Army Brigade Put CORE Recon to Work
When a U.S. Army Brigade Commander first encountered CORE Recon, it didn’t come through a program or policy memo — it came through personal reflection.
After taking his own CORE profile, he saw how his temperament shaped the way he led under pressure, communicated with his staff, and built (or broke) trust. That single insight set off one of the largest military adoptions of CORE Recon to date.
“It gave me empathy toward my people,” he explained. “When you understand someone’s temperament — how they communicate, what stresses them, what motivates them — you stop reacting and start leading.”
From Curiosity to Command Implementation
That moment of clarity grew into a command initiative.
At his annual leadership symposium, the commander gathered his top 150 leaders — battalion command teams, staff officers, and senior NCOs — for an introduction to CORE Recon.
“When we finished that first session, all eleven battalion commanders came up and said, ‘Sir, we want this in our organizations.’”
Within weeks, the brigade purchased licenses for every soldier — over 1,400 personnel — and made CORE Recon part of its “People First” mission. Soldiers began completing six hours of CORE Basics training focused on emotional intelligence, communication, and conflict resolution — not as a classroom event, but as a leadership tool.
“It wasn’t fluff,” said one Command Sergeant Major. “It was about how we talk to our soldiers, how we handle conflict, how we build trust under stress. You could feel it changing how teams operated day to day.”
How the Rollout Worked
1. Command Buy-In
The Brigade Commander made CORE Recon an official training line item. It was briefed alongside readiness and safety metrics.
“If it wasn’t tracked, it didn’t matter,” said the brigade’s Operations Officer. “So we tracked it — same as PT, weapons qual, or maintenance.”
2. Train the Trainers
Each battalion identified internal CORE facilitators — soldiers who completed advanced certification to teach and coach others. Over the next 18 months, they became embedded assets for conflict management, team development, and counseling.
“We built sustainment from the inside,” said a Battalion XO. “It wasn’t some outside trainer coming in; it was our own soldiers teaching leadership.”
3. Integration Into Real Army Life
The unit didn’t confine CORE Recon to classrooms. It became part of mission briefs, counseling sessions, and deployment prep.
“Our chaplain teams used it to strengthen their two-man units before rotation,” said a Battalion Chaplain. “We learned to communicate better as a team — and that carried into how we cared for our soldiers.”
Results That Mattered
1,400+ soldiers trained in CORE Basics
Certified facilitators within each battalion
Integration with counseling and readiness programs
Reduced friction in communication and stress response
Improved empathy and trust across the chain of command
“For me, the biggest change was conversations,” said a First Sergeant. “Instead of jumping to discipline, I started asking, ‘What’s driving this soldier right now?’ That small shift saved careers.”
“It gave us a common language,” added a Staff Captain. “You could walk into any company and hear leaders using the same framework to talk about connection and readiness.”
The Takeaway
CORE Recon wasn’t about making the Army “softer.”
It was about making it stronger — giving leaders practical tools to read a room, resolve friction, and lead with precision under stress.
For this brigade, connection became a combat multiplier.
“We talk about trust all the time,” the Brigade Commander reflected. “CORE Recon gave us a way to build it — deliberately, repeatedly, and fast.”
Ready to Build Trust in Your Formation?
If you’re a commander, senior NCO, or staff officer who believes readiness starts with people, CORE Recon can help you operationalize trust in your unit.
Let’s talk about what implementation could look like for your formation.