New Products from CALL

It is hard to believe it is already August and I am coming up on one year as the CALL Director. What a rewarding experience it has been! I am especially proud of the work being done by the CALL/TRADOC/Europe collection and analysis team in support of USAREUR-AF. We are in the process of adjusting the team composition in Germany based on the completion of our initial collection objectives. We are especially thankful for the continued outstanding support from the TRADOC Centers of Excellence and other interested agencies, and we will continue to focus the collection on lessons from U.S. Army operations in response to the situation in Ukraine. I know there is a tremendous demand for, and interest in, lessons and best practices from direct combat in the Ukraine; however, CALL is limited to the information we can gather from OSINT and other indirect sources for review and analysis. While it is tempting to make hasty conclusions from these unverified sources, CALL is taking a very deliberate approach to developing any lessons from the actual fight. We are sharing these through limited forums, but we will share more broadly once we are able to do so.

In other news, be on the lookout for the FY23 Army Lessons Learned Annual Plan (ALLAP), which is at the HQDA DCS G-3/5/7 for electronic release in a HQDA EXORD probably within the next week. All ACOMs, ASCCs, DRUs, and key players within the lessons learned community concurred with the FY23 ALLAP, which will set our azimuth for focused topics and collection activity starting in two months. As always, CALL and the lessons learned community will remain flexible to adjust the plan and shift resources based on Army Senior Leader guidance and directives. This is how we remain relevant and responsive to the Army's needs.

Finally, we are in the normal summer transition period here at CALL and undoubtedly across the entire lessons learned community. Please let us know if there are any new email addresses to add (or delete) from this recurring note so we can keep the communication channels open.


---------------------------------Other Announcements---------------------------------
1. Doctrine. Army Techniques Publication (ATP) 3-06/Marine Corps Techniques Publication (MCTP) 12-10B, Urban Operations (JUL 22). This publication is a dual-designated Army and Marine Corps manual that provides Soldiers and Marines with many of the concepts and techniques associated with conducting urban operations. Available for download at Army Publishing Directorate https://armypubs.army.mil/epubs/DR_pubs/DR_a/ARN35826-ATP_3-06-000-WEB-1.pdf.

2. Documentaries. Army University Press (AUP) Films recently released “Near Peer: China." The film examines the Chinese military, with subject matter experts discussing Chinese history, current affairs, and military doctrine. The topics range from Mao to the PLA to recent advances in military technologies.  Viewable at https://youtu.be/i7JcAvnbRtE.

Newest Documents and Publications:
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22-657 Sustainment in Support of Large-Scale Combat Operations.
Posted On: 12 Jul 2022.
URL: https://call2.army.mil/toc.aspx?document=18211
JLLIS URL: https://www.jllis.mil/index.cfm?disp=cdrview.cfm&doit=view&cdrid=173480
Based on observations from leaders at the National Training Center, this publication takes a  deep-dive into the sustainment process. It highlights both great successes and bitter shortfalls from rotations over the past several years. While many topics are conceptual in nature, the authors placed great effort in providing a way, method, technique, and/or template for sustainers and maneuverists alike to find success as they plan, prepare, and train for large-scale combat operations (LSCO).

22-729 Army Security Force Assistance Newsletter.
Posted On: 14 Jul 2022.
URL: https://call2.army.mil/toc.aspx?document=18212
JLLIS URL: https://www.jllis.mil/index.cfm?disp=cdrview.cfm&doit=view&cdrid=173486
The Security Force Assistance Newsletter pulls together seven "must-read" articles on security force assistance operations.

22-721 Creating Shared Understanding: Tools, Challenges, and Minimum Requirements.
Posted On: 15 Jul 2022.
URL: https://call2.army.mil/toc.aspx?document=18213
JLLIS URL: https://www.jllis.mil/index.cfm?disp=cdrview.cfm&doit=view&cdrid=173507
Lessons from Warfighter Exercises have demonstrated that units and staffs struggle to create shared understanding of the battlefield situation during LSCO. This challenge leads to many negative consequences that commanders and staffs must continuously work to overcome. This article offers a mitigating solution to address this challenge. The article first discusses shared understanding according to doctrine, highlighting the tools and processes units typically rely on to create it. Next, it describes the two main issues that inhibit shared understanding, reviewing both of their impacts on the tools/processes and their causes/contributing factors. Finally, this article offers a recommendation to alleviate this problem: Commanders should personally write and publish both their described visualization and their intent as a daily minimum requirement for shared understanding.

v/r,
SCOTT W. MUELLER
COL, AR
Director, Center for Army Lessons Learned