ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY

In the two years since it was reactivated, the 11th Airborne Division has become a warfighting division, increasing the Army’s readiness and providing joint deterrence in the Indo-Pacific and Arctic regions, said Maj. Gen. Brian Eifler, the division’s commander.

The division headquarters element “didn’t really exist a year ago,” Eifler said, noting that now it is staffed with the right personnel with the right experience and bolstered by formations of soldiers who have the toughness needed to operate in the region’s challenging environments.

More training and accountability could be needed after a new report by the Government Accountability Office found many special operations troops are not meeting language proficiency goals.

The U.S. Army’s role in 1980s United Nations peacekeeping operations in the Middle East is the subject of an upcoming webinar hosted by the Association of the U.S. Army.

The event at noon Eastern Dec. 5 is part of AUSA’s Noon Report series and will feature retired Col. L. Scott Lingamfelter, author of Yanks in Blue Berets: American UN Peacekeepers in the Middle East. In the book, Lingamfelter chronicles what it was like for a soldier trained in combat arms to instead serve as a military observer in a peacekeeping mission.

When it comes to interoperability in the Indo-Pacific among U.S. troops and their partners and allies, the most important element is human interaction, said Gen. Charles Flynn, commander of U.S. Army Pacific.

Spelling out the three factors that lead to effective interoperability—human, technical and procedural—Flynn said that the human aspect “is the most important because that is a prerequisite to the other ones.”

Multinational training involving multidomain warfare is critical to security and deterrence in the Indo-Pacific, panelists said May 18 at the Association of the U.S. Army’s LANPAC Symposium and Exposition.

A panel sponsored by the Association of the U.S. Army about deterring war highlighted that winning without fighting doesn’t mean winning without a strong and ready military.

“To me, deterrence means being ready,” said retired Republic of Korea Army Lt. Gen. Chun In-Bum, senior vice president of AUSA’s Korea chapter. This includes having a strong and visible force so opponents will recognize that the U.S. is ready to fight if necessary.

Gen. Charles Flynn, commanding general of U.S. Army Pacific, launched the Association of the U.S. Army’s 2023 LANPAC Symposium and Exhibition May 16 with two simple statements.

First, he declared, “The time is now for land power.” This isn’t a new concept but a reminder of the tremendous potential for the U.S. and its allies at a time of growing uncertainty that requires like-minded nations to work more closely.

An upcoming Association of the U.S. Army webinar will focus on the challenges facing the Army as it competes and prepares for the future battlefield.

The June 22 event, part of AUSA’s Noon Report series, will feature the three authors of “Getting Competition Wrong: The U.S. Military’s Looming Failure,” published by the Modern War Institute at West Point.

The event will begin at noon Eastern. It is free, but registration is required here.

Strong partnerships are critical to deterring adversaries, particularly in the vast Indo-Pacific region, a panel of senior leaders said May 17 during the Association of the U.S. Army’s LANPAC Symposium and Exposition.

“I’m fond of saying, it doesn’t matter what the question is, the answer is partnerships,” said Lt. Gen Richard Burr, chief of the Australian army.

Speaking alongside Burr on the role of land forces in deterrence, Lt. Gen. Xavier Brunson, commanding general of I Corps and Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, agreed. 

The Army’s multidomain task forces in the Indo-Pacific and Europe are a sound response to this era of strategic competition, but their value to the joint force is not fully understood, writes the author of a paper from the Association of the U.S. Army.

Charles McEnany, a national security analyst at AUSA, writes that the new task forces “represent a critical pillar to the Army’s aggressive modernization” initiatives, but he cautions that steps need to be taken to fully integrate their capabilities in a joint environment, whether it’s during competition, crisis or conflict.