ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY

Irregular warfare is uncomfortable and unpredictable, and the Army’s special operations forces are learning, training and adapting for that fight on a future, multidomain battlefield, a panel of experts said.

The Army’s transformation push becomes more important every day, said Gen. James Rainey, commanding general of Army Futures Command.

Speaking July 27 at the Association of the U.S. Army’s Warfighter Summit and Exposition in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Rainey said, “There are absolutely some seriously disruptive things happening in the world and happening in our profession right now.”

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.

Operating in an urban environment is one of the most difficult challenges facing the Army as it prepares for the next war, according to a new pamphlet from Army Training and Doctrine Command.

From recent large-scale operations in Baghdad and Mosul in Iraq and counterinsurgency missions in Kabul and Kandahar in Afghanistan, to counterterrorism operations in Paris and Mumbai, India, and humanitarian assistance missions in Asia, urban areas pose a unique challenge to ground troops, according to the pamphlet.

Army staffs, especially at the division and corps levels, remain unprepared to effectively conduct and manage urban operations, even as the service expects to fight its next battle in the mess and chaos of a densely populated area, according to a recent report.

A new paper from the Association of the U.S. Army’s Institute of Land Warfare warns that the Army must pivot from irregular warfare and adapt its tactics, doctrine and training to meet the challenges of a new battlefield likely to be dominated by urban warfare.

In his report, “Urbanization and Megacities: Implications for the U.S. Army,” author Jeremiah Rozman, an ILW national security analyst, writes that the Army must “organize, equip and train to fight and win” within the confines of an urban environment, including megacities with populations of more than 10 million people.