Staff members of the 416th Theater Engineer Command (TEC) participate in a Mission Command seminar during battle assembly weekend at Parkhurst Army Reserve Center on December 4-6, 2020.

The training was geared towards TEC staff developing a shared understanding of Knowledge Management, Army Design Methodology, and the Military Decision Making Process (MDMP).

The staff utilized breakout sessions to conduct MDMP and develop Mission Analysis and Course of Action briefings to gain a common understanding of how planning efforts are integrated to accomplish a mission.

“It’s a detailed process driven by the commander’s intent to solve a problem,” explained Maj. Keith Kowalski, G-5 Plans Officer, 416th TEC. “MDMP is always applied to mission planning and normally occurs between the battalion and division level.

Soldiers also learned about knowledge management (KM).

“Every Soldier must understand and practice KM. It enables the Army and its subordinate commands at every level to be a learning organization,” explained Maj. Kevin McCoy, 84th Training Command, Fort Sill, Oklahoma.

McCoy said Soldiers should understand the four tasks of knowledge management which are creating, organizing, applying, and transferring knowledge.

The seminar enabled staff members to ask the right questions to provide information that can be ‘actioned’ and, in turn, help leaders develop the right operations orders for future missions.

The training created a collaborative environment that fostered team building and communication between staff members and leaders. Skills learned during the battle assembly weekend will be applied to future training exercises and real-world missions.

416th TEC continues to train and maintain the highest state of military readiness, even during COVID-19.