ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY

Advances in reconnaissance and surveillance capabilities and long-range precision fires create a deadlier and more lethal battlefield that the Army must prepare for, a panel of experts said earlier this year at the Association of the U.S. Army’s LANPAC Symposium and Exposition in Honolulu.

“We have to operate in less safe spaces,” not just in the Indo-Pacific but globally, said Maj. Gen. Brian Gibson, commanding general of the 94th Army Air and Missile Defense Command.

From the Army to the National Football League, leadership and trust are critical to success, former Army Ranger and professional football player Alejandro Villanueva said.

Speaking May 18 at the LANPAC Leadership Forum hosted in Honolulu by the Association of the U.S. Army’s Center for Leadership, Villanueva shared his story with about 90 midgrade leaders from all three components of the U.S. Army and seven allies and partners, including Australia, Canada, Fiji, Japan, Mongolia, the Philippines and the United Kingdom.

Faced with one of the “most disruptive” periods in time, the Army must move now to deter aggression and transform for the future, the commanding general of Army Futures Command said.

“We have one United States Army. When the country says go, we’re going,” Gen. James Rainey said May 18 during a keynote presentation to close the Association of the U.S. Army’s 2023 LANPAC Symposium and Exposition in Honolulu.

Rainey said the Army’s modernization efforts are on track, but “we’ve got to get after this.”

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.

The Army is hardening its networks and strengthening cooperation with allies and partners to protect against cyberattacks and information warfare, a panel of experts said May 17 at the Association of the U.S. Army’s LANPAC Symposium and Exposition in Honolulu.

“If you’re going to make a very quick transition to crisis or conflict, that is not the time to be hardening your networks, that is not the time to be wondering if your allies and partners have hardened their networks,” said Lt. Gen. Maria Barrett, commanding general of Army Cyber Command.

A future war in the Indo-Pacific is highly likely to involve megacity or urban warfare, something that requires new tactics, new technology and dangerous operations in tight areas with little warning, a panel of experts said May 17 at the Association of the U.S. Army’s 2023 LANPAC Symposium and Exposition in Honolulu.

There are more than 30 so-called megacities in the world, which are generally defined as having 10 million or more residents. Many are in the Indo-Pacific. Tokyo is the largest, followed by Shanghai, Dhaka, Beijing, Mumbai and Osaka.

With the rapid evolution of technology, soldiers fighting on the battlefields of 2050 may not look too different from a science fiction movie or a video game, a senior Army leader said.

The war in Ukraine has many lessons for the U.S. Army and its partners and allies, experts said May 16 during a panel discussion at the Association of the U.S. Army’s 2023 LANPAC Symposium and Exposition in Honolulu. They also cautioned that it is possible to learn the wrong lessons.

In the vast Indo-Pacific, where soldiers operate in small groups and alongside allies and partners, trust is critical to success, Sgt. Maj. of the Army Michael Grinston said.

“I would say it’s the secret sauce in our Army, this thing called trust,” Grinston said May 16 during a fireside chat focused on the role of NCOs in the Indo-Pacific on the first day of the Association of the U.S. Army’s 2023 LANPAC Symposium and Exposition in Honolulu.

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.