Page 37 - The Cormorant Issue 24 Crest Publications

Exercise ALTEAN DESTINY – Leadership, Content, and Process Lt Col Marc Nolte
ACSC 24’S FIRST MULTI-DAY planning exercise, ALTEAN DESTINY, took place in late June. After we had spent a week of preparation dealing with the leadership process at the operational level we were allowed to try it out for ourselves. This time, however, we worked not only in the familiar environment of our syndicates, but grouped into larger Joint Operational Planning Groups (JOPGs). From the Chief of Staff to the Information Manager, all positions were filled by students – under the watchful eyes of the DS, of course. The Commanders of the various JOPGs were not from ACSC but rather retired 2* senior officers who assisted the mentoring and coaching effort.
With a fictitious scenario in Africa, which we already knew from previous exercises, we found ourselves
on the first Monday morning with a situation that required a Combined Joint Task Force to act. Now we had to quickly find each other as a team, familiarise ourselves with the operating environment, and get down to the task at hand; after all, the evenings were already planned out due to the European Football Championship. So with lots of ideas and momentum,
the mission was analysed on Monday and the first ideas were worked out before the first milestone was reached on Tuesday with the Mission Analysis Brief.
Finding the right balance between content and presentation style was a balancing act, and one
that varied between JOPGs. But this brief was really only the beginning of the work, because thereafter concrete courses of action had to be worked out for the Commander on how the tasks should now be solved. How should the Commander’s idea be put into concrete terms? What were the possibilities? Where were the limits? What were the risks and, above all, the opportunities? Based on a wargame, two very good courses of action were proposed
by each JOPG to each Commander at the end of
the week, so that he was spoilt for choice. A week with many new experiences: new content, new process, group dynamics through new syndicates – a thoroughly worthwhile event.
“Finding the right balance between content
and presentation style was a balancing act
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