In all the years I’ve been in  the USAR I’ve certainly seen significant changes from a “standby reserve” to an “operational” reserve force.  I’m taking command in a few weeks and I’m currently grappling with the best ways to manage an organization in the most efficient manner to balance training and readiness challenges during BA weekends.  I’ve been in numerous units and even served as an assistant S-3 responsible for developing training schedules.  This is a broad topic but I’m hoping to spark a lot of good conversation here.

My question:  What are the best practices or tips to maximizing the BA weekend?  Do you have a good battle rhythm or example training schedule?  What things should be accomplished before BA to ensure a smooth weekend?  Any ideas on tasks that can be removed or ways to shorten them on drill weekend?  Best practices for accomplishing mandatory classes?

Some broad things I believe are important:

Having a solid plan well in advance.
Communicating with clarity to the lowest levels of the organization what the intent is.
Leaders have to genuinely prioritize what to do.  Acknowledging that there’s far too many requirements and not enough time.