Combat Training Centers Training For Full Spectrum Operations

The changing strategic environment has necessitated a shift in Army training from traditional maneuver warfare to full-spectrum operations to defeat irregular, catastrophic, and disruptive challenges more effectively. The problem is that full-spectrum operations have replaced traditional warfare training at the National Training Center (NTC) and Joint Multinational Readiness Center (JMRC) instead of complementing or augmenting it. Thus, the central research question of this thesis is as follows: Do the training models at the JMRC and NTC train maneuver units for certain portions of the full spectrum of military operations at the expense of other critical tasks? The study traces the source of training guidance from The National Security Strategy to The Quadrennial Defense Review Report to The Army Plan and eventually to Forces Command and United States Army Europe. It uses two examples of unit rotations (one at NTC and historical data from JMRC) to serve as sources of comparison between strategic guidance, operational direction, and tactical employment of full spectrum training. Both examples reveal a focus on training to defeat insurgencies at the expense of traditional expertise.