Summer 2025 Issue
Commandant's Note
PDF Version
Brig. Gen. Phillip J. Kiniery
Professional Forum
Harnessing SIGINT and EW for Tactical Dominance: A Guide for Combat Arms Leaders
Maj. Gen. Rick Appelhans and Maj. Gen. Ryan Janovic
To the combat arms platoon leader and company commander: You are leading formations that will close with and destroy the enemy. Your ability to shoot, move, communicate, and then move again is paramount to our success on the modern battlefield. The enemy is sophisticated, adaptive, and aggressively contesting your ability to maneuver in all domains, including the electromagnetic spectrum (EMS). You are not alone in this fight; the intelligence and cyber communities will enable you to dominate the EMS. These communities stand ready to provide you with actionable targets and the means to influence/dominate the EMS at echelon...read more
Light Infantry Lethality: Understanding the Power of the Goose
Lt. Col. D. Max Ferguson
TThe Carl Gustaf Multi-Role Anti-Armor Anti-Personnel Weapon System (MAAWS) is a remarkable weapon system for light infantry forces. But this weapon is also one of the least understood systems across the Infantry. The 84mm Recoilless Rifle goes by many nicknames: Carl G, the Gustaf, the Goose, MAAWS, the M3. Whatever you call it, it looks like a beast, and one glance tells you that it packs a punch. Yet the uninitiated mistake the Carl G as little more than a reloadable AT4 so it still gets driven like an old station wagon when it has the performance, versatility, and power of a race car ....read more
The 11th Airborne Division: A Unique History, Purpose, and Culture
Maj. Ben Torgersen, Capt. Alexander Block, Capt. Max Sechena, Capt. Cole Jacobson, and 1st Lt. Ben Lockey
The U.S. Army reactivated the 11th Airborne Division on 6 June 2022, sending a clear message to allies and adversaries of the increased U.S. prioritization on Arctic and Indo-Pacific security. Over the past three years, the Alaska-based Arctic Angels have united under a common purpose, striving to master both Arctic warfare and expeditionary operations across the nation’s priority theater — the Indo-Pacific. Uniquely positioned to rapidly respond in either region, Soldiers and Paratroopers of the Army’s newest division train in every environment from the mountains of Bardufoss, Norway, to the jungles of Baturaja, Indonesia. Trained to operate on such wildly different terrain at temperatures ranging from -50 to 100 degrees, Arctic Angels are adaptable, resourceful, and gritty...read more
International Exercises Highlight Division’s Unique Capabilities
Maj. Ben Torgersen
Although 11th Airborne Division Soldiers and Paratroopers proudly wear the Arctic Tab, they remain ready to operate in any environment. The division both demonstrates and builds this readiness by participating in a wide range of international exercises across the globe. Some exercises, such as Arctic Shock, hone the Arctic Angels’ expertise in frigid, high-latitude environments. Arctic Shock is a U.S.-Norwegian exercise where 11th Airborne Paratroopers executed an over-the-pole strategic airborne insertion to Europe’s High North. Most exercises, however, force the division out of its cold-weather comfort zone to locales such as Chile’s Atacama Desert — the world’s driest desert — or the humid jungles of the Indo-Pacific.....read more
Arctic Warfighting: Lessons from JPMRC 25-02
Lt. Col. Cody Grimm and Capt. Matthew LaFleur
TThe Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center (JPMRC) — the U.S. Army’s newest combat training center (CTC) — is how the U.S. Army Pacific enhances warfighting and builds readiness in its unique environments. For the 25th Infantry Division, that means the tropical climate of the Pacific, and for the 11th Airborne Division (Arctic), that means the extreme cold weather and high-latitude environments. Using the expansive terrain of Alaska contained within the Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex (JPARC), the 11th Airborne Division builds readiness in its own backyard....read more
Long-Range Maritime Air Assault Operation in the Indo-Pacific Theater
Command Sgt. Maj. Garrett S. O’Keefe and Command Sgt. Maj. Jason B. Chase
Operational reach refers to the distance and duration a military force can effectively project its capabilities. During a long-range maritime air assault, this concept is directly tied to the limitations of basing and lines of operation. The tyranny of distance across the Indo-Pacific region presents a significant challenge, one that can only be mitigated by higher headquarters providing a well-thought-out support and sustainment plan. Brigade and battalion-level units assume significant risk when conducting long-range maritime air assaults, especially when the operation occurs hundreds of miles away from support...read more
Partnership in the Pacific: Improving Interoperability and Increasing Readiness
Capt. Luis Zamora
Since its founding, the United States has established strong military alliances with partners worldwide. These partnerships are vital to maintaining strategic alliances and mutual trust in the Indo-Pacific area of operations (AO). During a recent Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center (JPMRC) rotation, the 25th Infantry Division’s 2nd Light Brigade Combat Team (Provisional) — 2LBCT(P) — collaborated with the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) to strengthen its partnership, improve interoperability, and increase warfighter readiness while validating the Army’s Transformation in Contact (TiC) directives..read more
To Build Survivability: Troop the Line
1st Sgt. Philip J. Piennette
To build survivability, leaders at echelon cannot differ in their understanding of what trooping the line means. When enforced daily, standardization across echelon will reduce confusion and build grit; doing simple things to standard means doing things the same across the formation.... read more
Installing a Play: A Framework for Platoon Live-Fire Certification
Lt. Col. Thomas Robert Ryan Jr.
