Strategic competition is placing new demands on the Navy Reserve to enhance warfighting readiness and ensure Reserve Sailors are ready on day one to support Fleet commanders at a moment’s notice.

How the Navy Reserve trains to fight what may come in the future is essential to overall readiness at the Operational Level of War (OLW). Standardizing essential training and creating more advanced development opportunities at the OLW has been a primary focus for Capt. Kyle Powers, Navy Reserve OLW Force Design Training Lead. Over the past year, Powers has led the charge in reviewing and developing a curriculum to enable the Navy Reserve to meet the current and future demands of maritime warfare around the globe, with a focus on the Maritime Operations Center (MOC).

“We're looking for ways to review the overall OLW training pipeline,” said Powers. “My job is to lead a dozen or so people who are spearheading new ways that we can handle training, modifications that we can recommend to current curriculum, and how we can get creative with funding when necessary.”

A core focus of the OLW Training team is developing a comprehensive curriculum that addresses the unique needs of Reserve members at the operational level, added Powers. While sailors across the fleets rely on experience gained at the tactical level, Powers noted, “At the operational level of war… you're overseeing a broader set of assets,” and it’s the role of the fleets to both coordinate and bring the assets to bear.

However, while active-duty sailors train daily in a warfighting environment, Reserve training capacity is different – and Reserve members are often dispersed. To sharpen and hone Reserve training, Powers and the OLW Training team developed the Navy Reserve OLW Training Continuum Instruction (COMNAVRESFOR) 3500.1. Powers said the instruction specifically created “a standard but flexible pathway for people to get the training they need” and “recognize the courses that have been taken in a stackable way that still leads to the final training outcome that we're looking for.” As a result, Reserve members will be better prepared and more
proficient for exercises and real-world events.

A recent example is the MAKO training series. In 2021, the Navy Reserve’s Strategic Depth Assessment pointed to a critical need for experienced MOC watchstanders. With Reserve members comprising up to half of the staff at Fleet commands, the Chief of Navy Reserve prioritized MOC training and created a series of MAKO training events. Each event mimics real-world scenarios and gives Reserve members hands-on experience with maritime operations and the MOC.

“MAKO events provide a really big training opportunity,” said Powers. “[Sailors] go out, sit in their watch station in the MOC with a scenario that has been built and products that are pulled from their own fleet so that they're using the actual products that they would use when they're downrange.”

Today, MAKO not only provides practical experience but aligns with OLW training efforts in the classroom. Previously, sailors in a MOC or operational-level maritime staff billet who needed to complete required MOC training would attend a full-time five-week Maritime Staff Operators Course (MSOC) at the Naval War College.

This significant time demand posed a challenge for reservists who also maintained full-time employment in a civilian capacity as well as Reserve unit responsibilities. One of the solutions to increase Reserve sailor access to MOC training while balancing these competing time commitments was the creation of the Maritime Headquarters Staff Course (MHSC) at the Naval War College.

“The MHSC course created a distributed learning opportunity to deliver high quality MOC academics and fundamentals so that people going to a MOC unit would have a clearer understanding of their roles and responsibilities,” said Powers. The three-week course provides OLW practitioners with a foundation in the design and processes of the MOC, allowing sailors to obtain the same academic knowledge while balancing civilian commitments. “The MHSC course was born out of a need to get a broader baseline training to those who operate in the Maritime Operations Centers across the fleets,” he added.

Through a combination of coursework, on-the-job training, and practical exercises such as the MAKO series, OLW training “makes each person within the chain more effective because you know exactly what the goal is,” said Powers. “The Chief of Navy Reserve sent out the order with the release of the Navy Reserve Fighting Instructions. The rapid advancements we have made in how we train across the board at the OLW to increase Reserve capability and remain ‘ready to fight tonight’ with our active-duty counterparts is our response.”

To learn more about the Navy Reserve OLW Training Continuum, please visit https://www.navyreserve.navy.mil/ or refer to COMNAVRESFOR 3500.1.