# data[].attributes.body
Ex Backhoe has been an eye-opener, showing me the intensity and complexity of a seemingly straightforward mission and also reflected our lack of mission focus/operations mindset. These key revelations underlie the many lessons I picked up throughout the exercise, and I would share some of the more valuable ones that has left a lasting impression on me. Lesson one, mission success begins from the moment WngO is received and delivered. The way commanders(Or exercise Key Appointment Holders) work together and deliver information from pre-phase onwards determines how prepared the platoon is for the mission, how efficient it can be conducted and how confident the pioneers are that the mission will succeed. This experience brought home the fact that we need to execute our roles properly form the very beginning should we wish to succeed in our mission. Lesson two, the importance of communication between KAH and between KAH and their men cannot be understated. As a pioneer, I have realised how essential the receiving of clear instructions is for me to execute my role properly. Have been given conflicting instructions throughout the exercise, I experienced firsthand how difficult it is to execute the mission on the ground should there be confusion in terms of the situation and our own roles.

If given the chance to redo it again, I would be much more on the ball and supportive of my KAH, by executing roles to me efficiently and also clarifying any conflicting information I receive upfront instead of staying confused. I will bring these lessons to Ex Crescendo by adopting a mission focus mindset and really put myself in mission mode, listening to the WngO I receive as if it determined the success and failure of our Army’s campaign and the life and date of my men. I will also be more intentional in terms of keeping my commanders updated should there be a new plan/changes on the ground.

For one thing I did well, I think I executed my role properly when given a task and did not question my seccom when assigned roles, doing my part as the pioneer instead of giving my commanders additional issues to take care of. For something I could have done better, I should have been more focused and notice when we were not translating our training/lessons into actions on the ground. This includes staying in the tonne instead of doing all round defence during the long halt and walking on the axis instead of the vegetation when getting from point to point.

Overall, I believe we could have done better as individual pioneers/commanders and as a platoon. Thank you to the instructors for their valuable advice and insight during PAR, I’m certain we all learnt a lot from this experience and confident that we will do better next time around.

# data[].attributes.body
After experiencing Ex.Backhoe, I hv learnt the importance and impact, that

1. effective leadership

2. teamwork thru effective communication

has on any mission

Leaders who are able to lead with effective leadership, exhibit a strong character in their own way/style. Leaders act in line with how they speak and earn the right to be responsible for others’ success in the mission. Strong leadership then involves clear effective communication skills that is able to speak and give off a dependable assurance to everyone in the team.

Something I would do differently would be to step up more in terms of carrying out my task. To be more deliberate in the tasks assigned to me by the appointment holders.

I believe one thing I did well in Ex Backhoe would be constantly motivating and trying to keep my peers spirits high despite the mental fatigue. Also us really keeping each other “tight tgt” and in check. To ensure that we work thru the tasks tgt no matter how difficult or tired we were.

# data[].attributes.body
From BP planning phase to execution on ground during Ex.Backhoe, I learned that even as a 'man', there were multiple opportunities I could contribute to make the whole process smoother.

For example, aiding the sect comms in stores, proactively participating and being alert during rehearsals, contributing during SOP discussions, and many more. To make a mission successful, 50% depends on the PC's plan, while the other 50% depends on the platoon. If either part is lacking, mission success would be affected.

For Ex.Crescendo, I hope to get a different role to experience what others went through and the challenges they faced in order to learn more about my role as a PC in the field. I'll incorporate what I've learned from other's reflection and sharing and try my best to do better.

Being proactive was one thing I felt I did well in Ex.Backhoe, despite the tiredness and not getting any confidence from my appointment holders, I told myself to not question their decision and just execute as I would want the same amount of support from them if I was in their shoes. Any queries or discussions can take place after the mission, but challenging them when the task is issued, may waste time and slow down the entire process, affecting people's morale and mood.

# data[].attributes.body
As I left Ex Backhoe about 8 hours in, my reflection is limited to only the planning portion that I participated in. Nonetheless, there are still some salient learning points from my brief experience.

