Vice Chief to Soldiers: ‘I’m trusting you’

WASHINGTON - The Army will play a pivotal role in the success of the joint force with its ability to dominate and project power from land, the service's top uniformed leader said.

"The geometry of the battle space has evolved, but that … does not mean ground maneuver is dead," said Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Christopher C. LaNeve during an Association of the United States Army luncheon in Washington. "The Army's land dominance is rooted in our ability to operationally maneuver on the battlefield unlike any other army in the world."

LaNeve, also the Army's acting chief of staff, called on all Soldiers to become experts in their military occupational specialties and to embrace a "warrior mindset," as outlined in the Army Azimuth, a strategic statement by LaNeve to the force. In the Aug. 19 statement, LaNeve said Soldiers must outpace adversaries and gain a positional advantage through force posture.

"For the Soldiers in this room, and those that are listening today at every echelon, I want you to understand the importance of having ownership over your role and how the Army fights," LaNeve said. "If one element fails, operational maneuver degrades. If operational maneuver degrades, our value to the joint force falters, and we simply cannot allow that to happen."

"I'm trusting you to ground yourself in the fundamentals of your profession and train on the core and collective tasks of your military specialty," he added.

LaNeve detailed the core elements of the new occupational warfighting guidance, "How We Fight," published by the Army on Oct. 7. Echoing this year's AUSA theme of "America's Army: The Foundation of the Joint Force," LaNeve said the service's ability to maneuver across land creates multiple dilemmas for adversaries, putting the joint force in advantageous positions.

Convergence connects sensors to commanders and decision-makers while layering kinetic and non-kinetic effects, he said. During Exercise Bayonet Quest, Soldiers from the 7th Infantry Division, Multi-Domain Command-Pacific, engaged in multidomain exercises across Michigan's Lower Peninsula, Sept. 26-Oct. 6.

The Soldiers simulated using autonomous aerial systems with manned and unmanned vessels on the shores of Lake Huron. The exercise tested the Soldiers' ability to converge cross-domain sensing and deliver effects on adversaries.

"Convergence is the unseen work of theater armies, corps, and multidomain commands, who are charged with weaving together exquisite capabilities with precision timing to overwhelm enemy commanders with simultaneous dilemmas," LaNeve said. "It disrupts their sensors and networks, and it creates the conditions that allow the joint force to move, to strike, to communicate and ultimately, to win."

The Army's strike capability enables the service to degrade and destroy enemy systems using both lethal and nonlethal fires.

During Operation Epic Fury, a joint military operation against Iran in February, members of the Wisconsin National Guard's 1st Battalion, 121st Field Artillery Regiment, effectively executed five High Mobility Artillery Rocket System fire missions. The Soldiers successfully destroyed Iranian assets, earning praise from the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

"Strike requires tempo and continuous mobility, the ability to rapidly disperse and then aggregate to deliver effects," LaNeve said. "It requires emphasis on mission command in every echelon, excelling at protection and concealment tasks. Effective strike creates decision space and enhances initiative for the joint force."

LaNeve said close battle is the Army's ability to close, dislocate, destroy or defeat enemies in contact at every level through the combined arms maneuver or the synchronization of combat arms units, such as armor, artillery and engineering, to create multiple obstacles. Close battle requires Soldiers to stay in top physical shape and to master their training.

"There's nothing more deeply associated with the American Soldier than the element of close battle," LaNeve said. "It's in our DNA, painstakingly imprinted beginning on the first day of basic training and reinforced through rigorous training exercises and demanding physical fitness."

LaNeve recalled the Battle of Normandy during World War II, when Army Rangers and paratroopers stormed the beaches of northwestern France to help the Allies win a pivotal battle. The general recalled the Battle of 73 Easting in 1991, when heavily outnumbered American tank crews scored a decisive victory over the Iraqi forces.

"[Close battle] is not a relic of an earlier age," LaNeve said. "It remains the point at which enemy forces are physically defeated, terrain is seized, populations are secured, and tactical actions become durable political outcomes. Close battle remains the ultimate test of the Army's ability and its will to provide the joint force a decisive victory."

Finally, endurance reflects the Army's ability to sustain operations over time and across great distances, LaNeve said.

"Endurance ensures that the joint force can observe and absorb the enemy's best hit and continue to fight," he continued. "Together, these four elements of land power provide the U.S. Army, within the joint force, the ability to fight and win our nation's wars."

LaNeve said the Army remains committed to modernization; the service seeks to rapidly acquire next-generation technology to outpace its adversaries. He added that the branch must remain fiscally responsible while investing in that technology.

LaNeve announced that the service has redesignated U.S. Army Futures and Concepts Command at Fort Eustis, Virginia, as U.S. Army Futures and Autonomous Systems Command, which remains a three-star command.

The Army continues to prioritize developing advanced technology, recently testing its next-generation command-and-control capabilities during Project Convergence Capstone 6, hosted by the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California, in July.

"Every day we ask American Soldiers to be prepared to hold terrain, secure populations, disarm militias, protect humanitarian corridors and create the conditions for whatever comes next," LaNeve said. "That should never ever be a fair fight. The speed, the precision and lethality Soldiers require to execute these missions demand cutting-edge technology, and [Acting Secretary of the Army Adam R. Telle] and I intend to give it to them at scale."

The Army is currently revising its doctrine in U.S. Army Field Manual 3-0 to ensure each Soldier understands the operating environment and remains doctrinally sound. Additionally, the service has been reevaluating mission-essential task lists and evaluating whether they match a Soldier's MOS. The service has continued to field autonomous and unmanned aerial systems in its formations.