What regulation/FM/TC covers the amount of times throughout the year a army unit is suppose to do field training?

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 13 Oct 2022 12:53:07 -0400

My NCOIC and I have friendly debates about topics that relates to what the regs(army rules in general) were when he enlisted compared to now. This was on the amount of times in a year we(Army) should be in the field. He said every 90 days. I said it depends on annual, semi-annual and quarterly training decided by a commander. What regs give a certain number of times of the year?

Response by COL Randall C. made Oct 13 at 2022 1:02 PM

COL Randall C. — Thu, 13 Oct 2022 13:02:04 -0400

If there is one, it's an obscure one and nobody ever pays attention to it (I'm not talking about FM 7-0 which lays out the training program ... I'm specifically referring to "you will do xxx amount of field training so often")

From my platoon days through my brigade days, field training has been driven solely by mission and commander requirements.

Your NCOIC might be quoting "policy", but there's no institutional requirement by the Army to rollout of the motor pool every X days.

Response by CSM Chuck Stafford made Oct 13 at 2022 1:09 PM

CSM Chuck Stafford — Thu, 13 Oct 2022 13:09:45 -0400

It's been a minute - I don't recall a specific reg, but rather it was driven by requirements as defined by the CDR. And those requirements are derived from the conditions the command is currently experiencing. Tasks and standards don't change - just the conditions. I gonna say you have the better ""answer" on this topic -- as iron sharpens iron, so does a man make another better.. Great to see you can have these discussions with your NCOIC

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 13 at 2022 1:16 PM

MSG Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 13 Oct 2022 13:16:51 -0400

Mission requirements dictate OPTEMPO. Reset time exists but it is at the discretion of the Commander. The Germany folks who performed REFORGER all know about OPTEMPO and scarce reset time. Glad you're able to experience professional growth moments with your NCOIC.

Response by MSG Thomas Currie made Oct 13 at 2022 3:15 PM

MSG Thomas Currie — Thu, 13 Oct 2022 15:15:11 -0400

I spent a lot of time in training management and I never saw any regulation or specific guidance directing any specific amount or interval for field training. There are some mandatory training events that could only be accomplished in the field, so yes there are regulations requiring some field training. But at least in theory a unit could conduct all those events back to back, then never go to the field again for the rest of the year. Also we all know that many units don't actually perform all the "mandatory" training (and now we have General Officers and the SMA saying that soldiers should just ignore mandatory training regulations if they don't feel they have time for the required training).

As you look lower in the hierarchy and consider various corps, division, and brigade policies you are more likely to find formal guidance against field training rather than requiring it. Budget constraints and other issues drive guidance limiting field training.

A long long time ago, USAREUR used to have a requirement for each unit to conduct a monthly readiness test ("Alert") with one of those alerts being a move out alert each quarter, even that was occasionally trumped by budget concerns.

Response by MSG Roy Cheever made Oct 13 at 2022 4:30 PM

MSG Roy Cheever — Thu, 13 Oct 2022 16:30:13 -0400

Field training is at the discretion of the commander. NCO’s recommend to the Commander And the commander considers budget and risk assessment, before before approving the training schedule. Always worked that way in all my units.

Response by MAJ Javier Rivera made Oct 13 at 2022 8:23 PM

MAJ Javier Rivera — Thu, 13 Oct 2022 20:23:36 -0400

Regulation? Doubt it.

Mission Requirements (METL), readiness assessments, and Commanders Guidance? You bet!

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 16 at 2022 1:02 AM

1SG Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 16 Oct 2022 01:02:47 -0400

Field training is and has always been dictated by mission requirements and /or commander's need to bring their command into mission-ready status. This is why some groups like SOCOM will likely have much more field training requirements then some support units do.

Response by CSM William Everroad made Oct 17 at 2022 2:54 PM

CSM William Everroad — Mon, 17 Oct 2022 14:54:13 -0400

SGT Private RallyPoint Member, everyone here beat me to the punch. COL Randall C. gave a complete answer for you, so make sure to reference that, but I will add a little context that you can engage your NCOIC with:

The most repeated word in each of these replies is: Commander.

The Army puts a lot of trust and responsibility in Company Commanders to get the mission done. That why command is a key development assignment for officers. Being prepared to get the mission done calls for training.

Think about it: who is responsible for evaluations? Not the 1SG and not the Command Sergeant Major. They are delegated to manage it, but it is a Commander's program. This is why all evaluations have to have an O-3 or above signature. (I know a CSM can sign too, but that is for special use cases). Doctrinally, the Commander is the first point of impact for problems and the first in line for accountability for everything in a company. Training is no different.

It can be argued that Phase 1/2 (crawl/walk) training should not be done in a field environment to maximize retention and repetition. But eventually, small unit leaders (Team/Squad/maybe Platoon) would want to practice in a field environment.

The Commander is responsible for assessing the unit's proficiency in all tasks, but there are so many, they focus on those that relate directly to Mission Essential or Directed tasks. The Commander takes input from the NCOs and Officers assigned to them, but they are the one accountable for that proficiency. Based on these assessments they develop, hopefully with input from other leaders in the unit, the training plan moving forward to not only improve areas identified for shortfalls, but maintain proficiency. This includes periodic assessments.

Assessments can be completed in different environments and come in different forms, but every so often (either by direction or regulation) some tasks must be assessed in a tactical environment with multiple operational variables. When and how often that happens depends on command training guidance, pre-planned exercises that your unit is scheduled for, and the force generation cycle. For those exercises or unit training events that have the flexibility, rehearsals for the assessment (i.e. Field Training Exercises) are sometimes tacked on in the days/weeks leading up to the assessment.

Units that have a policy that states there will be X days per quarter of field training are only doing so because they either are being directed to do so by higher, unit tradition, the Commander is inept, or they have one complex training rhythm.

Unit training management is a complex thing that is affected by lots of variables beyond a team leader/section sergeant and sometimes COmmander's control.

Response by SGM Bill Frazer made Oct 17 at 2022 8:53 PM

SGM Bill Frazer — Mon, 17 Oct 2022 20:53:49 -0400

A lot depends on your unit- 82nd works cycles 9 wks one of those 9weeks is field traing, etc.

Response by Maj John Bell made Nov 12 at 2022 4:32 PM

Maj John Bell — Sat, 12 Nov 2022 16:32:08 -0500

You and your NCOIC have way too much idle time on your hands.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 13 at 2022 1:21 AM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 13 Nov 2022 01:21:10 -0500

There is one. Money.