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Peacekeeping operations in Kosovo make it extremely difficult to maintain collective combat skills. Units are challenged during any peacekeeping operation to maintain individual skills of rifle marksmanship, physical training, and to keep an aggressive warrior mentality. A solution was developed to create a Military Operations on Urban Terrain (MOUT) Academy within the company. This training took one platoon away from the company standard sector patrols for a 10-day period and provided the platoon a great opportunity to hone their warfighting skills.
The base model of the 10-day training cycle was developed from a similar training program used by the U.S. Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory. The USMC Warfighting Laboratory was very helpful and sent us electronic copies of the course program of instruction (POI) and copies of the individual class slides. Using this as a base product, the company officers reviewed the POI in conjunction with the current company MOUT strengths, weaknesses, and resources available and were able to develop a POI adaptable to the company in Kosovo.
The base POI consisted of a five-day classroom instruction along with practical exercise to re-enforce each day's instruction. In addition, the five days of instruction was incremental for the platoon's Soldiers and leaders. The first day started teaching basic weapons carry, engagement, and movement techniques, and culminated on the last day with how to plan and conduct platoon level mechanized and armor operations in an urban environment. This program was able to instruct not only the leaders of the platoon, but the Soldiers in both basic skills and leadership employment - something needed by all members of the platoon during fast paced urban combat operations.
One key shortage for the Soldiers stationed at Camp Monteith was the lack of rehearsal facilities for practical exercises. Soldiers could practice on the office spaces and living spaces provided to the company in the sea-huts, however to provide a variety of room dimensions rooms had to be fabricated. Fabricated rooms were developed by a simple method of building wood stands and...