ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY

With less than three weeks’ notice, soldiers from the 1st Infantry Division’s 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team began an eight-month mission to train Ukrainian soldiers on how to operate the Bradley Fighting Vehicle.

From tasks as simple driving and operating the vehicle all the way to live-fire maneuver training, the American soldiers trained about 9,000 Ukrainian soldiers during their deployment to Europe, said Col. Bryan Harris, the brigade commander.

The future of Army aviation will require soldiers to increase realistic training that effectively mimics hostile environments, a senior Army official said at a one-day seminar sponsored by the Association of the U.S. Army.

The Army is at a point in history where change is vital, said Gen. Gary Brito, commanding general of the Army Training and Doctrine Command.

Speaking July 26 at the Association of the U.S. Army’s 2023 Warfighter Summit and Exposition in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Brito said the Army must make some adjustments to prepare for future wars.

Positioning, navigation and timing will be a critical capability in future wars, but the Army won’t be able to spend a lot of money to widely distribute new gear, experts said at a Warriors Corner presentation during the Association of the U.S. Army’s 2023 Global Force Symposium and Exposition earlier this year.

Modernized synthetic training environments will help soldiers sharpen their skills all the way up to the division and corps levels of the Army, leaders said.

In a Warriors Corner presentation earlier this year at the Association of the U.S. Army’s Global Force Symposium and Exposition in Huntsville, Alabama, leaders with the Army’s Synthetic Training Environment Cross-Functional Team discussed the advancements being made to replace 1990s simulation training technology with cutting-edge synthetic trainers.

Fifty years after the birth of the all-volunteer force, the Army’s top concern is ensuring Americans understand their Army. 

“Large swaths of the country … just aren’t familiar with the Army,” said Agnes Schaefer, assistant secretary of the Army for manpower and reserve affairs. “We are seeing a really big and growing cultural knowledge gap about the military, and so … we’re trying to fill that.” 

Faced with changing adversaries and an increasingly complex operating environment, the Army must make sure soldiers are ready to fight, win and not just survive, but thrive, a senior Army leader said.

Speaking during the 2023 Holistic Health and Fitness Symposium at Fort Eustis, Virginia, Lt. Gen. Xavier Brunson, commander of I Corps, said the Army’s transformation for 2030 and beyond doesn’t just involve equipment and new technology.

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.