BG Chad C. Chalfont Chief of Armor/Commandant U.S. Army Armor School


Ready for the Next Fight:


Armor Force Training Standards It is an honor to join the United States


Army Armor School and serve each of you and our branch as the 55th Chief of Armor. I want to thank our 54th Chief of Armor, BG Simmering, for his outstand- ing work over this past year. His efforts, along with your efforts, resulted in real readiness gains across the Armor Force. We are in better shape in terms of manning, maintenance, and training because of BG Simmering’s leadership.


With this first opportunity to communicate to the Armor Force, I have one message that I would like each of you to consider: today’s situation demands that the Armor Force reinforces and invests in its training standards. Let me elaborate.


Today, we know the Armor Force operates at a high operational tempo. The pace of our operations is demanding, and this pre- sents both opportunities and challenges. Our units execute tough training at home station, at the National Training Center, and on operational deployments. Our training strategies offer tremendous leader devel- opment opportunities: today’s platoon leaders and platoon sergeants will draw upon their current experiences when, years from now, they lead battalions. Still, every Armored Brigade Combat Team feels the pressure of not having enough time. Every day, leaders in the Armor Force make hard choices on the many things that they must do, perhaps wishing they had just a little more time to do just a few things very well.


The demands for Armor Brigade Combat Teams persist, particularly after February 24, 2022. And the war in Ukraine has con-


Fall 2024 CAVALRY & ARMOR JOURNAL


firmed what we have known for some time: in our next war, we will fight on a battlefield that is transparent, extended in depth, and incredibly lethal. We must think hard about how the Armor Force will fight in the next war. Our Armor and Cavalry formations must be able to survive and accomplish the mission during periods where battles are characterized by heavy attrition and a more static battlefield. In other periods, the Armor Force must be able to move rapidly to exploit opportu- nities where maneuver gives command- ers positions of advantage and holds at risk that which what the enemy values. The all-arms Armored Brigade Combat Team delivers the decisive combination of mobility, firepower, and shock effect to fight and win on today’s battlefield. In a dangerous world, there’s no better place to be than in our Army’s Armor and Cav- alry formations.


With this in mind, it is clear that the Armor Force has begun to move the needle in a positive direction on its manning chal- lenges. We have seen a remarkable turn- around in 19K recruiting. Two years ago, our 19K accessions were well below the target; this year we project to bring tankers into the Army at or above the target. The establishment of the 19C Bradley Crew- member MOS is our first payment on a new investment in the Armor Force’s mounted maneuver expertise. And while the implementation of the Army’s new structure has created turbulence for our Scouts and Cavalry formations, it has also given us the opportunity to reinforce man- ning in our ABCTs. Still, these positive


developments come with a significant challenge: a lot of new Soldiers are joining our ranks, and they require training.


This trifecta – high operational tempo, the changing character of war, and man- ning turbulence – points to a singular imperative: we must reinforce and invest in the Armor Force’s training standards. And I have some ideas on where we might start working on this:


• Drive increased lethality by implemen- ting the new tank gunnery standard outlined in the new TC 3-20.31-120 (Gunnery: Heavy Tank)


• Set conditions for tough, realistic live -fire training by assessing our home station range capability gaps and then prioritizing resources to resolve these gaps


• Assist leaders in their efforts to prior- itize training by clearly defining what our “fundamentals” are for tank pla- toons, scout platoons, tank companies, and cavalry troops


• Develop clear standards for mainte- nance training – both for operators and mechanics


• Develop clear standards for simula- tions training so that we can train better during maneuver and live-fire training


• Reinforce our current unit programs that incentivize and prepare candi- dates to succeed at the Master Gunner Course


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