Army Force Management School – Teaching “How the Army Runs”

ARMY FORCE MANAGEMENT SCHOOL NEWSLETTER"Readiness is Priority #1, and there is no other #1"

General Mark A. Milley, 39th Chief of Staff of the Army

3rd QUARTER FY 17

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FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY. The information contained in and any accompanying attachments may contain sensitive and pre-decisional Department of the Army information and protected from mandatory disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 USC552. Do not forward outside of the Department of the Army Staff/Army Secretariat/or Army command channels without the expressed permission of the originator. If you are not the intended recipient of this information, any disclosure copying, distribution, or the taking of any action on this information is prohibited.

COMMANDANT’S CORNER

The Army Force Management School (AFMS) is enhancing its curriculum. As we complete the third quarter of Fiscal Year 2017, we added the Action Officer Integration Course (AOIC) to our curriculum. The Director of the Army Staff (DAS) signed a memo directing the establishment of the AOIC at AFMS on 31 January 2017. The AOIC replaces the current HQDA Staff Officer Training Course (SOTC) requirement. The DAS’ intent is to provide training for action officers newly assigned to HQDA. During the 5-day AOIC, action officers will receive training on key subjects to include executive writing and communications; Title 10 authori-ties and responsibilities; and HQDA staffing processes. The AOIC includes individual assessments of executive level writing and communication skills with feedback on the action officer’s perfor-mance. Principally, at the conclusion of an AOIC, HQDA Action Officers will:

• Understand the structure and functions of the Secretariat and the Army Staff, and the responsibilities and relationships among the HQDA Principal Officials.

• Be familiar with the systems and processes that support Army Title 10 responsibilities.

• Demonstrate the ability to develop staff action products and correspondence in accordance with standards established in DA Memo 25-52, (Staff Action Process and Correspon-dence Policies).

We are glad to be part of the DAS’ effort to improve the training that HQDA Action Officers will undergo after assignment to the Pentagon. In this newsletter, we provide detailed information of the pre-requisites and the AOIC curriculum for your visibility and use.

Another new course in our curriculum is the Force Manage-ment Orientation Course (FMOC). The FMOC was conducted in December 2016. The course is designed to help junior personnel (officers, enlisted and civilian) gain fundamental knowledge

in Force Management. The course ran at capacity this past December in its second iteration. The feedback from the students was extremely positive. We are certainly encouraged by such results because we want to provide relevant force management education and training solutions to the Army.

Although the Force Integration Course for Senior Leaders (FICSL) is no longer required for all General Officers upon promotion to Brigadier General, the DAS approved a memo-randum outlining that the FICSL continues to be mandatory for newly assigned General Officers to HQDA within the first three months of their assignment. Additionally, the course remains highly recommended for key positions in Army Commands, Army Service Component Commands and Direct Reporting Units who routinely interact with HQDA, but the resourcing of TDY costs remains a command responsibility. Selected Command Sergeants Major / Sergeant Majors (CSMs/SGMs) continue to enrich the course bringing their perspective in solving Army force management challenges. For members of the Senior Exec-utive Service, the course remains mandatory IAW AR 350-1 paragraph 3-79.

We want to focus on you, our force management student. We want to bring you the latest and most relevant information affecting the Department of Defense (DOD) and by consequence the Army. Our instructors / facilitators will continue to provide you with crit-ical instruction on how HQDA handles strategy, structure and resources.

As we complete the third quarter of Fiscal Year 2017, we have ADDED the NEW ACTION OFFICER INTEGRATION COURSE (AOIC) to our curriculum.

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ACTION OFFICER INTEGRATION COURSE (AOIC) (FM 400 IN ATRRS)

The AOIC is a one week course designed to help Headquarters Department of the Army (HQDA) newly assigned Action Offi-cers (military and civilian) learn basic executive communication tools and major processes used at the Department. The target audience for the AOIC is action officers (CPT-COL), Warrant Officers (WO3-WO5) and DA Civilians (GS11-GS15) on their initial assignment to HQDA. Staff Non-Commissioned Officers (SFC-SGM) may attend on a space available basis. Action offi-cers should attend the course within 60 days of assignment.