The purpose of this article is to share an approach to using the platoon live-fire exercise (LFX) as a training event to build equal capacity across all rifle platoons. We reframed the training as “installing a play” rather than a test, with the goal of preparing all nine rifle platoons to execute a platoon attack under any conditions. This framework relies on two critical components: transparency and measurement. I outline how clear, consistent communication of expectations and timely introduction of performance measures led to a novel and effective training experience for all participants.....read more
Tactical Interoperability through Combined Training: A KRF Story
Lt. Col. Josh Silver, Maj. Matthew Dixon, Capt. Brandon Latham, and Capt. Zachary Watters
After days of savage fighting in the mountainous backcountry of South Korea, the two opposing brigades were battered and near exhausted. Two battalion commanders linked up just shy of the military crest in a bold effort to combine their meager forces for one last push into the valley below where an enemy strongpoint awaited. With a cacophony of gunfire to their front and urgent radio chatter coming over the net, they sought to focus and figure out how to survive long enough to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. They hashed out a plan and settled on attacking immediately while they still had a chance. The remnants of their two formations amounted to little more than an overstrength company, but they had two tanks, and the handful of engineers survived. If friendly artillery could pin down the enemy defenders, it just might be enough to allow them to seize the final objective..read more
Convergence in Multi-Domain Operations: A Guide for Junior Officers
Capt. Tice Myers
This article is designed to serve as a guide to assist junior officers in understanding their role within the overall convergence framework in either a battalion/brigade staff position or within their key developmental platoon leader or company commander role. It is in no way a comprehensive analysis of convergence and multidomain operations, nor a prescriptive approach of how to plan and conduct operations. The primary audience for this article is the future platoon leaders and company commanders currently or shortly entering their respective professional military education course....read more
Not Just Arbitrary Lines: Factors That Impact the Battlefield Framework
Maj. Nathan A. Schoffer and Maj. Jeremy S. Maness
The Fiscal Year 23 Mission Command Training in Large-Scale Combat Operations Key Observations publication states that units routinely struggle to develop a complete operational framework. Furthermore, units lack processes to adjust their operational framework in contact based on current conditions. During Warfighter Exercise (WFX) 25-1, the 1st Armored Division (AD) staff experienced similar challenges... Through 1AD’s experience at WFX 25-1, the division staff found that they must understand the factors that impact the positioning of forward and rear boundaries, develop their battlefield framework during planning, and communicate boundary refinements with their higher headquarters and subordinate units...read more
Company-Level Lessons for NATO Multinational Operations
1st Lt. Mikhael Smits
This article recommends best practices for multinational integration at the company level and below. Each section addresses one main lesson learned during a Joint Multinational Readiness Center (JMRC) rotation fought under an Italian regiment and alongside nine other nations. Each section opens with a fact pattern and closes with recommendations....read more
Innovating Defense: Generative AI’s Role in Shaping the Future of Military Strategy
2nd Lt. Andrew P. Barlow and Cadet Allison Bender
The emergence of generative artificial intelligence (AI) indicates a paradigm shift in military research and application, echoing the revolutionary scientific framework presented by Thomas Kuhn in his ground-breaking The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. This article delves into the profound implications and transformative potential of generative AI within the military sector, exploring its role as both a disruptive innovation and a catalyst for strategic advancement. In the evolving landscape of military technology, generative AI stands as a pivotal development, reshaping traditional methodologies and introducing new dimensions in strategy and tactics..read more
The 89th Infantry Division’s Rhine Crossing: Training for Victory
Chris Wickers
The crossing of the Rhine River by Allied forces in March 1945 served as a pivotal moment in World War II, marking the beginning of the final push into Nazi Germany. The 89th Infantry Division, known as the “Rolling W” for its distinctive shoulder patch, played a crucial role in this historic event, forging the assault across the Rhine under heavy fire. The division’s success was largely due to the intensive pre-deployment training its Soldiers had undergone since the unit’s activation almost three years earlier in July 1942… The 89th Infantry Division’s achievements during this pivotal battle serve as a testament to the critical importance of thorough pre-deployment training for modern military forces....read more
Conducting Port Operations
1st Lt. Ryan Bobbitt
As a new Infantry lieutenant, I thought I knew what the first few years of my career would look like. I would spend a few months in the operations and training staff section (S-3), get a platoon, and become an executive officer (XO) or even a specialty platoon leader. But on my first day at the 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, my battalion XO took me into the logistics and sustainment staff section (S-4). What was initially supposed to be "a couple of weeks to help them catch up on some work" very quickly turned into a couple of months. Before I knew it, I was the S-4 officer in charge (OIC)…...read more
