The U.S. Army III Armored Corps partnered with the Mission Command Training Program to conduct a multinational warfighter exercise over nine days, April 19-27, at Fort Hood and Fort Bliss, Texas.
It involved the corps leading three combat divisions, the 1st Cavalry Division, 1st Armored Division, and the 3rd (United Kingdom) Division, through a large-scale combat operation scenario under a North Atlantic Treaty Organization command structure.
The exercise featured significant evolutions in the training environment. MCTP rolled out a more dynamic scenario and opposing force and additional training stimulus for information-related capabilities.
“We’re constantly finding ways to increase the sophistication of the warfighter exercise,” said Col. Bryan Babich, MCTP Commander. “We want to simulate a realistic and rigorous environment that matches the operational environments the Joint force must be prepared to operate.”
“Warfighter exercises are the premier capstone training events where corps and divisions advance the Army’s understanding of multi-domain operations at scale while providing a critical developmental experience for future senior leaders.”
The Chief of Staff of the Army, Gen. James McConville, visited Fort Hood to observe the training event where he suggested the importance of the training’s modernizations.
“We spent the last 20-plus years doing counterinsurgency, counterterrorism, and irregular warfare,” said McConville. “We believe the next battle—seen unfold in Ukraine — is going to be large-scale combat operations.”
MCTP instituted a new LSCO scenario for III AC to enable more dynamic decision-making and intel analysis to support those decisions from the start. Normally, corps and divisions face an opposing force in a deliberate defense after invading an allied country. Enemy positions in the areas of operation are typically known, and their courses of action are relatively limited.
The new scenario postured NATO forces as ready to respond to the crisis before the invasion. Once the adversary’s provocation was significant enough to invoke NATO’s Article 5 mutual defense principle, its forces were at the line of departure, ready to confront the OPFOR.
Yet, the response speed introduced more significant unknowns, such as where the adversary would likely attack. Like a grand-chess match, it involved a race by both forces for positioning and key terrain while contesting one another along the way.
The OPFOR conducted a surprise joint forcible entry for the first time as part of the exercise. The III AC had to quickly mount a response while predicting and heading off the adversary’s next attacks.
It tested III AC and its divisions’ ability to outthink their opponent and achieve what the Army calls decision dominance. Former U.S. Army Cyber commander, Lt. Gen. (Ret) Lt. Gen. Stephen Fogarty, defined it as “a desired state where a commander can sense, understand, decide and act faster and more effectively than an adversary.”
It required the formations to maintain a high level of fidelity in their command-and-control systems, intelligence, and other staff estimates.
Sustainment was also stressed during the training. Lessons from the Russian-Ukraine conflict underscored its critical importance. The new scenario required nimbler and more predictive sustainment operations to keep pace and deliver support at the point of need.
The U.S. and U.K.’s military interoperability was likewise tested. NATO defines interoperability as the ability to act together coherently, effectively, and efficiently to achieve tactical, operational, and strategic objectives.
A key element was communication. MCTP established a mission partner environment, enabling a shared secure communication platform for its allies and partners. MCTP hopes to implement the network permanently as the U.S.’s commitment to working as a multinational coalition deepens.
As a tactical partner, the 3rd UK proved to be a shrewd and skillful warfighting ally. It brought approximately 1,500 Soldiers and 400 vehicles to the exercise. The division became known for its creativity. Its forces implemented multiple out-of-the-box solutions to problems, enabling their swift movement against the OPFOR on numerous fronts.
The Army’s developing Information Advantage doctrine was also a training highlight. On the technical front, MCTP saw the first use of an electronic warfare simulator in the exercise. It gave the training audience a realistic virtual depiction of electronic warfare effects and the overall environment.
For cognitive-related capabilities, III AC and MCTP partnered with the University of Maryland’s Applied Research Laboratory for Intelligence and Security for the first time to boost training stimulus for information operations.
An ARLIS research team fielded an information environment simulator for the exercise, using analytical modeling techniques to portray population segments for the designated combat theater. The audiences could be affected in ways favorable and unfavorable to the training audience based on the actions and public communications of U.S. and U.K. forces and the OPFOR using an algorithm.
It gave III AC and its divisions more objective feedback related to its operation’s effects on the human dimension of the environment. It also helped elements such as public affairs and psychological operations calibrate their communication strategies to achieve more significant effects in the environment.
Ultimately, the exercise turned out to be another important step in the Army’s effort to operationalize its new multi-domain operation doctrine while reading its combat formations for competition and conflict if it so arises. Check out the video for more.
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