IRIA News

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The U.S. Army joined NATO forces for the Avenger Triad / Joint Warfighting Assessment 24 Exercise in Europe. The exercise, which included about 4,000 personnel, was part of the Army’s persistent experimentation campaign to modernize its fighting force by 2030.

The exercise, led by the U.S. Army in Europe and Africa, included 2,000 U.S. participants and 2,000 multinational participants from Estonia, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland, and Spain.

The U.S. European Command and U.S. Army Europe and Africa (USAREUR-AF) led the computer-assisted exercise. The exercise provided a critical opportunity to enhance readiness and strengthen interoperability among Allied forces. Notably, it marked the first time USAREUR-AF trained under the command of Joint Force Command Brunssum (JFCBS).

The series of exercises that took place in September 2024 served as a testing ground for new military concepts, offering valuable insights for regional strategic planning. The exercise provided the U.S. and NATO forces an opportunity to train in large-scale combat operations.

Throughout the event, both USAREUR-AF and JFCBS focused on boosting preparedness, refining operational plans, and improving coordination between forces.

The Joint Warfighting Assessment, overseen by the U.S. Army Joint Modernization Command, focused on testing and evaluating four new Army formations—the Theater Strikes Effects Group, Theater Information Advantage Detachment, Long-Range Fires Battalion, and the Armored Division of 2030. These experimental formations were deployed in simulated battlefield scenarios to assess their operational effectiveness in a multi-domain environment.

Force Package 25-1E wrapped up their Mission Readiness Exercise at Fort Carson, sharpening skills through Comms Exercises, Staff Academics, pre-deployment briefs, and pre-mission planning. Big thanks to 3SQDN & BDE Staff for the support! 🛡️

Unity and Victory! pic.twitter.com/47oFfPXKrC

— 4thSFAB (@4thSfab) September 27, 2024

Commander of the Joint Modernization Command, Brig. Gen. Zachary Miller emphasized the importance of experimenting with future combat formations in real-world settings. “This is a Joint Warfighting Assessment that directly informs modernization decisions that are going to deliver the multi-domain operations Army of 2030 and the Army of 2040 and beyond,” Miller said.

“Avenger Triad is incredibly important because when you’re able to experiment in-theater with operational units, you’re able to better understand the challenges and the opportunities associated with executing the Army’s and the Joint Force’s mission in a critical part of the world,” he added.

Col. Derek Bothern of Army Futures Command’s All-Domain Sensing Cross-Functional Team, who has been participating in JWA experimentation in various capacities during the past five years, noted that “In the beginning, the majority of our experimentation events were inside the United States.”

He added, “During our persistent experimentation push, we’re going out to those combatant commands, who have unique issues and unique operational requirements. And now, instead of testing a piece of equipment in the United States, then fielding it out and finding all these issues because they weren’t designed to work in 90 percent humidity, 365 days a year, or they have problems when they hit 140 degrees. By putting them into the Soldiers into the locations where they would be used, what we’re able to do is get more data so that when we actually field the system, the system will be correct for that area.”

Key participants, such as Lt. Col. Noah Ebaugh and Cpt. Briana Gann played an integral role in evaluating how the new formations, like the Theater Strikes Effects Group and the Theater Information Advantage Detachment, could be employed in future conflicts. These units are designed to leverage joint space domain effects and information warfare capabilities to gain a competitive edge across multiple domains, including space and cyberspace.

Deputy Commander of JFC Brunssum, Lieutenant General Luis Lanchares said, “Avenger Triad 24 was our first opportunity to exercise with U.S. Army Europe and Africa in its role as a Multi-Corps Land Component Command, the highest echelon of command in the land domain. This exercise was a significant milestone on the pathway to convergence between U.S. forces and JFCBS. We identified many important lessons learned, all of which will be extremely useful for increasing our integration in future exercises.”

Avenger Triad and JWA 24 marked another step in the Army Futures Command’s ongoing learning campaign, which will culminate in Project Convergence Capstone 5, scheduled for 2025. These events are shaping the concepts, formations, and technologies that will define the Army’s ability to fight and win in the complex environments of the future.