155 S13 Ep 27 – Building the Common Operating Picture and the Battle for Shared Understanding w/JRTC Experts

The Joint Readiness Training Center is pleased to present the one-hundredth-and-fifty-sixth episode to air on ‘The Crucible - The JRTC Experience.’ Hosted by MAJ David Pfaltzgraff, the Brigade Executive Officer Observer – Coach – Trainer and MAJ Marc Howle, the Brigade Senior Engineer / Protection OCT for the Brigade Command & Control (BDE HQ), on behalf of the Commander of Ops Group (COG). Today’s guests are subject matter experts within JRTC’s Brigade Command & Control (BDE HQ) task force: MAJ Michael Stewart, the BDE S-3 Operations Officer OCT; MAJ Steve Yates, the BDE S-6 Signal Officer-in-Charge; CW2 Christopher Puthoff, the BDE S-6 Signal Planner; and MSG Randell Conway, the BDE Intelligence NCOIC OCT.   This episode explores the challenges of establishing and maintaining a common operating picture (COP) in support of command and control during large scale combat operations. The discussion emphasizes that a COP is far more than a digital map with graphics—it is the collection of synchronized fighting products, graphics, timelines, and running estimates that enable commanders and staffs to understand and control operations across space and time. Leaders stress that units often become overly reliant on technology while neglecting the fundamentals of analog systems and collaborative planning. A recurring theme is that the best COPs are built through deliberate staff collaboration, standardized products, and continuous refinement, rather than simply relying on software or digital platforms to generate shared understanding. The episode reinforces that a COP only becomes “common” when every echelon understands, updates, and actively contributes to it.    The conversation also dives into the friction points that routinely degrade command and control at JRTC, including poor knowledge management, lack of standardization, excessive digital clutter, outdated graphics, and inconsistent reporting from subordinate units. Leaders discuss the importance of maintaining both analog and digital COPs, especially in austere environments where weather, terrain, or system failures can rapidly degrade digital systems. Topics such as operation synchronization meetings, battle rhythm discipline, layer management, graphic refinement, and bottom-up feedback are explored as essential practices for maintaining shared understanding across the formation. Ultimately, the episode argues that effective command and control is less about technology and more about disciplined processes, rehearsed SOPs, collaborative planning, and ensuring the entire organization—from brigade to company level—is operating from the same understanding of the battlefield.   Part of S13 “Hip Pocket Training” series.   For additional information and insights from this episode, please check-out our Instagram page @the_jrtc_crucible_podcast   Be sure to follow us on social media to keep up with the latest warfighting TTPs learned through the crucible that is the Joint Readiness Training Center.   Follow us by going to: https://linktr.ee/jrtc and then selecting your preferred podcast format.   Again, we’d like to thank our guests for participating. Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and review us wherever you listen or watch your podcasts — and be sure to stay tuned for more in the near future.   “The Crucible – The JRTC Experience” is a product of the Joint Readiness Training Center.