The U.S. Military Builds Integrated Platforms to Enhance Combat Readiness

Reference News Network, October 20 report According to the U.S. newspaper The Hill on October 12, Fort Polk in western Louisiana is where U.S. military personnel "play war." The U.S. military Joint Readiness Training Center is located here, where troops prepare for combat, especially before deployment. The goal of the U.S. Army's various combat training centers is to simulate real battlefield environments, which increasingly means preparing for conflicts dominated by drones and artificial intelligence.

Reportedly, Brian Pickens is a veteran who has been deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq 14 times and has served in the U.S. Special Operations Forces for over 20 years. He stated that the U.S. has a lot of homework to do. Pickens said, "The skills honed in the global war on terror are only suitable for dealing with poorly equipped weak forces and cannot contend with equally matched strong enemies."

Pickens has also provided support for Ukraine in its fight against Russia, and now he focuses on training U.S. and NATO forces in contemporary warfare methods and military modernization.

The Pentagon announced the establishment of a brand new autonomous operations command to promote artificial intelligence, robotics, and low-cost drone capabilities across the military.

According to exclusive information from the U.S. News Nation television channel, this initiative also aims to create an integrated technology system for the Army. This system will be compatible with equipment produced by different manufacturers and is designed to accelerate training progress and reduce costs. The first test site for this system is located at the Joint Readiness Training Center, with Fortera as the partner. This defense technology company specializes in autonomous ground systems and is currently expanding its service offerings to the U.S. military.

Reportedly, to simulate real combat scenarios, the U.S. Army's 1st Battalion, 509th Infantry Regiment, nicknamed "Geronimo," serves as a permanent force playing the enemy, conducting opposing drills with each brigade rotating to the training center.

Logan Morris, chairman of the Fort Polk Progress organization, stated that the "Geronimo" troops are equipped to simulate the capabilities that U.S. adversaries currently possess or will soon have, including drones, communication devices, and intelligence information. To counter various autonomous enemy weapon systems, the U.S. military needs to operate different technologies on their respective platforms, which is both time-consuming and costly.

The new system aims to reduce time and costs. Phil Kott, responsible for business development, operations support, and project planning at Fortera, said, "Our soldiers shouldn't have to learn to use 50 different systems, different chargers, and different handheld controllers just to realistically simulate the combat actions that the enemy might take."

This platform can access information from various communication technologies and other platforms and process it at scale.

Scott Sanders, Chief Growth Officer at Fortera, stated that the design goal is to enable an exhausted and stressed 18-year-old soldier on the battlefield to autonomously plan missions without waiting for orders from higher command. He said, "This can reduce costs, enhance equipment interoperability, and speed up decision-making at the tactical front."

The report states that if the system trial goes smoothly, the military plans to promote it to all Army training centers and eventually deploy it in actual combat.

Colonel Trevor Jones, commander of "Geronimo," wrote that the Army must change its training and combat modes and figure out what works and what doesn't through "rapid trial and error."

Jones said, "Given the current pace of technological change, the risk of being surpassed by adversary forces is real."

Fortera admits that it cannot guarantee this new platform will operate perfectly, nor can it be achieved overnight. However, Jones supports bold experimentation because if the U.S. military does not try new combat methods, it will be left further behind by adversaries who continue to innovate in this field and have already gained the upper hand.

Reportedly, this new technology has undergone some level of testing. Over the past year, Fortera has delivered 105 autonomous vehicles to Eastern Europe to support Ukraine's operations. Kott stated that some of the foundational technologies used in this batch of vehicles have been improved in actual combat, and some of these technologies will also be provided for "Geronimo" use.

When asked about the data security of accessing its platform and whether there is a risk of related data falling into the hands of U.S. adversaries, Kott said they have the capability to mitigate such risks because they "know how to handle government data."

Time will tell what gaps need to be filled and what other precautions need to be taken. Currently, this platform seems to be a step towards enhancing readiness.

U.S. Republican Congressman Mike Simpson from Idaho said, "We cannot let our adversaries get ahead. If we do not accelerate our catch-up, they will leave us behind." (Translation/ Liu Zongya)