Results for aft

What is an after action review, and what are its four steps?

An AAR is a structured professional discussion of an event that lets the participants work out for themselves what happened and how to improve. The four steps are plan, prepare, conduct, and follow up. The follow-up is the part units skip and the part that produces the improvement.

What is the difference between a formal and an informal after action review?

A formal AAR is planned and resourced in advance with a scheduled time, a site, training aids, and an outside facilitator or observer. An informal AAR is conducted on the spot by the leader on the ground with whatever is at hand, right after the action, and is the kind Soldiers see most often.

What questions does an after action review answer?

What was supposed to happen, what actually happened, why it happened that way, and what to sustain or improve next time. The leader guides the discussion and the participants do the talking.

How long does a Soldier have to appeal an Article 15, and to whom?

Five calendar days from the imposition of punishment, submitted to the next superior authority above the commander who imposed it. An appeal filed after that may be rejected as untimely.

What are the ways a Soldier can enter the Army Substance Abuse Program?

Self-referral, command referral, medical referral, and identification through drug testing or an investigation. Self-referral is the route the Army pushes hardest, because a Soldier who asks for help before there is an incident gets certain protections that a Soldier identified after the fact does not.

What is the Army physical fitness test of record, and what did it replace?

The Army Fitness Test, abbreviated AFT. It became the test of record on 1 June 2025 and replaced the Army Combat Fitness Test. The change removed the standing power throw and left five events.

What is the Blue Book and why does it matter to noncommissioned officers?

It is Baron Friedrich von Steuben's Regulations for the Order and Discipline of the Troops of the United States, published in 1779 after he drilled the Continental Army at Valley Forge. It was the Army's first standard manual and the first document to spell out the duties of noncommissioned officers.

What is the difference between expendable, durable, and nonexpendable property?

Expendable property is consumed in use and is not accounted for after it is issued, such as cleaning supplies and batteries. Durable property is not consumed in use and does not go on the property book, but it does require hand receipt control, such as hand tools. Nonexpendable property retains its identity, requires formal property book accountability, and is hand receipted down to the user, such as weapons, vehicles, and radios.

What is the difference between MEDEVAC and CASEVAC?

MEDEVAC uses a dedicated, marked medical evacuation platform with medical personnel and en route care. CASEVAC moves casualties on a vehicle or aircraft of opportunity with no dedicated medical crew or en route treatment. Use CASEVAC when MEDEVAC is not available and the delay would cost the casualty.

What is the T-week concept?

T-week is a backward-planning framework that ties the weeks before and after a training event to the actions required to prepare for and follow up on it. The week of execution is week T. Week T-6 is six weeks out; week T+1 is the week after. Companies use it in the training meeting so preparation happens on a schedule instead of at the last minute.

Who wrote the NCO Creed, and when?

It was drafted in 1973 by the NCO Subcommittee of the Command and Leadership Committee at the U.S. Army Infantry School, Fort Benning, Georgia. Sergeant First Class Earle Brigham is credited with starting it. It was first printed in Infantry School texts in 1974.