Army “Live-Fire” Training Video
Major Steckleson
U.S. Army Background
Department of
Defense
Army
Navy
Air
Force
• Operates in 146 countries
• Over 3 million employees
• $371 billion budget
Marines
US Army vs. The World
US Army vs. The World
 Size of the army by number of active troops
Flag
State
Total
Vietnam
10,564,000
China
7,024,000
North Korea
5,995,000
South Korea
4,210,000
India
3,973,300
Russia
3,796,100
United States
3,385,400
Pakistan
1,449,500
Egypt
1,109,000
Turkey
1,042,700
Iran
1,005,000
Challenges Facing the Army
•
•
•
•
Changing competitive environment
Emerging technologies
Massive turnover of employees
Budget cuts and downsizing
Size of army reduced by 2/3
History of National Training Center
 Native Americans inhabited the lake
Mojave area, currently Fort Irwin, 15,000
years ago
 1940, President Franklin D. Roosevelt
established the Mojave Anti-Aircraft
Range
 1951 Camp Irwin opened as an Armored
Combat Training area for Korean war
troops
 1979 NTC opened
NTC Mission
 1979 Mission Statement:
• “NTC trains and transforms the Army by
conducting force-on-force and live-fire
training for ground and aviation brigades in a
joint scenario across the spectrum of
conflict.”
 2001 Mission Statement:
• “National Training Center has transformed to
focus on continuous counterinsurgency
operations that reflect the ongoing and
rapidly changing battlefield.”\
• Video
External Conditions
 Training Area
 Trainers
 Program Design
NTC Training Area
 Mojave desert
 Rough Terrain
 Scorching temperatures ranging from 110
to 121 degrees centigrade
 Away from urban environments
NTC Trainers
 Staffed with 700 professional including
Observer-Controller (OC)’s
 OC’s are normally individuals who have a great
wealth of knowledge due to their experiences
 OC’s provide close oversight that lead to intense
learning experiences and they pressure trainees to
perform at their best
NTC’s Program Design

Two week battle training is split between
“force-on-force” and “live-fire” training
What is “force-on-force”?
 Units fight “freethinking” opposing forces
OPFOR
 OPFOR vehicles are equipped with multiple
integrated laser engagement system (MILES)
and detection belts
 The vehicles are linked with GPS and tracked
by a central computer center
 This technology interfaces with MILES
continuously tracks all shots, casualty
statistics, and other vital metrics
HOW DOES THE 3RD
SQUADRPON DO IN
THE FORCE ON
FORCE?
Army “Live-Fire” Training Video
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PX
WiGgdaYsc
After Action Review
 What is an AAR?
• A structured conversation about a recent
experience that enables members of a
unit to learn from their mistakes and
successes
After Action Review
 All levels of the military
 Core of the Army’s organizational
learning framework
 Primary tool for continuous
improvement
Key Point
 Everything is a learning opportunity
 “The only real failure is the failure to
learn”
• General Sullivan, U.S. Army, retired
The AAR: Roles of Key Individuals

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Major James Steckleson
Lieutenant Colonel Tom Hanson
Major Jim Straight
Captain Flip Finnegan
Second Lieutenant Hank Smith
OC’s Role at an AAR
 Promote an atmosphere of open
discussion
 Guiding objectives
 Raises key performance issues
 Analyzes strong performances
 Facilitates the discussion
Did Major Steckleson complete
his role successfully?
2LT Hank Smith, CPT Flip
Finnegan, & LTC Tom Hanson
 What were the contributions to
AAR from the officers listed?
 What were their attitudes during
the AAR?
 Do you agree with the way they
handled the AAR meeting?
 What do you think Steckleson
thought of Smith, Hanson, and
Finnegan?
The AAR Process
1.
2.
3.
4.
What did we set out to do?
What happened?
Why did it happen?
What are we going to do about it?
Was the AAR Process a Success?
Why or Why not?
An AAR SHOULD Be….
 Leader - guided
 Soldier - centered
 Focused on learning
objectives
 Frequent
 Not a lecture
 Not a discussion of
minor events
 Not a gripe session
 Not intended to
embarrass anyone
A Leadership Development Tool
What is CALL?
 Center for Army Lessons Learned
 70 personnel
 Responsible for spreading the
learning throughout entire
organization
 Members develop expertise and
become content experts in specific
areas
The difference between CALL and
AAR
 CALL
• Learning from the experience of
others
AAR
• Learning from one’s own experience
BONUS
QUESTION!!!!!
Which Learning Theory is
Implemented at CALL? At the AAR?


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Goal setting theory
Expectancy theory
Social learning theory
Adult learning theory
Reinforcement theory
 At CALL
• Social Learning Theory
 At AAR
• Reinforcement Theory
LEARNING
THEORY
What is Learning?
 A relatively permanent
change in human
capabilities that is not a
result of growth processes
Break Out Groups
 Are these conditions required for
learning present in the AAR?
• Opportunities to practice and receive
feedback
• Meaningful training content
• Prerequisite knowledge to successfully
complete the program
• Opportunity to learn through observation
and experience
How do we measure learning?
LEARNING OUTCOMES
Learning Outcomes
 Verbal Information
• Describe previously stored information
• Facts
 Intellectual Skills
• Apply general concepts and rules to
problem solving
• Analytical and critical thinking skills
 Motor Skills
• Execute of physical action with precision
and timing
• Combat training
Learning Outcomes
 Attitudes
• Personal course of action
• Beliefs
• Feelings
 Cognitive Strategies
• Individual thinking and learning
processes
• Method of memorization
Which Outcomes are Relevant to
the AAR?
Verbal
Information
Cognitive
Strategies
Attitudes
Intellectual
Skills
Motor Skills
LEARNING THEORY:
HOW IT INFORMS
LEARNING FROM THE
AAR
Learning Theories

