Page 2 - Ft. Irwin High Desert Warrior Jul 1 2016

High Desert Warrior www.aerotechnews.com/ntcfortirwin
2 July 1, 2016
Army Values
Bronco 71Team Leverages‘Unique’
Warfighting Capabilities at NTC
Story by Army Sgt. 1st Class Tyrone C. Marshall Jr.
Operations Group, National Training Center
FORT IRWIN, Calif. – e National Training Center is re-
nowned for its reputation as a tough, realistic combat training venue
that prepares Brigade Combat Teams and uni ed action partners
for a full range of military operations.
Bronco Team, Operations Group, serves as the primary Observer/
Controller Trainer team for coaching, teaching and mentoring BCT
commanders and their sta s. While the team oversees the execution
of combined arms doctrine, it also has the unique responsibility of
mentoring non-lethal sta sections, which also provides Informa-
tion-Related Capabilities.
is job falls to the Bronco 71 Team, which mentors those warf-
ighting capabilities that are not kinetic in nature – meaning physical
force is not required for them to be e ective – such as Information
Operations, Civil Military Operations and Psychological Operations.
Army Maj. Lucas Overstreet, senior Information Operations and
Civil Military Trainer for Bronco Team, discussed the importance
of non-lethal e ects.
“ e non-lethal aspect of modern warfare on the modern battle-
eld kind of plays to the strategic e ects of what happens at the end
of a war,” Overstreet said. “Because you’ve seen in history – just recent
history in America [such as] Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan – you
can win every tactical battle, you can do all sorts of things in the
operational realm, but if you’re not in uencing the civilian popula-
tion, if you’re not in uencing the perception of what’s going on, you
can lose the war, and not achieve your strategic goals.”
“So NTC is one of the few opportunities you have in the Army
to really integrate your non-lethal enablers … to integrate them into
a maneuver unit where they are doing operations against a dynamic
force or dynamic enemy,” Overstreet said.
Overstreet noted there aren’t very many places in the Army to
conduct large-scale operations with a complex civil, non-lethal and
information environment that can be shaped to in uence tactical
and strategic operations.
For instance, Overstreet said, the Bronco 71 Team leads scenarios
for tasks such as Noncombatant Evacuation Operations, Internally
Displaced Persons movements and anything dealing with the civil
environment and the cultural aspects of a complex scenario.
“[ ose] are the type of problems that if you address one issue, you
create a problem somewhere else,” Overstreet said. “And if you try
to address that other problem you created, it enhances the problem
somewhere else. ere’s no perfect solution to it.”
Overstreet also said he “absolutely” feels the Bronco Team has a
unique mission training IRC enablers.
“With the decisive action mindset,” Overstreet said, “and the
Army core competencies of wide area security and combined arms
maneuver, this is a place where a BCT with enablers – with attach-
ments, a robust organization – can practice full spectrum operations.”
One of the challenges the ve-man Bronco 71 Team faces is
integrating the Civil A airs and PYSOP teams into the brigade’s
large-scale operations because they are non-organic and come to
NTC from a reserve unit -- U.S. Army Civil A airs and Psychological
Operations Command.
It’s a challenge trying to integrate anybody from any external unit,
but especially units that don’t train on this every single day and have
a limited amount of training days per year, Overstreet said.
Bronco 71 Team also focuses on conducting a critical skill neces-
sary to strategic e ectiveness – Key Leader Engagements.
“One of our primary functions is to conduct KLEs with the goal
of in uencing our target audience,” said Army Capt. Steve Wright,
a PSYOP OC/T for Bronco Team.
