An important aspect of professional mastery is the level of competence displayed by individuals, combat teams, headquarters, formations and units. One way we develop our professional mastery is through the conduct of collective training activities.
The after action review (AAR) is an effective tool we can use to ensure that we get the maximum benefit from each of these activities.
In this video, staff from the Warrant Officer and Non-Commissioned Officer Academy (WONCO-A) provide advice on how to conduct an AAR.
A successful AAR should should include a dedicated scribe with one senior NCO or officer to guide that is well respected by their peers. This person should also be confident in allowing an open forum as well as restricted ideas to what is only relevant to the task. A key consideration is time management combined with accuracy as tangents can occur which can result in irrelevant discussion topics. A successful AAR should also include pre-planning as to some possible inputs in case no input is being raised as pre-emptive to the discussion.