Undersecretary of the Army Brad Carson spent two days at Fort Huachuca on the final leg of his trip to the west coast to gather insight on Google, Palantir Technologies Inc., and the fort's operations and missions for a better understanding of current and future requirements and best business practices which could impact policy and procedures within the Department of the Army.
Before his briefing at the U.S. Army Intelligence Center of Excellence, Carson mentioned he had been intrigued by something Jerry Proctor, deputy to the commanding general, had mentioned several years ago while both were attending Senior Executive Service training, that Fort Huachuca is one of the most future focused installations in the Department of Defense.
Proctor listed some of the missions and capabilities housed here which prompted the comment. The combination of training, including military intelligence, advanced human intelligence, culture, biometrics and forensics, unmanned aircraft systems and Special Forces, are mixed with network and cyber operations, and C4ISR support in a unique electromagnetic test environment. The fort's controlled airspace, in which manned and unmanned aircraft fly together, plus the robust relationships with federal partners like the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Forest Service positions Fort Huachuca to be able to address the challenges posed by the contemporary operating environment.
"Testing is fully integrated here. We have an open air niche," added Maj. Gen. Robert Ashley, USAICoE commanding general.
Greg Rose, director of Capabilities Development Integration, then briefed Carson on USAICoE's look at today's battlefield.
In meeting the challenges of the Army Operating Concept and Force 2025, the human dimension is increasingly important. USAICoE is partnering with Arizona State University and Lincoln Labs as it works to innovate Soldier and leader training. As the Army gets smaller and the operating environment more complex, Rose said the human dimension is critical. An important questions is, "What are the capabilities we are not getting after," he said.
Not only is there a need to train more effective Soldiers and leaders, but also for building better teams.
Ashley said enhanced individual performance is key. USAICoE is looking at things like how Soldiers learn or how they handle stress. "We need to get smarter about bringing the people into the Army; targeting specific skill sets," he said.
Looking at ways to accelerate experiential learning becomes increasingly important Ashley added. Citing Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis' quote, "the most important six inches on the battlefield is between your ears," Ashley said analysis is an inherent part of the military intelligence business. USAICoE is looking at how it can build a better analyst.
Continuing his briefing, Rose pointed out that innovating the training process wasn't just an MI challenge; it's also an Army challenge. A synthetic training environment is needed. It's not possible to replicate a mega city at Fort Irwin nor is it possible to drop a unit off in the middle of New York City for training. Rose envisions a robust video sharing platform where Soldiers could get the how-to information they want, as they need it on demand, a process everyone is familiar with in their everyday lives.
Carson commented that this is great thinking about the challenges ahead. Having a bigger network isn't the solution he said. The challenges are cognitive ones. Noting that some of these capabilities extended beyond military intelligence, he asked what the MI community needs to meet the challenges ahead and will follow up on these efforts to learn more about them.
On his second day at Fort Huachuca, Carson visited Libby Army Airfield to learn more about the installation's airspace and manned and unmanned aviation training programs. Airfield manager Carolyn Thompson highlighted the uniqueness of Fort Huachuca's airspace where the Army's manned and unmanned aircraft fly together with the Air Guard's F-16s, which train pilots from 28 different countries, along with Customs and Border Patrol aircraft and firefighting air tankers and helicopters from the U.S. Forest Service. Soldiers representing units conducting aviation training here briefed the undersecretary as well.
During his visit to Fort Huachuca, the undersecretary learned more about garrison operations and requirements and paid a visit to the Network Enterprise and Technology command team.
Before boarding his plane to return to Washington, D.C., the undersecretary was asked what impression of Fort Huachuca he would take back to the Pentagon. "Fort Huachuca is doing amazing things for the future of the Army and the Department of Defense," Carson responded.
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