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PUSAN, Republic of Korea -- The
Republic of Korea (ROK) Navy and the U.S. Navy adapted a traditional
ground training method called a Rehearsal of Concept (ROC) drill to
help prepare for Operational Control transfer, scheduled for April
2012.
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A ROC drill is a tool that ground force
commanders use to synchronize, align and coordinate their forces on
a terrain model. The ROK/U.S. Navy team adapted this concept for a
maritime environment. The team determined that the best place to
build the Navy “terrain” model was on the floor of the drained
Olympic sized pool on the Commander, ROK Naval Base in Pusan.
Building an accurate geographical representation of the Korean
Peninsula, Japan, China and the surrounding waters seemed daunting
until the team realized that the pool tiles provided a built-in
grid.
“I don’t know the scale, but I can show you how we did it,” said
U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Van “Hobo” Davidson, a ROC operational
planning team member from Commander, U.S. 7th Fleet. “It was like a
project in first grade where you just transfer what is in a square
on the chart to the larger grid on the floor.”
After the terrain was laid out, each task force positioned a placard
with their assets in the appropriate location. Even though the set
up may look similar, a ROC drill is not a war game.
During the ROC drill, action officers representing each task force
and mission area all gathered on the pool floor, said Davidson. Then
each component talked about where they are physically, their
mission, and the support they need from other components. In the
drill, each component acknowledged the request for support and
confirmed they could provide the services requested.
“The first couple of ROC drills were the most beneficial,” said
Cmdr. David “Francis” Morales, from Commander, Logistics Group
Western Pacific, acting as the CTG 773 during the operational
planning team. “We identified some seams and some places where we
were over tasked. Then we were able to work to correct those areas.”
Identifying places that need to be modified is not enough; all
changes must be documented. In the “Work Room” at Commander, ROK
Fleet Headquarters Building, ROK and U.S. service members sit at
computers grouped by functional areas typing and revising their part
of the plan.
“Working in such close proximity allows us to reach out and cross
pollinate ideas,” said Cmdr. Rich “Grumpy” Keltner, an operational
planning team member. “An added benefit is that personal
relationships we have developed with our ROK counterparts. The ROKs
are extremely gracious hosts.”
This planning team is a culmination of more than ten months of
effort. April 2008, a similar team with both ROK and U.S. Navy
officers met in Yokosuka, Japan. After working individually, the
January 2009 team is responsible for taking inputs from the
individual components and putting them all together into one
comprehensive document that is consistent throughout.
“It is not a glamorous job, but someone has to do it, and fast,”
said Keltner. “You have to be aggressive. We do not have the luxury
of taking one to two years to work on a plan.”
The operational planning team ended with one last ROC drill in the
bottom of the pool to show their commanders the results of their
three-week effort. |
