The Joint Readiness Training Center is pleased to present the twenty-first episode to air on ‘The Crucible - The JRTC Experience.’ Hosted by the Commander of Ops Group (COG), COL Matthew Hardman.  Today’s guest is the battalion command sergeant major from 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, CSM Joseph Lachnit within the 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division.

The 2nd IBCT was officially activated in February 1985 along with the rest of the division. While 10th Mountain Division was originally established to fight in the brutal mountains of the Italian campaign of WWII, 2-14 IN has an extensive and illustrious history dating back to the Civil War. Since its establishment, the battalion has served in every conflict that the US Army has participated in, from the Indian Wars of the American Frontier to the Boxer Rebellion to the mountains of Italy in World War II to the various conflicts of the Cold War and even Operation Restore Hope in Somalia. The battalion’s call-sign is the “Golden Dragons” with the motto of “Right of the Line.”

In this episode we discuss some of the overall mindset required to be an infantryman on the modern battlefield as well as exploring some of the leadership traits required to successfully lead troops in combat. A reoccurring theme highlighted on the podcast is that there isn’t a secret to conducting infantry operations, whether as part of a special operations task force or in conventional forces. Instead, modern infantry formations must focus on the fundamentals and being able to execute them violently across multiple domains. At the battalion level, leaders must focus on helping companies achieve the brigade’s objectives, thus making the entire organization better. In large scale combat operations, senior non-commissioned officers have to own sustainment operations for their organizations. Closing the last tactical kilometer in sustainment operations was also emphasized, which is a reoccurring theme on the podcast.

Part of S03 “Lightfighter Lessons” series.

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“The Crucible – The JRTC Experience” is a product of the Joint Readiness Training Center.