The 2024 Maneuver Warfighter Conference highlights the future of combat and leadership | Article

(Fort Moore, Georgia) — “We are focused on warfare,” said Gen. Andrew Poppas, commanding general of U.S. Army Forces Command. “We [have to] Be prepared for the next ten years, for the difficult times that lie ahead,” he said.

Poppas spoke during the three-day Maneuver Warfighter Conference held Sept. 10-12 at Fort Moore, Georgia. The conference brought together the Army's top leaders to discuss topics such as the future of combat, readiness and battlefield technology.

Some of the readiness priorities Poppas addressed include how the Army plans to prepare for large-scale operations in a multidisciplinary war zone and how robotics and electronic warfare are playing an increasingly important role in how we fight and win our wars.

“Today's battlefields are testing grounds for weapons and new technologies,” Poppas said, “and four of the five most important developments are due to drones and electromagnetic superiority.”

Command Sgt. Maj. TJ Holland, FORSCOM Command Seargent Major, also participated in the presentation and encouraged the Soldiers in attendance to recognize that it is their responsibility as leaders to act boldly; to be bold and to recognize that while new technology will be expected on the battlefield of the future, it is ultimately the human factor that is critical.

“The next battle will not be won with technology,” he said. “It is system agnostic – it is about the soldier,” Holland said.

New technologies for the battlefield require an adjustment of the overall training strategy for the force and ensuring that leaders do everything in their power to ensure that soldiers are both mentally and physically prepared for what they may encounter. This includes a fundamental upgrade for commanders with a focus on improving the skills of individual soldiers at the division level.

“The training we do with divisions in the Joint Readiness Training Center and National Training Center terrain is what functional brigades need to refine their formation,” Poppas said. “Being with other live individuals at these training sites prepares us to ultimately fight together in real time,” he said.

Poppas emphasized that the overall losses in warfare can be enormous and asked the young soldiers attending the conference whether they were really prepared to face this possibility.

“Are you prepared to take that kind of loss?” he asked. “Because we owe it to our soldiers to fight this future battle, to get tougher, to train harder and to make the formations stronger through training,” he said.