Why it’s important to train from the trenches
“From now on, I am going to make it a fixed rule that no unit, from the time it reaches this theater until the war is won, will ever stop training.”
—Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces
I’ve just returned from a trip to Normandy for the 75th anniversary of the Allied Landing to ensure freedom for Europe and the world. Standing on the great expanse of Omaha Beach and learning about that infamous day, June 6, 1944, was surreal. People return every year to commemorate the bravery and the horror that occurred on those beaches. Now I truly understood the weight of the decision Eisenhower had to make.
I also learned about the intense training that our allied troops underwent and the critical importance of ongoing training.
You see, the Americans thought they had emphasized training in 1942, but in 1943 at Kasserine