Provisional teams reconstruction tool

 By LT. COL. ROBERT CURTIN
4th Cavalry Brigade
The 4th Cavalry Brigade conducts Provincial Reconstruction Team post-mobilization training at Camp Atterbury Joint Maneuver Training Center in Indiana. A PRT is a unit consisting of officers and enlisted personnel from the Army, Navy and Air Force, with each team member being a subject matter expert in a particular field, to include engineering and civil affairs. Each PRT is also augmented by a security force platoon of National Guard Soldiers. The PRTs deploy into theater for nine months and work closely with other agencies to support reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan and are the primary civil-military relations tool in Operation Enduring Freedom.
The ability of PRT units to effectively conduct their war time mission can be attributed to the rigid certification program each unit must undergo with the assistance of the 4th Cavalry Brigade trainers and mentors. Upon mobilization, the Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen are assigned to teams and sent to Camp Atterbury to conduct a rigorous 76-day train up and validation prior to deployment. One of the key components of the validation process are the Situational Training Exercise lanes. STX lanes are designed to provide the unit with a realistic training environment and training opportunities that implement and develop situations and scenarios where the PRT leadership exercises command and control of their units, while providing the capability to exercise the military decision-making process in those situations and scenarios.
The training of PRTs during STX lanes is demanding. Significant challenges stem from the fact that the individual leaders of each PRT have a varying amount of experience, and each leader makes individual decisions depending on his or her individual unit’s capabilities. As a result, 4th Cavalry Brigade trainers are required to adapt their training strategy to compensate for the individual PRT commander’s leadership style. One way to overcome these challenges is through the after action review process.
Once a STX lane is complete, the 4th Cavalry Brigade trainers who set up and led the training on the lane conduct a thorough AAR with the PRT. During the AAR the trainer meets with the PRT and discusses in great detail the STX lane and how the STX was accomplished in relation to all training objectives. Once the objectives are discussed, each trainer leads the unit through a self-discovering evaluation wherein units determine the actions needing to be improved upon, and identify those actions which worked well and should be sustained.
This process allows the commander and the PRT leadership to conduct an honest self-assessment and make changes that will enhance their mission capability. The STX lanes and the AAR play a significant role in PRT success. The training allows the PRT commanders flexibility to command their units, as well as ensuring PRTs meet their overarching objectives of learning how to improve security, extend the authority of the Afghan central government, and to facilitate reconstruction.
While the training areas of Camp Atterbury may not resemble the battlefield in every detail, the 4th Cavalry Brigade trainers make every effort to ensure the exercises are as realistic as possible. In many cases it is not the battlefield that matters the most but instead, it is the preparation one takes prior to entering the battlefield and recognizing the constants that go with each fight regardless of the location. The 4th Cavalry Brigade, through teaching, coaching, and mentoring, provide these PRTs with the necessary skills needed to fight and win.