After-Action Review
An after-action review is a structured review process used to examine performance and improve future action after training or operations.
The concept matters because command depends on organized learning, not only on orders during execution. An AAR turns performance into shared assessment and gives a unit a repeatable way to identify what happened, what needs to change, and how to prepare the next iteration.
Recent Army training guidance treats AARs as central to training and leader development rather than as optional reflection [@tmdtc2025; @tmdtcseries2026].
Sources
References
[tmdtc2025] Training Management Directorate, Combined Arms Center-Training. (2025). TMD Publishes Training Circular to Augment FM and ADP 7-0. The United States Army. https://www.army.mil/article/283214/tmd_publishes_training_circular_to_augment_fm_and_adp_7_0
[tmdtcseries2026] Training Management Directorate, Combined Arms Center-Training. (2026). The Training Management Directorate Underneath the Combined Arms Command-Training Completes TC 7-0 Series 1-4. The United States Army. https://www.army.mil/article/289968/the_training_management_directorate_underneath_the_combined_arms_command_training_completes_tc_7_0_series_1_4