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Reinforcement Theory
Social Learning Theory
Goal Setting Theory
Need Theory
Expectancy Theory
Adult Learning Theory
Information Processing Theory
Break Out Groups
 Break into groups
 Each group assigned a single learning
theory
 Review the case in conjunction with the
learning theory and answer the
following:
• What does this theory say about learning in
general?
• What does this theory suggest about how
and whether learning might occur during the
AAR?
 Report Out
Reinforcement Theory
 People perform or avoid behaviors
because of past outcomes that have
resulted from those behaviors
• positive reinforcement
• negative reinforcement
 Trainers need to identify what outcomes
learners finds most positive (and negative) for
learners to:
• acquire knowledge
• change behavior
• modify skills
Social Learning Theory
 People learn by observing others (models)
whom they believe are credible and
knowledgeable
 Behavior that is reinforced tends to be
repeated
 The models’ behavior that is rewarded is
adopted by the observer
 Learning comes from:
• directly experiencing the consequences of
behavior or
• seeing the consequences of observed other’s
behavior
Self-Efficacy
 A judgment about whether he or she can
successfully learn knowledge and skills
 Self-efficacy can be increased using:
• verbal persuasion – offering words of
encouragement to convince others they can
learn
• logical verification – perceiving a relationship
between a new task and a task already mastered
• observation of others (modeling) – having
employees who already have mastered the
learning outcomes demonstrate them for
trainees
• past accomplishments – allowing employees to
build a history of successful accomplishments
Goal Setting Theory
 Behavior results from conscious
goals and intentions
 Goals influence behavior by:
• directing energy and attention
• sustaining effort over time
• motivating the person to develop
strategies for goal attainment
The Best Goals
Effective
Goals
Specific
S
Measurable
M
Attainable
A
Realistic
R
Time-Bound
T
Goal Orientation
 Refers to goals held by trainee in a
learning situation
• learning orientation – relates to trying to
increase ability or competence in a task
• performance orientation – refers to a
focus of learners on task performance
and how they compare to others
 Who learns more and performs better
at job-related tasks?
Need Theories
 Explains the value that a person places
on certain outcomes
• need – a deficiency that a person is
experiencing at any point in time.
 Suggest that to motivate learning:
• trainers should identify trainees’ needs, and
• communicate how training program content
relates to fulfilling these needs
 If the basic needs of trainees are not met,
they are unlikely to be motivated to learn
Expectancy Theory
 Suggests that learning is most likely
to occur when employees believe:
• they can learn the content of the program
(expectancy)
• learning is linked to outcomes such as
better job performance, a salary increase,
or peer recognition (instrumentality)
• employees value these outcomes
(valence)
Expectancy Theory of Motivation
Expectancy
Effort
Performance
Does Trainee
Have Ability to
Learn?
Does Trainee
Believe He Can
Learn?
X
Instrumentality
Performance
Outcome
Does Trainee
Believe Training
Outcomes
Promised Will
Be Delivered?
X
Valance
= Effort
Value of Outcome
Are Outcomes
Related to
Training
Valued?
Adult Learning Theory
 It is based on several assumptions:
• adults need to know why they are
learning something
• adults need to be self-directed
• adults bring more work-related
experiences into the learning situation
• adults approach learning with a problemcentered approach
• adults are motivated to learn by both
extrinsic and intrinsic motivators
Information Processing Theory
 Cognitive processes that occur during
learning are influenced by external events
• increased freq of material exposure enhances
attention
• verbal instructions, pictures, diagrams, and
maps suggesting ways to code the training
content so that it can be stored in memory
• meaningful learning context (examples,
problems) creating cues that facilitate coding
• demonstration or verbal instructions helping to
organize the learner’s response as well as
facilitating the selection of the correct response
Reinforcement Theory
 Motivated to perform or avoid
certain behaviors based on past
outcomes that have resulted from
these behaviors
•
•
•
•
Positive reinforcement
Negative reinforcement
Extinction
Behavior modification training
Social Learning Theory
 Learning by observation of others
 Rewarded behavior will be repeated
 Learning new skills comes from
• Experience with that behavior or skill
• Observation of others using that
behavior or skill
• Self-efficacy important to successful
learning
Goal Setting Theory
 Goals direct effort toward
particular behavior
 Goal Orientation
• Individual goals of each learning
situation
• Learning Orientation
• Increase ability or competence in a task
• Performance Orientation
• Focus on task performance in
comparison to others
Need Theory
 Explain the value a person places on
certain outcomes
 Need
• Current or past deficiency experienced
• Need drives behavior
 Maslow’s Need Theory
Expectancy Theory
 Behavior is based on three factors
1. Expectancy
–
Correlation between attempting to perform
and actually performing a behavior
2. Instrumentality
–
Belief that performing a given behavior will
yield a certain outcome
3. Valence
–
Value placed on an outcome
Adult Learning Theory
 Andragogy is the theory of adult
learning
 Model assumptions
• Need to know why you are learning
• Need to be self-directed
• Bring work related experiences into the
learning environment
• Enter the learning environment with a
problem centered approach
• Motivated to learn by extrinsic and
intrinsic factors
Information Processing Theory
 Emphases on internal processes
 Response generated relates to the five
learning outcomes
•
•
•
•
•
Verbal information
Cognitive skills
Motor skills
Intellectual skills
Attitudes
 Feedback completes the model cycle