A militia for the 2020's (III)

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Training

The Russian blunders in Ukraine have reinforced the old insight that training is extremely important, for troops get hardly anything done without enough training.

Training can be divided into

• basic soldiering training,
• individual specialisation training (technical, NCO, officers)
• small unit training
• unit training
• formation training

This is ideally also the approximate chronological sequence.

I wrote before that the militia could do away with all levels above small units, so the unit and formation level training can be cut. 

Minimised diversity of equipment and simple to use technology can cut the training demands even further.

My concept is

• basic service / basic training 3...6 months*
• first refresher training one week in cold season (basic was in warm seasons), ideally aligned such that university studies can do it in their holiday time**
• annual refresher training 14...16 days or alternatively multiple weekends per year
• promising volunteers continue after the basic service with another 3...6 months in a leadership course***
• non-promising volunteers and leadership course dropouts get offered to participate in a specialisation training (duration depends on the training)
  

The basic training / basic service would happen mostly outdoors; no permanent lecture halls, no permanent barracks. Five days of continuous activity in the field (outdoor and using some sheds) in a row followed by a weekend for catching up with washing clothes and warm showers.

This basic training would include a realistic physical fitness plan that not only gets (almost) everyone fit enough within two months without major injuries, but also teaches a low effort fitness sustainment schedule that maybe some of the attendees continue with in civilian life****. Long road marches with weighted backpacks are not purposeful. The loads during all training shall not exceed actual wartime loads, and the latter have to be limited to what low fitness reservists can bear with a week after being called up.

The basic training / basic service would as a matter of principle also include at least one swimming event in which the recruits swim first in swimming clothes and then in full gear. Any detected non-swimmers get tasked to address the issue and provide evidence before they can be accepted as qualified militia members.

The list of specialisations would be rather brief to keep everything simple

• forward observer
• ManPADS operator
• signaller
• mortar crew
  

The leadership course would be special because it prepares for the absolute key job in the militia. The team leader needs to have learned what gets cut from the basic training:

• maintaining morale
• maintaining and enforcing discipline
• tactics
  
• radio use
• target identification
• casevac
• keeping situational picture beyond line of sight
• highly accurate navigation without electronics
• understanding opposing forces tactics and capabilities
• reporting
• (simple) demolitions and (simple) EOD
• dealing with firearms malfunctions
• lockpicking
• (...)
  

A week or two near the end of the leadership course would be reserved to repeat train what the individuals are least skilled at. A small group could be formed for navigation exercises, while another small group focuses on identification and another one on communication and situational awareness, for example. 'One [training plan] fits all' is too inefficient.

Training facilities should be within a reasonable radius, up to one hour drive by car:

• small arms shooting range (ring and various pop-up silhouette targets) for 30...300 m
• hand grenade throw training (including from behind and into windows)
• anti-tank shooting range (open field with an actual vehicle driving realistically, shot at with subcalibre training munitions) for up to 300 m shot distance
  

The training facilities can make do with unheated simple cushioned bunk bed (no bedding) halls that don't heat up too much in summertime. No shooting training is necessary in wintertime.

Additionally, the militia should have access to army laser-based training facilities at least for basic service and leadership course. The mortar specialisation course should also have access to an army indirect fires shooting range. 

Community

The militia members could form a community (with closed or secret groups being forbidden) that keeps in touch outside of refresher trainings. This could include message groups (politics banned), hiking tours, barbecues, attending non-regulation courses together (first aid, exercises in allied country et cetera).

S O

defence_and_freedom@gmx.de

 

*: 6 months typically in frontier countries with conscription. 3 months is a decent basic training , 4 months is a minimum infantry training and 6 months is a decent infantry training (obviously not for all seasons or many special scenarios). 

**: In Germany this would be in late February, but it would still cut some days off preparations for tests.

***: The trainers would be retired army NCOs, so the regular army still doesn't get the opportunity to neglect the militia. 

****:  In my opinion 6x50 jumping jacks, 6x20 squats, 6x various curl bar exercises and 3x2 km runs (or frequent non-electric bicycling) are plenty per week. That's about 1.5...2 hours effort per week and only 3x some sweat.

 

edit: I edited the community part in and made some more minor changes while I was temporarily not aware that this part was already published. I'm still improving the later parts.

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