Priorities for attendance:

PRIORITY CRITERIA

1 CPT-LTC, WO3-WO5, and GS11-GS14 on first assignment to HQDA.

2 COL and GS15 on first assignment to HQDA.

3 Staff Non-Commissioned Officers(SFC-SGM) on first assignment to HQDA.

4 Action Officer (any grade) with previous HQDA assignment.

The first AOIC class of 2017 began on 13 March. Please contact your staff agency’s POC for registration. Staff agency training points of contact will coordinate with the AFMS Registrar. However, to meet the priorities established by HQDA, it is imperative that newly assigned officers coordinate with their respective training coordinators before contacting AFMS. Our POC for this course and others is Mr. Duane Stubbs at commercial 703-805-4904 or email at Duane.Stubbs.Ctr@Mail.Mil

AOIC IS INTENDED TO HELP ACTION OFFICERS IMPROVE THEIR WRITING SKILLS Good writers do more than put ideas into words; they help leaders frame their arguments and shapes decisions. Army officers are often knowledgeable writers. However, Operations Orders (OPORDs) and Operations Plans (OPLANs) have influenced their writing style. Writing an OPORD and OPLAN is not the same as writing for Executive Communication. In order to be successful in the Pentagon, action officers need to write effectively at the executive level and produce staff work that is timely, fully coordi-nated and well researched. The AOIC introduces new arrivals to HQDA to staff processes in the Pentagon and to focus on action officer skills. The course includes a limited number of introductory lessons on Force Management to set the context, but the primary focus is on action officer skills. The AOIC assumes that students have a basic knowledge and comprehension of Army writing obtained through Army Professional Military Education and then builds from there.

During the course, students prepare Executive Summaries, an Information Paper and a Decision Briefing with very short dead-lines. The course also provides students with an opportunity to meet with subject matter experts on HQDA staffing processes

and staff officers who have been assigned to the Pentagon for more than a year. The themes of this discussion are “What I wish every Action Officer Knew!” and “What I wish I knew before I started at the Pentagon.” While the AOIC introduces the HQDA processes, it also makes the most of a great opportunity to intro-duce new staff officers to how the Pentagon works and to current and proposed strategic actions that Secretary of the Army, Chief of Staff of the Army (CSA) and Vice Chief of Staff of the Army (VCSA) are working. Our POC for this course is Mr. Kurt Speed at commercial 703-805-2372 or email at Kurt.W.Speed.Ctr@Mail.Mil

The course also provides students with an opportunity to MEET WITH SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS on HQDA staffing processes and staff officers who have been assigned to the Pentagon for more than a year.

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HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY LEADERSHIP

During a political transition of the Federal Government it is common to see an interim group of Army leaders who will provide continuity of operations while the new President has a chance to appoint, and the Senate to confirm its most senior leaders. For the Army, the President will appoint a new Secretary and Under Secretary of the Army, as well as, the Assistant Secretaries for multiple functions (Civil Works; Installations, Energy and Envi-ronment; Manpower and Reserve Affairs; Financial Manage-ment & Comptroller; Acquisition, Logistics and Technology) and the General Counsel. As of the date of publication of this news-

letter, the Honorable Mr. Robert M. Speer is the Acting Secretary of the Army and Mr. Karl F. Schneider is the Senior Career Offi-cial performing the duties of the Under Secretary of the Army. Please see below for the depiction of HQDA Principal Officials as of 19 June 2017. The graphic below is a product generated by the Office of the Administrative Assistant of the Secretary of the Army. At AFMS, we distribute this information monthly as part of the Strategy distribution. The strategy distribution is an email grouping who receives HQDA releasable information pertaining to broader force management and strategy information.

Our POC for this material and others is Mr. Jude C. Fernan at commercial 703-805-1274 or email at Jude.C.Fernan.Ctr@Mail.Mil

Principal Officials of HQDA

Produced by the Of f ice of the Administrat ive Assistant to the Secretary of the Army

As of 19 June 2017

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ARMY FORCE MANAGEMENT SCHOOL RECOGNIZES LIEUTENANT GENERAL TREFRY’S 70 YEARS OF SELFLESS SERVICE

On 16 May 2017, the Army Force Management School (AFMS) conducted a dedication ceremony of its main conference room in honor of Lieutenant General (Retired) Richard G. Trefry. This ceremony acknowledged over 70 years of selfless service General Trefry has dedicated to the U.S. Army. The keynote speaker of the ceremony was Brigadier General Brian J. Mennes, the Director of Force Management for the U.S. Army at the Pentagon. BG Mennes told the audience that he was honored to host General Trefry’s dedication ceremony for the many accomplishments he made to the Army and in particular to the force management community.

