3BN - FTX Policy

This is the Document Release Information
Article Number:	7CAV-BATT3-005
Scope:	FTX Policy
Version:	Version 2.0
Effective Date:	01APR24
Last Modified Date:	14JUNE25
Approving Authority:	3BN Commanding Officer
Point of Contact:	3BN Executive Officer

THIS DOCUMENT MAY NOT BE EDITED WITHOUT 3-7 COMMANDER APPROVAL.

Policy Overview

• A Company Field Training Exercise (FTX) is required to be run once every quarter.
• A Platoon FTX is required to also be run once every quarter and alternate months with their respective Company FTX.
• A company's FTX usually is to be run as an official operation. This includes:
  • MILPAC credit to attendees
  • Eligibility for combat awards
  • Requires an official operation announcement posting prior to the FTX
  • Requires After Action Reports (AAR) to be submitted by all element leads per AAR SOP (7CAV-POL-011)
• Platoon Field Training Exercises cannot be run as an official operation
• At the discretion of the Company Commander, other Company wide events, such as running company-wide weapon re-qualification ranges, can also count as a Company FTX, but not as an official operation.
• The goal of this policy is to be an incentive for troopers to attend their Company FTX, as well as to provide MILPACS credit and award eligibility to events that are already run in extremely similar formats to official operations. It is also intended to stagger the scheduling of each FTX so not every FTX is run at the same time to help maximize attendance.
• Battalion reserves the right to host a Battalion FTX when deemed appropriate by the Battalion Commanding Officer. A Battalion FTX can be an official Operation or another battalion wide event.

Scheduling

• Off Limit time slots for scheduling:
  • 3-7 reserves the time slot Saturday between 1900-2200z for public operations
  • 3-7 reserves the time slot Wednesday between 2300 to Thursday 02000z for public operations
  • 3-7 reserves the time slot Sunday between 2000-2300z for S3 Operations
  • Scheduling for Company & Platoon FTX's:
    • Company FTX’s will be run in quarterly cycles and repeat thereafter. Each Company is responsible for an FTX once every 3 months.
    • Exact scheduling for Platoon and Company FTX’s will be determined by the Battalion Training Goals and FTX Plan released quarterly by 3-7 HQ.
    • The above schedule is to be repeated every quarter.

Posting

• Company FTX’s must be posted in the Squad Operations Calendar at a minimum of 7 days in advance of the scheduled date
  • The post must be made by a member of Company Staff
  • It is required to provide an Operation Order (OPORD) prior to the operation

Platoon FTX’s can be posted internally in that Platoon’s own forum

Attendance

• Attendance at an FTX will count as SP for members of that unit only per 7CAV-BATT3-013
  • Enough slots should be included to encompass all of the normal compositions of each Platoon within the Company as determined by the Company Commander
  • All members of the relevant company have their slots reserved per their billet, but sign-ups are still encouraged to gauge potential attendance
  • It is up to the discretion of Company Staff as to how many additional slots will be present for Cadre for the operation, if any.
    • For any FTX, if additional elements are required from outside of the Company or Platoon to conduct the FTX, please contact by forum PM the appropriate higher level Staff to seek notification and approval for attendance from that element
• All slot restrictions present for official operations are in effect for company operations per S3 Department - Standard Operating Procedures. For example, pilot slots are restricted to winged personnel, Squad Leader position priority is given to those in a squad leader billet or higher, etc.

After Action Reports and Award Eligibility

• After Action Reports (AAR) must be created by the Company Commander, or a member of Company Staff in their absence, following the standard operating procedures outlined by S3 per AAR SOP
  • Those in a squad leader or higher billet must also submit their AAR responses as they would for a standard operation per AAR SOP
• All attendees are eligible for operational awards. Medal recommendations must be sent to the Company Commander, or a member of Company Staff in their absence. The medal package for the operation can be posted in the Medal Recommendations forum by the Company Staff and follow all combat medal SOP's.