Highland Laddie,
You will indeed be issued a laptop with the ATOC DL material on a CD-ROM upon your arrival. So, no worries there.
There are no "field" portions of the ATOC course. It is based on progressive Syndicate Discussion (DI) of a given tactical problem, followed by a TEWT of that exact same problem on the genuine ground, followed by exercising of the syndicate solution of that same problem in the JCATS (JANUS) C3 simulator. All of that to say, you will not be spending evenings in the training area, nor will you be commanding anything other than your syndicate peers in a JCATS simulator environment. Trust me however, the progressive challenge will be quite enough without the physical "hands-on" of commanding the real deal. We save that for the annual Combined Arms Team Commander's Course. Mark my words - you will be FULLY challenged and engaged with the system that we have established.
Because the ATOC TEWTs all occur outside of the Gagetown training area on civilian land, you will not be tied to the CTC policy of "fighting order beyond the water-tower. You do not require webbing/Tac Vest, nor do you need a helmet or respirator to attend the course. This should have been made clear to you in the joining instruction, but it if wasn't then please let me know and I will sort that out. What you will need is PT gear for both indoor and outdoor physical training. We have 6 sessions during a typical 10-day ATOC cycle.
Your preparation for ATOC Residence consists solely of having a firm grasp of the doctrinal concepts and the detailed TTPs presented in the internet-based DL package. If you have that material "cold", then you will be well-positioned to do well during Residence. A thorough grounding in the DL material is the funamental enabler for success during Residence, full-stop. Suffice it to say that you cannot progress, nor absorb new concepts if you do not have a basic grounding in the fundamentals - of which common terminology is a huge part.
We don't expect you to necessarily know how to apply the Combat Estimate process to the planning of a combined-arms team (eg. Combat Team) in the various tactical operations of war. Quite frankly, if you did there would be little point in showing up. What we DO expect you to know (stone-cold) are the various steps of the Combat Estimate process and how to take a given fact, relate it to the applicable "estimate factor", and then "mine" that fact to derive a substantive task or consideration that affects your tactical plan. The old "so what?" resulting in a substantive requirement to take action, task a sub-element, etc. Your ability to conduct an effective and comprehensive Mission Analysis will also be key.
At the end of the day, we don't expect you to show up on a Res F ATOC serial "totally gripped". It simply will not happen. All we ask is that you do your best to treat the preparatory DL material seriously, and absorb as much as you can. If nothing else, learn the doctrinally-correct terminology so that when your DS says "Secure", you know what that particular Mission-Task Verb truly means. This may come as a surprise to many, but "Defend" is not an acceptable mission-task verb. It does not exist in the NATO lexicon. You have to be far more specific.
At the end of the day, if you simply "don't get it" from the DL package, then don't worry. We will teach/coach/mentor/cajole you to the point that the light clicks on. That is what we do, and I must say that we are exceedingly good at it.
Don't panic. We will take very good care of you. As I said earlier, you will be overwhelmed at first. However, experience tells me that you will soon settle down and start to absorb what you are being taught largely by practical application. Don't kill yourself during the DL phase, but by the same token you would be an utter fool to give that package short-shrift. You will be utterly useless to the rest of your combined-arms syndicate of students if you show up without a frigging clue and not even speaking the same doctrinally-correct language. Put in the recommended DL time, and you will accrue the resultant benefit. End of story.
As I said, I look forward to seeing you here in Gagetown this summer. Work reasonably hard between now and then on mastering the DL content. That way, you will at least start the Residency on an even keel. After that, your comparative performance will entirely depend upon your ability to assimilate new information and immediately exploit it to achieve tactical success. Full-stop. We don't give out "freebies", but we do quite readily (and happily) recognize tactical competence. Where you fit into the mix? Well, that remains to be seen! But at the end of the day, you have zero to fear in coming to the Tactics School. We are NOT the Infantry School, which has a certain "weeding out" function to fulfull. We expect that by the time you reach us? You are a proven commodity and we exist solely to hone and ehance your skills - full-stop. We will willingly mentor and coach you to success if you are not yet capable of carrying the ball yourself. That is our fundamental purpose in life.
In case you haven't already heard, nobody "fails" at Tactics School. Show up, do your professional best, and you have "passed". You compete with yourself, against a set standard. There is no peer competition, nor is there any formal grading "A, B, C, etc". Having said that, your descriptive course report will very clearly indicate your abilities in the "5 vital skills" - Leadership/Command Presence, Decision-Making Skills, Communication Skills, Organizational Skills, and Tactical Acumen. The short form is that this course will be like none that you have ever experienced to date. Our interest lies solely in improving your professional abilities, while at the same time formally introducing you (through forced syndicate interaction) to what the other combat arms do for a living. If you consider ATOC Residency a formalized "professional development opportunity" of 2 weeks duration with a structured and DS-led curriculum, then you are thinking along the right track - because that is precisely what this "course" is. There is no "pass/fail". There is only the training opportunity. And trust me - we will bend over backwards to provide you with the absolute best possible training opportunity that we can. As the Tac Sch Chief Instructor, you have my professional word that we will make it so. Full-stop.
Once again, I look forward to seeing you out here in Gagetown. Trust me when I say that you will not regret the experience. This ain't "Phase Training" Toto. This is adult learning. Which (to be honest) some may find even MORE challenging. At the end of the day, you will have to answer for your dicked-up plans to your own PEERS, not just the instructors. And I'm here to tell you that no one is less merciful than your own syndicate mates. We DS have input, but at the end of the day we can get everything we need by just sitting back and watching the syndicate interaction. Human interaction at its finest....
C'mon out to Tac Sch. We're glad to train you. Chances are, it will be the most illuminating and challenging 2 weeks of your Res F service to date. No Bull-crap.
Cheers,
Mark
