oct 17 at 2016 6:15 AM

2016-10-17T06:15:34-04:00

Never ever cite CNN as your source -- it will end badly for you.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 25 at 2016 4:42 AM

2016-10-25T04:42:52-04:00

I just transitioned from the Battle Captain position after filling it for 6 months in Afghanistan. Many people have given you solid feedback and here's what I have to add.

1. Roles and responsibilities- understanding your primary role as the Battle Captain and the responsibilities of the soldiers under you. Once you understand what each is responsible for, functionality of the TOC will be paramount.

2. Cross training. Once you start getting a handle on TOC operations, it is in your best interest to get your Soldiers cross trained on their systems. That way if anyone is absent or has briefly stepped away, that position can still be filled which also increases effectiveness.

3. Battle drills. It's probably best if you get as proficient as possible when it comes to battle drills. That will come with repetition.

4. Mission critical enablers (ISR, CCA, CAS, etc). Lastly, understanding mission critical enablers and what impact they have on the mission. For some mission sets, the lack of assets can cancel or shift a mission to the right. It may be on your plate to provide that feedback and recommendations to your BN CDR. At least that was our SOP.

I hope this helps!