SPC. SHARMAIN BURCH/U.S. THIRD ARMY/ARMY CENTRAL
Army leaders from 12 nations in the Middle East and South and Central Asia came together for the U.S. Army Central Regional Combined Arms Symposium in the United States in August 2013. The topic: combined operations throughout the region.
The weeklong symposium covered a range of topics that included the newly published Army Doctrine Reference Publication (ADRP), which outlines unified land operations. The subject matter expert who helped rewrite the original doctrine, retired U.S. Army Col. Clinton J. Ancker III of the Combined Arms Doctrine Directorate, was among the attendees. During the symposium, he gave a presentation that shed light on the framework for the ADRP that he said will benefit militaries around the world.
“We reconstructed the U.S. Army Doctrine Publication [ADP] 3-28 to not only capture lessons learned from prior conflicts, but to also make it more accessible and easier for Soldiers to understand how to execute operations more efficiently,” Ancker said.
Most of the attendees came from the combat arms branches of their armies. They included Lt. Col. Saeed Niazi, a military professor from Pakistan, who praised the symposium for providing a forum to exchange ideas.
“This symposium helped provide me with in-depth knowledge that will prove a benefit to me as a command and staff faculty member in the Pakistan military college,” Niazi said. “The topics we discussed enhanced my ability to better understand this new combined arms environment.”
As the week passed, officers also spoke of ways to improve strategies, to plan and train as combined arms teams and to synchronize and integrate military assets throughout each country’s armed forces.
“We share a common battle in this war against terror, so this symposium helped us to create parallel procedures at the tactical level so we may operate as a combined arms force and understand how to operate and utilize our elements,” Niazi added.
The symposium introduced experts from the Combined Arms Center and several Army Centers of Excellence, as well as speakers from Middle Eastern and Central and South Asian countries.
“The Army, as a whole, must continue to enhance our capabilities and adapt to the needs of our military as we continue to meet challenges to get better at fulfilling our missions and tasks,” said Brig. Gen. Kenneth C. Roberts, U.S. Third Army/Army Central director of operations.