December 17, 2023, 3:04 pm
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How do you train an army to fight a war that is different from any you’ve ever experienced?
Support for Ukraine has played a vital role in shaping the progress of the war in Ukraine to date. Ukrainian efforts have heavily leveraged munitions and systems supplied by their allies – but training has also been a key area for allied support
Unlike weapon systems however, evaluating the performance of NATO’s training efforts are harder to determine. Reporting tends to focus on the quantity of troops going through these programs, but less reporting focuses on whether the training properly matches the realities of the Ukrainian battlefield
To get a better understanding of NATO’s efforts to train with Ukraine in the years leading up to 2022 and since the full scale invasion, as well as some of the lessons members of the alliance might be learning from the war, today I’m welcoming back retired US Army Lieutenant General Ben Hodges. LTG Hodges (Ret.) is a former commander of US Army Europe and engaged with Ukrainian forces extensively over his time in that role.
I’m very happy to welcome him back to the channel and want to stress that the opinions expressed in this interview are solely those of the individuals expressing them.
Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/PerunAU
Relevant Reading/sourcing
ATP 3-01.81 Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems (C-UAS) August 2023
https://irp.fas.org/doddir/army/atp3-01-81.pdf
Reports referencing the wargame series leading up to the Ukrainian summer offensive:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/12/04/ukraine-counteroffensive-us-planning-russia-war/
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/us-hosts-war-games-ukraine-ahead-next-phase-russia-conflict-2023-03-02/
https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2023/03/12/ukraine-prepares-its-counter-offensive-with-pentagon-hosted-wargames_6019053_4.html
RUSI – Preliminary lessons in Conventional Warfighting from Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine: February-July 2022
https://static.rusi.org/359-SR-Ukraine-Preliminary-Lessons-Feb-July-2022-web-final.pdf
RUSI – Stormbreak: Fighting through Russian Defences in Ukraine’s 2023 Offensive
https://static.rusi.org/Stormbreak-Special-Report-web-final_0.pdf
Example of reported feedback by Ukrainians on the limits of NATO training
https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/odr/ukraine-russia-training-nato-west-military/
“Inside the secret French camp where Ukrainians prepare for war”
https://www.politico.eu/article/in-rural-france-ukrainians-build-real-trenches-in-mock-villages/
Reuters reporting on US casualty estimate for Russian forces
https://www.reuters.com/world/us-intelligence-assesses-ukraine-war-has-cost-russia-315000-casualties-source-2023-12-12/
Featured Reports and Image Sources
https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/russia-hits-ukraine-military-training-center-near-polish-border-1.1736986
https://www.ausa.org/news/will-fight-difference-maker-ukraine
https://www.europeafrica.army.mil/Newsroom/Photos/igphoto/2001893071/
https://apnews.com/article/ukraine-russia-war-france-military-f70fb490a8e4fd5ea472e3d81de7a176
https://www.army.mod.uk/news-and-events/news/2022/07/chief-of-the-general-staff-visits-ukrainian-training/
https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/us-army-says-it-needs-3-billion-155-mm-artillery-rounds-production-2023-11-07/
https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2020/10/22/two-star-wants-to-ease-the-civilian-to-soldier-transition-during-army-basic-training/
DPRK Shell quality
https://en.defenceua.com/analysis/dissatisfied_with_quality_and_quantity_of_north_korean_artillery_shells_russians_complain-8818.html
Caveats & Comments:
All normal caveats and comments apply.
No financial consideration was paid in relation to this interview – though I did request that a charity be nominated for a donation after the interview was recorded
LTG Hodges did not exercise any editorial control over this episode as a whole, including my comments or the slides that have been included
Timestamps:
00:00:00 — Opening Words
00:01:35 — What Are We Talking About?
00:03:37 — Lessons From The Battlefield
00:03:56 — Q: Ensuring Training Delivers Value
00:07:44 — Q: Training For The Environment
00:12:56 — Q: Keeping Up With Adaptation
00:15:56 — Q: Observers And Lessons Learned
00:19:41 — Q: Lessons So Far?
00:22:28 — Q: Wargaming and Assumptions
00:25:32 — Q: Training Pre-2022
00:28:08 — Q: Evolution Of The Training Mission
00:34:30 — Q: Training Efforts Post 02/2022
00:37:22 — Q: Higher Level Training Requirements
00:40:47 — Q: Force Regeneration
00:43:24 — Cohesion And Training As A Unit
00:44:36 — Answer Pt.2: Force Regeneration
00:46:09 — Training Program Abbreviation
00:47:35 — Evaluating 2023
00:48:21 — Q: Outcome Vs Commitment
00:52:12 — Priorities, Resources & THAAD
00:54:01 — Q: The Path To 2025
01:02:20 — Conclusion
01:03:50 — Channel Update
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