Fort Irwin, CA (AP) —In the dusty California desert, U.S. military trainers with Russia’s Ukraine prepare soldiers for future battles with major enemies such as Russia and China. We are already taking advantage of the lessons we have learned from the war.
Player of the role in this month’s exercise National Training Center Speaks Russian. Enemy forces controlling the fictional town of Ugen are using a stable stream of social media posts to make false accusations against the American brigade preparing for an attack.
In the coming weeks, the next brigade’s planned training scenario will focus on how to fight enemies who are willing to destroy the city with rocket and missile fire to conquer the city.
If you think the image looks familiar, it’s currently being played on TV and websites around the world as follows: Russian troops attacked Ukrainian cities with airstrikes, killing a large number of civilians. The information warfare on social media delivered a fervent nightly speech by the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, same as Russian efforts accusing Ukrainian troops of forging mass slaughter in town Bucha etc — Massacre where the West blames Moscow’s army.
“I think the entire Army is now trying to see what’s happening in Ukraine and learn lessons,” said the Secretary of the Army. Christine Warmus.. She said these lessons range from problems with Russian equipment and logistics to the use of communications and the Internet.
“The experience of Russia and Ukraine is a very powerful example of how important the information domain is,” said Warmas, who watched an Army brigade fight a fictional one for two days at a training center in the Mojave Desert. Said. “Denobian” army.
“We’ve been talking about it for about five years, but see it in action and see how Zelensky is incredibly powerful … this is what the real world sees in real time. It’s a world war that you can see. “
In the center, the commander, Brig.General Kurt TaylorAnd his staff rip pages from the Russian playbook to make sure the US military is ready to fight and win against enemies close to sophisticated peers.
This is a common tool. For example, both his base and the Luiziana Joint Preparatory Training Center have transitioned to counterinsurgency training during the Iraq War and the Afghanistan War.And that Military service focused other training on how to fight in cold weather — Imitate the situation in Russia or North Korea. But these latest changes happened rapidly in the first few months after Russia invaded Ukraine.
Approximately 4,500 soldiers from the 2nd Brigade of the 1st Cavalry Division, based in Fort Hood, Texas, are out in Fort Irwin’s vast desert training area and are the 11th armored cavalry resident of the NTC acting as enemies. I plan to fight the regiment for two weeks. army. Regimental soldiers known as Blackhorses are stationed in and around Ugen, including role players who act as locals.
As the sun rose last week, Brigade Commander Colonel Ian Palmer stood on Crash Hill on the outskirts of the town, preparing soldiers to launch an attack. There is a line of tanks in the distance. The attack was delayed a bit as the strong winds on the eve hindered his progress.
He stated that this exercise uses more drones from friendly and enemy forces for both surveillance and attack. Therefore, his troops are trying to use camouflage to push them into the terrain and keep them out of sight. “You know wherever you are, if you can be seen, you can be shot,” he said.
In a makeshift town, opposition forces are confident that they can thwart Palmer’s brigade, despite their different sizes. Denovian has only about 1,350 units, but throws everything in the brigade, from sabotage and other electronic warfare to rebellion and propaganda.
The role player is ready to shoot your phone and quickly post it on social media.
The Denovian army wants to portray the unit in the worst possible light, constantly twisting the story on social media and recognizing that Palmer’s army is fighting for the truth.
He said it was a challenge. He said, “When there are many casualties, a runaway on the left flank, a supply train isn’t where it’s needed, and a bulldozer can’t be found, it’s hard to think of what someone said about me on Twitter.” rice field.
According to Taylor, the goal of the training is to teach brigades that come in a way that integrates all elements of combat power into coordinated attacks.
“Anyone can play an instrument, but it’s about making music, putting everything together in sync. And what you saw today is that artillery is doing artillery, aviation It was doing aviation, and the riot police doing things. But part of the delay in the assault on the town was that they couldn’t synchronize those three. That was it, “he said.
Again, they can look to Ukraine and see how Russia failed it in the early days of the war. U.S. leaders were unable to support the ground forces needed for commanders to consistently provide airstrikes and move to major cities such as Kieu in Russia’s first multifaceted attack in Ukraine. I repeatedly pointed out that.
The failure led to Russian troops bombing cities from the suburbs, attacking hospitals, apartment buildings and other structures, and killing civilians.
So when the next brigade arrived as a training center, Taylor said he would face enemies on board by doing it.
“We’re very focused on how we fight enemies trying to destroy our infrastructure, because we think they’re fighting. We need to be prepared for urban warfare with enemies. Indiscriminately. I’m firing a cannon. “
Army Secretary Warmas said the training also highlighted other lessons the United States has learned from the war in Ukraine.
“We’re seeing what’s happening to the Russians right now, so it’s beneficial for us to think right in terms of modernization,” she said, some US tanks. Is very heavy and the terrain of Europe is muddy, like the hard sands of the desert.
The Army said, “What is the proper balance between tank maneuverability, tank viability, and tank lethality?” If you want to be more mobile, you can make it lighter, but that makes it less viable. Therefore, you need to decide where to take the risk. “
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