Army Eliminates Several Mandatory Training Courses to Prioritize Warfighting

Officials said the U.S. Army is eliminating some required training programs to make soldiers more combat-ready and ease their routine workloads. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George ordered the changes, which are meant to give leaders more freedom in choosing which training is most important for their units.

Some courses that were required before will now be optional. These include combat lifesaver training, law of war teaching, resilience training, and safety and occupational health training. Soldiers will not have to take online courses in SERE (Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape) training or personnel recovery unless their superiors tell them to.

The top enlisted soldier in the Army's operations, planning, and training department, Command Sgt. Maj. Chris Mullinax, said that the move will let troops focus on realistic, mission-specific training that makes them better at fighting. "Our Army's top leaders are trying to make sure that soldiers can focus on fighting the war without being distracted by other things that aren't necessary," Mullinax said. The number of training courses troops must take every year will decrease from 27 to 16. This will make administrative training much shorter. The Army thinks this change will make units stronger and more ready by letting troops train on tasks that are most important to their jobs.

Some specialized areas will still have courses, even though many training requirements have been lowered. For example, experts in chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) weapons will still have to go through a lot of training, and combat medics will still have to go through a lot of medical training. Some soldiers will still participate in these programs, but only if their commanders say they are essential.

One important thing that was removed is resilience training, which used to teach troops and their families how to deal with stress and life in general. Some people who disagree with the decision say that removing these lessons could hurt the soldiers' mental health. Others say that the change will make training more focused and effective.

The changes are part of a larger attempt by the Army to streamline operations and emphasize warfighting skills. By cutting back on required training, officials hope to better prepare troops for combat in the real world and make the military more effective overall.

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