Operation Chindit is the title of the operation that will guide the training of the 29^th Infantry Division (Light) for the 1998 Annual Training. It is named in honor of the Chindit Operations of the World War II Burma campaign in which Light Infantry accomplished some rather remarkable feats against great odds in the world’s most challenging environment.

My intent for the Division during AT-98 is to challenge every commander, staff, NCO, and soldier and provide them with a training vehicle which will drive every soldier and every unit to plan and train in a continuum that flows from a single operations order. We will achieve multi-echelon training that involves every soldier, challenges them to readdress their skills, causes them to be imaginative and innovative, encourages them to take prudent risks in being innovative (not in safety), and gives them an opportunity to demonstrate leadership and teamwork at a unprecedented level .

Never before has the Division conducted such an exercise where one order and a single purpose drove the conduct of Annual Training. Never before have commanders and staffs at all levels had so many moving pieces, yet had them moving to a common theme for a common goal. Never before have Squads and Platoons had such autonomy and independence of training at their level, yet were integrated upwards to manifest the battle tracking functions at higher headquarters. Never before have Battalion and Brigade staffs been required to focus so intently on Battle Command and sustainment functions while concurrently battle-tracking and managing training yet leaving the Platoons and Squads to the business of lane training. This is an experiment in training the entire division within the constraints of a standard Annual Training period and within the constraints our total training environment. It is a well thought out experiment with metrics and methods that are consistent with the guidance in FM 25-101. It will be critiqued and recorded. It will be improved upon. It will serve as a model upon which to build future National Guard Division training models.