The Joint Readiness Training Center is pleased to present the one-hundredth-and-sixty-ninth 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 for operational planning: MAJ Brandon Kilthau, the outgoing DIV G-3 Planner for Plans / Exercise Maneuver Control and MAJ Mike Stewart, the BDE S-3 Ops OIC OCT for BDE Command & Control (BDE HQ). This episode explores why an effective battle rhythm is the backbone of successful command and control in large-scale combat operations. Rather than treating meetings as routine calendar events, the discussion emphasizes that a disciplined battle rhythm synchronizes planning, current operations, future operations, targeting, sustainment, intelligence, and command decision-making into a continuous cycle. The hosts examine how recurring events such as CUBs, BUBs, targeting working groups, logistics synchronization meetings, and rehearsals create shared understanding across the staff, allowing commanders to make timely decisions while ensuring information flows efficiently between higher, adjacent, and subordinate headquarters. The conversation also highlights that a battle rhythm is only effective when it is deliberate, protected, and tied directly to the commander’s priorities. The panel discusses common pitfalls, including meeting overload, poor sequencing, unclear outputs, and allowing battle rhythm events to become information briefings rather than decision-making forums. Practical recommendations focus on building predictable reporting cycles, enforcing disciplined running estimates, integrating all warfighting functions, and ensuring every recurring event produces actionable decisions that enable faster planning, synchronized execution, and a more agile formation capable of maintaining operational tempo against a peer adversary. 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.
