News From the CTC: Religious Support Planning in the Decisive Action Training Environment

Unit ministry teams (UMTs) familiar with counterinsurgency and/or unfamiliar with decisive action training environment (DATE) scenarios face numerous challenges when attempting to develop religious support plans. Current challenges facing UMTs include inadequate doctrinal understanding and execution of the operations process; heavy dependence upon past and outdated tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs); deficiencies in effective staff integration; and the struggle to understanding roles and responsibilities at the brigade UMT level. In this article, the authors discuss these challenges and provide a way forward for UMTs attending the Joint Readiness Training Center to develop doctrinally sound and integrated religious support plans for DATE scenarios.