ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY

As the Army ramps up training amid the COVID-19 pandemic—from small-unit exercises to large-scale rotations at its combat training centers—success takes teamwork and the right mindset, according to leaders from across the force.

“Our focus was to protect the nation by protecting our people so that we could, whenever the Army needed us to do anything, be ready,” said Maj. Gen. James Jarrard, commanding general of the 25th Infantry Division and U.S. Army Hawaii.

The Army has resumed brigade-level collective training following a three-month pause to emplace safety measures aimed at preventing the spread of the COVID-19 virus among soldiers, observer-controllers and civilian role players.

All major training was halted in mid-March after DoD issued orders restricting travel for troops, employees and family members. The Army began putting measures in place so that units could resume home station training safely in smaller numbers, but major training exercises hadn’t resumed until now.

Senior U.S. Army enlisted members caution that increasing reliance on technology may be eroding essential soldiering skills.

At the Association of the U.S. Army-sponsored LANPAC Symposium and Exposition in Honolulu, U.S. command sergeants major warned that the advantages technology is bringing to battlefields in targeting, navigation, automation and communications take time to master, and may leave less time for training on basic soldier tasks.

The Army’s success comes down to the soldier, the superiority of its equipment and its ability to adapt and dominate a changing environment, senior Army leaders say.

And a key to dominating on the future battlefield is the Army’s combat training centers, including the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California, and the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk, Louisiana.