Page 92 - Light Dragoons 2023 CREST

The Combat Manoeuvre Centre came into being on the 1st of July 2022, tasked with improving Combined Arms Manoeuvre proficiency across the Field Army; a critical responsibility after decades of campaigning. The need for the CMC has become more pertinent after the inevitable loss of proficiency in skills that might have been considered second nature to those serv- ing during the Cold War. The principal tools provided to the CMC to deliver this change in mindset, and increased proficiency, were the Army’s existing individual training schools - the Armour Centre at Bovington (now CMC Bovington), the Infantry Battle School at Brecon, the Reconnaissance and Armoured Tactics Division and the Support Weapons School at Warminster, the latter two of which amalgamated on the creation of the CMC to become the Combat Manoeuvre School (CAMS).
Changes to the way in which we have tra- ditionally delivered training are critical for a smaller yet permanently committed Field Army. This is in order to reap the benefits presented by advanced new capa- bilities entering service and to overcome the threats presented by the novel use of
new technologies. The cohering func- tion of a new 1* Headquarters has driven immediate change to ensure that the courses delivered to initial and subsequent trade training have a specific focus. This is aimed at the immediate threat, correctly considered urban and near surface (includ- ing small UAS) domains and reinvigorated requirements for combat identification by all ranks. The more recent transfer of HQ SASC and the policy branch for Counter CBRN capability to the CMC provides the opportunity for even greater SME driven update to the training delivered by our courses. The increasing capability of the CMC is already resulting in new pilots to update existing training courses and review principles on how to deliver training on Ajax, Boxer and subsequently Challenger 3. New training progressions and field-based training exercises (Ex IRON CYCLONE and Ex COMBINED WARRIOR) are being designed to enhance exposure to combined arms manoeuvre as part of critical combat courses. These incorporate non-combat arms participa- tion opportunities to prepare all soldiers and officers in a Battle Group for combined arms battle. This will further enhance the
CMC’s authority as the Field Army’s pro- ponent for combined arms manoeuvre.
I was selected for appointment as Commander ARMCEN in the Spring of 2022. The role of Deputy Commander CMC that I assumed in the Autumn of 2022 has given me far broader exposure to the many hundreds of courses delivered by the Land Warfare Centre and the requirement for change. If you are already heading to one of the CMC Schools as an Instructor, look forward to the challenge and be ready to add your own experiences and input in order to adapt training for the future. If you have not yet volunteered, and you are due to depart RD in the coming year, I encourage you to consider appointments at the CMC. You will have the opportunity to make immediate changes to training to prepare the Army’s personnel for success on the future battlefield. There is no more important business – and you can escape the omnipresent MODNET, continue to work with soldiers and officers from across the Field Army and wear cam cream, hel- met, body armour and webbing in ‘the office’...
JG
The Regimental Journal of The Light Dragoons
The Combat Manoeuvre Centre – An engine for change
Everybody is interested in what the CMC does
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