General Trefry began his military career in 1943 as an enlisted member of the U.S. Army Air Forces. In 1950, he received a Second Lieutenant commission from the U.S. Army Military Academy at West Point NY. As an officer, he served in the field artillery branch and commanded artillery forces from platoon level through Division Artillery. He served in combat in Korea and Vietnam. He retired as The Inspector General of the Army 1983 where he closely examined the activities that led to the Army’s transformation to an Army of Excellence in the 1980s.

The AFMS which focuses its curriculum on “How the Army Runs” believed that General Trefry’s many contributions to force manage-ment needed to be recognized by dedicating its main conference

room in his honor. Former Chief of Staff Dennis J. Reimer and former Vice Chief of Staff of the Army, General Frederick J. Kroesen were in attendance. Current Headquarters Department of the Army civilian and military leaders and former Commandants attended the event as well. All were delighted to see the school’s efforts in recognizing General Trefry’s legacy of service.

BG Mennes who oversees the Army’s organizational change and the complexities associated with it knows well the difficulties General Trefry confronted in establishing a construct for educating

and training Leader, Soldiers and Civilians on force management. This construct for establishing an Army institution that focuses on managing change at the strategic level was something that General Reimer as the Chief of Staff of the Army approved, supported and enabled. General Reimer’s vision for leaders and staff with a common taxonomy, a common picture on Army force management processes has been realized at the AFMS.

The school has trained and educated over 37,000 personnel since its foundation in June 1994. General Trefry was the heart and soul of the school as a retired general with such vast understanding of “how the Army runs”. During his tenure at AFMS, he developed the “Mother of All Charts” and the “Preamble to Foxhole” presentation. The “Mother of all Charts” is a compila-tion of facts for every Army branch which captures geopolitical, strategic, operational and tactical developments that influence and in some cases determined today’s

Army. It was common to have General Trefry lecture AFMS students right off the charts that were prepared. The “Mother of Al Charts” covers the walls at the Army Force Management School with portions displayed at the Army War College. In his signature presentation “Preamble to Foxhole” General Trefry would take students from the words of the constitution to the Soldier in the foxhole. He would outlined the people, processes and systems at National, Department of Defense, Joint Staff and U.S. Army levels that organize, man, train and equip trained and ready forces for Combatant Commanders.

The AFMS Commandant, Colonel Keith M. Rivers stated that - “Lt. Gen Trefry has contributed so much to the force manage-

This is the official photo of the Trefry Dedication. Seated on first row are: LTG (Ret.) Richard G. Trefry and General (Ret.) Frederick Kroesen. Standing on second row are: COL Keith Rivers, The Honorable, Stephanie Easter, General (Ret.)

Dennis Reimer, Mrs. Richard G. Trefry, LTG (Ret) Richard Formica, LTG Joseph Anderson, Mr. Jerry O’Keefe, LTG John Murray, Mrs. Frederick Kroesen, and BG (P) Brian Mennes

Published by the U.S. Army Force Management School5500 21st Street, Suite 1400 Fort Belvoir, Virginia 22060web: http://www.afms1.belvoir.army.mil/ phone: 703.805.4904

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ment community and the Army at large, that it was necessary to establish and solidify his legacy as one of the founding members of the school”-.

When Lt Gen. Trefry comes to the school he will see the confer-ence room plaque that memorializes his many accomplishments in support of Army force management. He will probably reflect on what it takes for today’s leaders in the operational environment to organize, man, train and equip the best Army the world has seen in its history. Thanks to his efforts, there is no doubt that these younger generations of Leaders, Soldiers and Civilians are up to the task continuing his legacy of commitment and excellence.

COMMANDANT’S FINAL THOUGHT

Force Managers are agents of change. As such, Force Managers should embrace this period of transition in National and DOD leaders. Our Force Managers are counted on as the enablers in this dynamic process. AFMS will continue to educate and train Leaders, Soldiers and Civilians who will organize, man, equip, train, station and sustain Army Forces regardless of the opera-tional environment. We are committed to provide, the Army’s Force Manager with the tools necessary to make the Army successful.

This is no easy task, but I am certain together we will find creative and innovative ways to educate the force and enable positive change to occur. I am proud to be on your team.

COL Keith M. Rivers, Commandant, AFMS Commercial at 703-805-2785

This picture captures the moment LTG (Ret.) Trefry “cuts the ribbon” making it official that AFMS Conference Room will be known as the Trefry Conference Room. LTG

Anderson, former Chief of Staff of the Army, General Reimer, LTG Murray, Ms. Stephanie Easter and General (Ret.) Kroesen shared this moment with Lieutenant General Trefry.