My main lesson would be understanding my role as a future PC. As a PC, the role extends beyond leading the platoon as there is a need to act as a bridge for the information from HHQ and the platoon. In giving my warning orders, I realised that I did not downscale the orders sufficiently for my platoon's understanding. For instance, the information I was giving them was not made relevant and relatable to their jobscope. Regurgitation of information and allocation of roles alone is insufficient as the PS and SCs may still be unsure of specific details. As such, in Ex Crescendo, I will put myself in the shoes of those I am giving orders to and try to understand whether the information I am passing on is sufficiently downscaled.

I feel like I gained more confidence in delivering my orders, likely due to how I am more familiar with the process. However, I do think that more work needs to be done regarding my time management as I felt myself fall behind the others in preparing the orders.

# data[].attributes.body
After Ex. Backhoe, I learnt the importance of proper communication between key appt holders both before and during the mission itself. There were multiple communication breakdowns during Ex. Backhoe which resulted in very mixed instructions and confusion between the platoon. Before the mission started, I should have squared off the different SOPs with my key appt holders, rather than assume that we would all be on the same page once the GnT has been disseminated.

I have learnt that a PC not only has to plan, but also should be there to show the platoon that we can and will overcome the mission together. During the pre-phase, I was worrying over the plan too much and thought that my PS and SCs would be able to handle the platoon, without considering that morale is as equally important as ensuring that the platoon knew their taskings. I should have focused more in being present in front of my platoon, to in-still confidence in them and to motivate them.

Another important lesson is to always think ahead and be flexible on the ground. And one key factor in achieving that is to be completely sure of your plan and understand the various TTPs required in your plan. Things like knowing when your vehicles can be pushed forward earlier and when your troops should not be at the Store Dump would greatly factor into being able to amend your plans on the ground. While I did attempt to apply the concept of concurrent activities at the last few obstacles, my lack of proper understanding as to the progress of my team resulted in some of the attempts being futile. This ties back to the first point of communication with your key appt holders as well, whereby we should have agreed on what each stage of progress should entail and when they should inform me of their progress before the mission commenced.

During Ex. Backhoe, I did my best to push away my fatigue throughout the mission which seemed to work rather well. However one very major area of improvement I have is lack of confidence. Both in myself and also from others. I was not confident in my own plans and ideas and trusted my platoon more than myself, resulting in me agreeing with the new ideas that they pointed out instead of following my original plans. In hindsight, while I had thought that the new plans had meant that the platoon was more comfortable in working that way, I should have realised that by allowing all the tweaking of plans, miscommunication would have occured somewhere and result in an even choppier flow of work. I also did not manage to instil confidence into my platoon members by showing them that I was sure in all the steps that I took. Rather, my OPO was presented rather shakily and any doubts my PS and SCs had made me doubt myself in front of them. Hence, I believe that confidence is a rather important aspect I have to work a lot on.

# data[].attributes.body
After Exercise Backhoe I learned that
situations on the ground tend to always be
dynamic and may not always go according
to plan. Hence, we need to be flexible and
more fluid in the way we carry out our tasks
to achieve the objective in the big picture
That being said, it should be done without
compromising the mission.
Apart from flexibility, communication
amongst appointments, holders are extremely
crucial for mission success. The
subordinate commanders should follow and
rehearse the given plan closely and should
any doubts arise, highlight them promptly
to the superior commanders. Only when
the key appointment holders are kept
within the loop and have an aligned picture
of the plan can the plan be carried out with
minimal hiccups.
Lastly. the appointment holders need to
exude confidence during the delivery of
orders. This would rile up the morale of his subordinates and motivate them to push on in uncertain or uncomfortable situations.

During Exercise Backhoe, I tried to extend my full assistance to the appointment holders. That entails not questioning or challenging their decisions and trying my best to uphold obstacle-clearing standards as stated in the TTP.

However, I succumbed to the heat during the day and was not mindful of practising soldier fundamentals. This includes halting near open grounds and failing to maintain noise discipline. I would take note of these shortfalls on my end and set as reminders moving into Ex crescendo.

