FORT BENNING, Ga. - Day two of the 2026 Maneuver Warfighter Conference opened in the Maneuver Center of Excellence’s Marshall Auditorium with small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) buzzing over the crowd and an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) surveilling the room before a dismounted Infantry squad moved in to secure the main stage — setting up a day of discussion on technology, adversary tactics, and the next fight.
"Technology won’t replace maneuver, but when used effectively, it can very much enable maneuver," said Maj. Gen. Colin P. Tuley, MCoE commanding general. "It hyper-enables your ability so that first contact is not with your fire team on an enemy operator."
Tuley warned future operational environments will feature heavily contested electromagnetic spectrums where sensors and communications can be abruptly disabled. He reminded company-grade officers and noncommissioned officers that formations must maintain mastery of core Infantry tasks, such as battle drills and collective platoon tasks, because uncrewed systems can easily stop in their tracks when jammed.
Lt. Gen. James P. Isenhower III, commanding general of the U.S. Army Combined Arms Command, delivered the first morning keynote address.
"For decades, we’ve left terabytes of data on the floor of [Combat Training Centers]," Isenhower said. "We’re trying to get to a point where we can make decisions faster. Decision speed is going to be very critical in the next fight, and that’s how [artificial intelligence] is going to help us."
In 2025, CAC assumed command and control of more than 38,000 Soldiers across 18 installations. The restructuring returned the National Training Center, Joint Readiness Training Center, and Joint Multinational Readiness Center under CAC command to consolidate training proponency, doctrine development, and resourcing under a single headquarters.
Under this consolidation, CAC is digitizing these training centers to capture Soldier and vehicle telemetry, Isenhower said. The modernization effort aims to improve training feedback, modernize the opposing force, or OPFOR, to replicate peer threats, and refine leadership education across the five CAC academic colleges to ensure leaders are trained on modern command tools.
Next, Ian Sullivan, U.S. Army Transformation and Training Command’s G-2 director of intelligence and deputy chief of staff, provided an unclassified operational threat briefing on Ukraine, the Middle East, and the pacing challenge in the Pacific.
“The best advantage we can have is understanding our enemy,” said Sullivan. “Understanding who they are, how they fight, and what they're trying to accomplish so that we can do something about it.”
During the briefing, Sullivan explained how uncrewed systems have transitioned from observation platforms into primary operational assets.
“Unmanned systems were originally an intelligence asset, then became a strike asset – that’s not what they are anymore,” Sullivan said. “They’ve become a maneuver arm unto themselves — you have to maneuver these systems to shape the battlespace to be able to accomplish what you want to accomplish.”
According to Sullivan, drone technology has compressed traditional battlefield echelons. Areas once guarded by entire battalions are now held by platoons relying on organic electronic warfare and remote weapon stations to survive in a highly monitored environment.
Sullivan also noted that modern adversaries increasingly look to bypass close combat entirely, using layered precision strikes and electronic jamming to dismantle communications, intelligence, and logistics networks before ground forces can engage.
The morning session concluded with an artificial intelligence briefing from Dr. Kristin Milchanowski, chief artificial intelligence and data officer for BMO Financial Group, which detailed quantum computing and command decision-making.
Afternoon programming featured an allied panel, which discussed perspectives on maintaining interoperability and addressing mutual defense challenges under NATO standards, before concluding with a panel on Holistic Health and Fitness (H2F).
Day three of the Maneuver Warfighter Conference features keynote speakers Maj. Gen. John P. Cogbill, 11th Airborne Division commanding general and Col. Adam W. Armstrong, 75th Ranger Regiment commander, as well as panels discussing mobile and armored brigade combat teams.
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