U.S. military in the Pacific partnered with the Mission Command Training Program to host the first U.S. Army Fighter exercise centered in the Indo-Pacific, incorporating simulation two major military operations, joint infiltration operations – air and sea incursions – and large-scale ground combat operations, from 24 September to 3 October.
The main training subjects were the US Army’s I Corps, 4th Infantry Division and 25th Infantry Division at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington; Fort Carson, Colorado; and Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.
I Corps was trained as a tactical headquarters commanding divisions as the main combat unit.
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At the end of 2021, the Secretary of the Hon. Christine Worthuth, outlined 5 core tasks that the Army needs to focus on to prepare for combat operations in the Indo-Pacific. These include setting up bases and staging areas, providing ground fire, operating secure communications networks, providing operational headquarters, and attacking and defending with mobile forces. , including aviation.
In a short interview earlier this year, Colonel Bryan Babich, MCTP Commander, shared with Wormuth that the Warfighter exercise is set up to combine and train all of the missions she highlighted.
Babich also said USARPAC’s commander, General Charles Flynn, wants to “step up the movement” and is looking for results that identify potential gaps as well as logistics and force structure needs.
As a result, USARPAC and MCTP developed a complex simulation-based scenario that looked reminiscent of WWII battles in the Pacific. It presents several sets of complex problems for a hands-on training audience to solve.
The exercise is divided into two segments to explain the complex maneuvers required to overcome the vast distances exhibited by the Indo-Pacific in a contested combat environment, as well as the challenging when engaging a highly capable opponent on limited terrain.
Both segments deal with operating environments contested by MCTP’s adaptive World Class Rival Force. WCOPFOR presented a free-thinking opponent, the doctrinal expert of both the United States and its main adversaries. A combination that makes them an extremely formidable force.
The first phase tests the ability of U.S. forces to penetrate enemy defenses as part of a joint U.S. force, capture initial targets, establish bases, and occupy key terrains. They must also build up their combat strength as quickly as possible, integrate with the coalition, and prepare for the next offensive operations.
Operations require considerable foresight, ingenuity, and detailed planning from commanders and their staff. It involves complex decisions about mission organization, force pack priorities, and deployment timing. Not to mention developing a joint forced infiltration plan that could overwhelm entrenched enemies while limiting the impact on civilians.
The second part of the exercise consisted of ground operations in highly urbanized and limited terrain with Army forces supported by a multitude of support personnel and general capabilities. Legions and divisions must take decisive action, which the Army defines as “a continuous, simultaneous combination of offensive, defensive, and stabilizing missions.”
In response to demand, divisions were transformed into combinations of diverse capabilities, with combinations of infantry fighting teams, Strykers, and armored brigades being further mixed below the brigade level. They are also augmented with appropriate assets to provide the right force packs for assigned missions.
Simulation and scenarios also facilitate the adoption of multi-domain operations, known as MDO.
In October, the Army published the latest version of the Field Manual 3-0 (Operations), marking the Army’s official adoption of MDO to replace Land Operations as doctrine. mine.
FM defines MDO as “the combined use of weapons between military and military capabilities to create and exploit relative advantages”. It was introduced as a working concept in 2018 by Training and Doctrine Command for preliminary testing and improvement.
After years of research, testing and analysis, including incorporating insight from the Russo-Ukrainian conflict, the concept has proven viable for full implementation.
In the foreword to the publication, General James McConville, Chief of Staff of the Army, acknowledges that land, space and cyber operations are nothing new to the Army.
However, he made clear the importance of the MDO, saying that the United States had never faced a conflict involving “adversaries capable of effectively countering America’s joint forces in space or cyberspace”. It is also free from threats that could challenge the air, land, and sea integration of US forces.
According to McConville, the new 3-0 FM deals with the new dynamics of modern warfare.
He adds, “it embodies the speed, range, and convergence first principles of the cutting-edge technologies needed to achieve future decision dominance and outperform other competitors.” our opponents.”
His description seems to encapsulate what he considers the most important element of MDO.
Ultimately, the Warfighter exercise proved fertile ground for implementing the new doctrine and principles that McConville highlighted.
Participating units have multiple iterations of MDO execution in an immersive training environment that simulates the rigors of large-scale combat operations against a peer-to-peer threat.
It was a valuable opportunity to train the Army’s new doctrine, capabilities, and organization to achieve McConville and Wormuth’s ultimate vision and intentions for the force.