# data[].attributes.body
Exercise Backhoe was an eye opener for me and showed me that I had much to learn.

Firstly, one of the most important things I learnt was the need for communication and alignment amongst appointment holders. As a sect commander, on the ground I had difficulties executing my PC’s plan to a tee and needed to adapt it. Whilst that is alright, one of the major things that I failed to do was communicate with my PC and inform her of these changes. There were also other instances where I misinterpreted my PC’s plan and executed it differently from that which she expected. These miscommunications and even failure to communicate hampered the mission and resulted in our mission’s failure.

Secondly, I was reminded that as commanders, we are not there not just to ensure the pioneers know what to do but to look out for their morale and focus too. My fellow cadets were all very tired and at times, especially during rehearsals could not really stay focus. Instead of simply thinking that it was ok and to let it slide, I should have thought of other solutions to motivate them and enable rehearsals to be conducted thoroughly yet efficiently so that everyone would know exactly what they needed to know without being tired out. Handling my pioneers morale and focus is my responsibility and I need to ensure that this is properly taken care.

Thirdly, I was given a glimpse of the considerations commanders should take on the ground. One very pertinent issue the commanders faced was that my signal set was not functioning perfectly. This meant that at certain points in times, my PC could not communicate with me. Both of us should have been more aware of the limitations of our equipment and should have taken measures to mitigate it (swapping out the signal set with a 2ic, getting a sect comm with a fully functioning signal set to swap positions with me, asking someone to help relay the message).

One thing I think I did well was helping out in the force preparation of the platoon stores. We managed to do so quickly and efficiently.

# data[].attributes.body
After experiencing Ex Backhoe, I learnt that it was both mentally and physically tiring, everyone and everything started getting very hard to do and move. We didn’t have much sleep and this made me realise how tiring it is to plan as a pc and how tiring it is to carry it out as a PS, Sec comd and pioneer. Therefore we need to be more mindful and thoughtful as everyone is on edge. I learnt that no matter how good a plan is there will still be hiccups during execution, hence a pc must always be on the ball to be able to amend the plan or to improvise, like wise for the PS and Sec Comd, they have to also be on the ball to help the PC carry out the plan to ensure mission success. Despite having mission failure, we brought back many lessons.
In Ex Crescendo, it will be a lot tiring and challenging as the terrain and weather there hits different, everyone has to be on the ball and help each other out even if they are tired. We have to always be mindful of our pioneers and plan with the thought of the work rest cycle to ensure that no one gets too tired or loses focus. During a mission, there must be a sense of urgency too and we should be doing that in EX Crescendo.

One thing I think I did well was the clearing of corn wire, the rehearsal at the start has refreshed my mind on how to clear a con wire. There are many areas of improvement like my sense of urgency and focus, even though I’m tired I have to help the EX PC, PS and Sec Comd out by moving fast to ensure mission success. Move fast and tactically treat it as a real mission, recap on ttp and be on the ball.

# data[].attributes.body
From Ex. Backhoe, I took away 2 lessons. Firstly, the importance of command and control from pre-phase all the way till the end of mission/phase 3. If the PC was absent since the beginning, it is difficult to set the tone and morale right for the mission. PC is not in charge of solely planning, he is in charge of the whole platoon and is responsible for the whole mission. Which means ensuring each and every one of the men are on the same page physically and mentally, ensuring that all small details of the mission are covered, and ensuring that he can influence everyone even on the actual ground where fatigue sets in.

Secondly, the importance of terrain appreciation and not just blindly following the plan that I did it up theoretically in a planning room. Terrain might differ drastically between a map and the actual ground. For example, the position where I planned to deploy the security party might not work out on the actual terrain perhaps due to dense vegetation or lack of axes that disappeared over time. Thus, you have to analyse the terrain and make changes to your plan.

