Global Strike, or Combat Support Training Exercise 25, involves over 7,000 soldiers training for Large Scale Combat Operations (LSCO) on all 60,000 acres of Fort McCoy in Wisconsin. The goal of the exercise is to get reservists trained up to be prepared for emerging threats on near-future battlefields.
"We are incorporating some of the modern-day battlefield threats, such as [unmanned aircraft systems] and training counter-UAS battle drills. The emerging threat is going to encompass a lot of [artificial intelligence] and robotics. Our Soldiers are adapting at a rapid pace to prepare for that," explained Brig. Gen. Sandra Martin, who serves as deputy commander of the 412th Theater Engineer Command.
Interestingly, the soldiers are training to counter and defeat artificial intelligence that, as far as is currently known, doesn't exist. However, the technology is demonstrably real and the military is clearly taking it seriously. Like quantum computing and decryption, artificial intelligence is a technology that many see as being on the cusp of changing warfare forever.
The idea is that sensors scanning the battlefield for patterns will process that information using artificial intelligence. In this manner, cover and concealment may be stripped away from soldiers, leaving nowhere to hide. For this reason, Global Strike included rapidly breaking down headquarters locations, moving to another area, and reassembling.
“You've got to be mobile, you've got to be concealed if you think you're going to survive on the battlefield,” Martin said. “That's what we're really focused on here is trying to get battalions to be able to move on the battlefield very quickly. As a matter of fact, we had a success where the 844th Engineer Battalion was able to move their [tactical operations center] in less than 15 minutes.”
Army leadership hopes that result of the Global Strike exercise is that the reservists come away from it with some battle drills to help them adapt to future battlefield conditions.