The Right Way To Rehearse At NTC

For years, observer coach trainers (OC/ Ts) at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, Calif., have been giving units the same feedback after their rehearsals, “That was a pretty good back-brief, but it sure wasn’t a rehearsal.”

- Lt. Col. Jonathan Shine

When I came to the NTC as a fire support coordinator (FSCOORD), I was determined that I was not going to get that observation from my OC/T. I soon realized, however, that I did not really know what the difference was, or why it mattered. Even when I completed my rotation, I knew that I was not conducting effective rehearsals, but I did not have model of “what right looks like” to draw on. During my year as Wolf 07, the senior FA/Fires OC/T, I have observed similar struggles with enough FSCOORDs to believe that this trend persists. Why?

The simplest explanation for why a planned rehearsal turns into a back-brief is that a rehearsal requires all participants to fully understand the plan from the beginning. With the extremely short timelines of action at the NTC, this is a luxury few units can achieve. In that case, a back-brief is absolutely necessary. As a force, we have embraced the importance of rehearsals, but we place less emphasis on back-briefs as scheduled events prior to operations. Trying to rehearse a plan that is poorly understood is a waste of time. In a time-constrained environment, the FSCOORD may have to accept that a back-brief is the best the team can accomplish prior to the technical rehearsal. Think of it like sports