For Ex. Backhoe, if I were to be the exercise PC, I would be more present with my platoon, being there from pre-phase, execution phase, and recovery phase; instilling confidence and influence over my platoon. Another thing that I would have done differently was to fight the fatigue better and contribute more to the execution of the mission as a men and I will constantly remind myself of these areas that I want to work on for Ex. Crescendo.

I think I did well in time management for the planning phase. I was able to finish up all the staff aids and necessary stuffs compared to the first time that I did it. However, one area that I could have done better was to pay attention to details and do up the plan while putting myself into the shoes of the men that will be carrying out the plan that I did it up. Otherwise, if the mission is difficult to carry it out, everything will go downhill. To me, men should always come first.

# data[].attributes.body
The main takeaway I had from Ex. Backhoe was that in a tactical scenario, maintaining C2 of the platoon as well as the individual sections is very challenging. As the PC is not always with all the sections all the time, the PC can only comms with subordinate commanders to gain intel on the current situation. This means that the PS and SC have to manage the sections well such that things flow smoothly as planned. I have also realised the importance of constant situation updates, not only between the subordinate commanders and he PC but also between the PC and the OC such that the platoon has the approval to overcome the obstacle when encountering it.  If I could, I would help my SC and PS to ensure that my section as well as the platoon follows the G&T planned out by the PC so that there are no sudden changes to he plan without the PC's knowledge. I would incorporate this into Ex. Crescendo by reminding my section as well as the platoon to follow the plan of the PC as there are already reasons why the mission was planned out that way, through careful consideration of multiple factors.

One thing I did well was that I committed to memory my roles and tasks for individual obstacles from the rehearsal. This ensured that I would be able to move quick and decisively to my position and know the drills when overcoming an obstacle so we can accomplish the mission.

One thing that I can improve on, especially in the upcoming exercise is my SOFUN as when I felt the fatigue kick in, I let my basics slip and paid little attention to my positioning or posture, e.g. when providing security. This should not have happened regardless of my fatigue level.

# data[].attributes.body
After experiencing Ex. Backhoe, I have learnt that command and control of the platoon is very important. As an appointment holder, be it a PC, PS, Sect Comd or Sect 2IC, it is very important to control your men well so that the mission can be accomplished. Each person in the platoon has a role to play and each role is as important as the other and only together can the whole platoon function.

I have also learnt that communication is very important. It is not right to assume that the other party knows what is your plan and it is always wise to explicitly state your instructions as detailed as possible. This ties in with command and control, and will reduce a lot of confusion, resulting in greater results. A lot of mistakes or sloppiness during Backhoe happened because of communication and this can be avoided if information is relayed accurately and consistently.

I would be more detailed in my brief during OPO and during the mission itself, explicitly stating my instructions and try to eliminate as much doubt as possible.

One thing I did well in Ex Backhoe was trying to memorise the CEOI and knowing where to find the required codewords as I was the runner. This helped to understand messages and to send messages timely, and facilitated the communication between the OC, PC and other platoon. I would suggest the next exercise runners to try to know the commonly used codewords and memorise the codewords that will be relevant to their mission.

One area of improvement is that I could helped my PC more during the mission since I would be near to the PC most of the time. I should have familiarised myself with the PC plan more so that I can help my PC. The PC may have overlooked something as there are many things to take note of and I can then remind the PC on what is the next thing to do.

I think that the PC can also delegate some tasks to the runner like helping to account for strength so as to lighten the load on the PC.

# data[].attributes.body
I've learnt that it is not easy to manage an operation. Even a simple task of clearing an Obstacle requires detailed GnT, proper coordination between appointment holders, as well as quick thinking. I've also learnt that even with proper wargaming and rehearsals, it may be difficult to translate the procedures on the field, as the scorching sun may require more frequent replacement of Manpower, and men can get more fatigues than you think. Something I'd do differently is to be more helpful on the job.

Something I did well was trying my best to help out whenever i could and pushing the fatigue away. A driving factor was knowing that there were my mates out there were suffering, and it pushed me to do a little bit more. An improvement is maybe as a sect 2ic, to help my sect IC more, so that he too can take rest.