For more information go to www.irwin.army.mil
WHO WE ARE
Maj. Gen. Joseph Martin
Commanding General
Command Sgt. Maj. Edison Rebuck
Post CSM
Col. Scott Taylor
Garrison Commander
Command Sgt. Maj. Daniel O’Brien
Garrison CSM
Darryl Darden
Public A airs Director
High Desert Warrior Sta
Ken Drylie, Editor
(760) 380-3073
Leslie Ozawa, Sta Writer/Photographer
(760) 380-3450
Jason Miller, Sta Writer/Photographer
(760) 380-3073
Agustin Rodriguez, Editorial Assistant
agustin.rodriguez1@us.army.mil
Aerotech News
Emma Uribe, Graphic Designer
HIGH DESERT WARRIOR
U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Tyrone C. Marshall Jr., Operations Group, National Training Center
High Desert Warrior, a civilian enterprise newspaper, is
Army Capt. Steven Wright, center, and Sgt. 1st Class Nathan an authorized publication for members of the United
Francis, both Psychological Operation Observer/Coach Trainers, States Army and Fort Irwin community. Contents of this
Bronco Team, Operations Group, conduct an After Action Review newspaper are not necessarily o cial view of, or en-
with a PSYOP team at the National Training Center on Fort Irwin, dorsed by, the U.S. Government, Department of Defense,
Calif., April 20, 2016. Department of the Army or Fort Irwin and the National
Training Center. High Desert Warrior is prepared weekly
by the Public A airs O ce, National Training Center and
Fort Irwin, P.O. Box 105067, Fort Irwin, CA, 92310-5067.
Telephone: 380-4511 or DSN 470-4511. FAX: 380-3075.
According to Wright, PSYOP teams have the potential to “contribute High Desert Warrior is distributed Monthly 12 Months per
greatly” when they are properly employed by their higher headquarters. year. It is produced at Aerotech News and Review, 456
East Avenue K-4, Suite 8, Lancaster, CA, 93535,
“ ey can a ect the civilian population; they can a ect the enemy (661) 945-5634. Printed circulation is 6,500. Aerotech
military population, and if they are used properly by the supported News and Review is a private rm in no way connected
unit, they have the potential to greatly a ect the mission,” Wright said. with the Department of the Army and is responsible for
the commercial advertising found in this publication.
Sometimes, Wright noted, the PSYOP teams are not a orded the Everything advertised in this publication will be made
opportunity to employ their skill sets during scenarios due to certain available for purchase, use or patronage without regard
limitations, thereby, reducing their e ectiveness on the battle eld. to race, color, religion, sex, national orientation, age,
marital status, physical handicap or political a liation
“If they are not used,” Wright said, “then their potential to a ect of the purchaser, user or patron. A con rmed violation
the situation is reduced. However, if they are used, then their training of this policy of equal opportunity by an advertiser will
is successful or not based on their skills.” result in refusal to print advertising from that source. The
appearance of advertisements in this publication does
Additionally, Wright said the realistic scenarios PSYOP teams not constitute an endorsement by the Department of
encounter at NTC are critical, because there is no other way to gain the Army of the products or services advertised.
these experiences short of actual deployment. Printed by Aerotech News and Review, Inc.
(877) 247-9288, www.aerotechnews.com.
“ ere’s absolutely no way they could put on that kind of train-
ing with their home station unit,” Wright said. “ ey walk away NEWSPAPER AWARDS
expressing that, this is some of the best training they’ve experienced.”
2nd Place, 2009 U.S. Army IMCOM-West
Army Sgt. 1st Class Nathan Francis, another PSYOP OC/T for Newspaper Competition — Tabloid Category
Bronco Team, elaborated on the impact the opportunity to train at Honorable Mention, 2008 Dept. of the Army
NTC a ords non-lethal e ects teams.
Maj. Gen. Keith L. Ware
“In the decisive action environment,” Francis said, “a lot more Newspaper Competition — Tabloid category
focus can be put on the kinetic ght. So it can leave us out of the
3rd Place, 2007 U.S. Army IMCOM-West
ght if the kinetic portion, for example, doesn’t go well, and we don’t Newspaper Competition — Tabloid Category
ever secure a city for that phase of a mission.”
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In that case, PSYOP may not get used very much, Francis added.
But, with successful integration, “it gives them a chance to get their Send your questions, suggestions, or problems to:
feet wet in a realistic environment where we have role players, a pyro 1. Your chain of command
team and people who really put on good training for them.” 2. ICE (Interactive Customer Evaluation)
3. CG’s Hotline: 380-5463
Francis expressed pride in the Bronco Team’s unique mis-
sion, and their contributions to preparing BCTs for potential
future deployments.
“We are the only team … on Fort Irwin that has PSYOP, Civil
A airs and IO,” Francis said. “ at is a unique aspect to it, and it’s
built that way because PSYOP units come in as a brigade asset and
then they get sliced down to the battalion level.”
“I would say, in a sense, that we represent all the war ghting
functions,” Francis said.