Two top Army generals – the commanders of U.S. Army Pacific and Army Materiel Command – had similar messages about preparing for multi-domain operations during the Association of the U.S. Army’s 2019 Global Force Symposium and Exposition in Huntsville, Ala.

Gen. Robert B. Brown, the Army Pacific commanding general, is responsible for a multi-domain task force that is working out kinks in an evolving two-year-old doctrine that embraces joint and multinational operations. Brown said the forces will need to adopt the multi-domain operating concept “or they will become irrelevant.”

Twenty-four months into a four-year project, Brown described the state of integration like this. “We are as joint a force as any in the world. The bad news is we are still not joint enough.” While the task force effort has centered in the Pacific, he stresses this “is not a capability that is unique to the Pacific.”

There are hurdles to overcome in how to handle cyber, command and control and countering drones, Brown said, along with making certain international partners are included and discouraging single-service solutions.

Gen. Gus Perna, Army Materiel Command commanding general, also talked about the logistics and sustainment challenges of multi-domain operations. “We cannot leave any domain uncovered,” he said, stressing the need for the Army to work with industry on the challenge of global, rapid repair, replacement and resupply.”

This is especially important to prepare for the new capabilities planned by Army Futures Command. “We need to develop the industrial base today, not just when they arrive,” he said of the new capabilities.