Photo By Sgt. Perla Alfaro | Lt. Gen. David J. McFarlane, commanding general of I Corps, speaks during a panel...... read more read more
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Summary: A panel of senior military leaders and experts from around the Indo-Pacific region gathered at the Land Forces Pacific (LANPAC) Symposium to discuss the importance of multilateral training and exercises in building readiness, enhancing interoperability, and strengthening partnerships for land power in the Indo-Pacific. Moderated by U.S Army retired Lt. Gen. Mick Bednarek, vice president of Strategic Outreach, FLUOR Corporation, the panel featured insights from U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Matthew W. McFarlane, commanding general, I Corps, Maj. Gen. Charles T. Lombardo, commanding general, 2nd Infantry Division, Maj. Gen. Yann Latil, commander, French Armed Forces in New Caledonia, Maj. Gen. Ash Collingburn, commander, 1st (Australian) Division - Australian Army, and Col. Craig Solomon, chief of force preparation, Papua New Guinea Defence Force, who shared their experiences and perspectives on leveraging operations, activities, and investments (OAIs) to promote regional security.
Themes and Messages:
● Multilateral Exercises as Key to Readiness: The panel emphasized that multilateral exercises are crucial for building warfighting lethality and readiness at the tactical and operational levels.
● Interoperability as a Daily Practice: Interoperability should be a way of life, built through persistent training environments and habitual relationships with allies and partners.
● OAIs as Rehearsals, Not Just Exercises: Shifting the mindset from viewing OAIs as simply exercises to seeing them as rehearsals for potential operations is crucial for maximizing their value.
● The Importance of "Cheating the Tyranny of Distance": Panelists highlighted the need to overcome the challenges of vast distances in the Pacific through pre-positioning, air cargo delivery, and innovative logistics solutions.
● The Power of the Strategic Land Power Network: The panel underscored the importance of the strategic land power network in enabling joint operations and providing access to key terrain.
Key Quotes and Panelist Focus:
LTG Matthew W. McFarlane, Commanding General, I Corps:
● "Terms of priorities, for me right now, the number one priority is building warfighting, lethality, and readiness. We do that through Operation Pathways...and continuing to improve and optimize the exercises to get more out of it in terms of our readiness at the tactical operational levels."
● "We don't know when we're going to operate or fight next, where we're going to operate or fight next, but we know we're going to operate with our partners and allies, with like minded nations as we move forward."
Maj. Gen. Yann Latil, Commander, French Armed Forces in New Caledonia:
● "When you have to prepare this kind of operation and the planification, the comment posts are the same procedure, and the necessity to coordinate with other nations are exactly the same. And I think the message for the competitors is very clear, if you have the capability to gather 1000 of troops in a city or around the city field training, to send them at 2000 kilometers in one week, the message is understood by the competitors."
Maj. Gen. Charles T. Lombardo, Commanding General, 2nd Infantry Division:
● "We're, you know, really working on mastery of the science of war fighting...mobility, firepower, and really training and educating, building lethality from the rifle team to the division level leaders, is what we're doing and focused on right now."
● "In order to be able to fight tonight, you gotta be able to fight at night, and you gotta be able to fight in all these different environments that we know we're gonna face in that first four minutes and 30 seconds that we have to respond."
Maj. Gen. Ash Collingburn, Australian Army:
● "The land power network is everyone here. So industry is a clear neighbor. I want to thank the industry for being here and for also putting on the expo next door, the sensational speed in most of our armies we're conducting mobilization contingency planning. Industry needs to be a key part of that. How do we mass produce material? We talk a lot about magazine depth, guided weapons, explosive ordnance, we need to be able to produce capability at scale."
● "Each of these OAIs is an opportunity for us to test our readiness, our strategic warning time has gone, and Chuck (Maj. Gen. Charles T. Lombardo, commanding general, 2nd Infantry Division) talked about that fight tonight, the mindset that they have in Korea, and that is what we need. 2027 is a line in the sand, but I'd argue that nobody knows that that's the timeline. So we need to be ready tonight."
Col. Craig Solomon, Chief of Force Preparation, Papua New Guinea Defense Force:
● "So the PNG Defense Force is one of the least resourced agency, a government agency in the country...But we really survive because we got our closest friend and security partner that props us up all the time, and that is, of course, the Australian Army..."
Q&A Highlights:
● Interoperability and Information Sharing: Gen. Yasunori Morishita, Lt. Gen. Simon Stuart, and Lt. Gen. Roy Galido emphasized the importance of building trust, establishing clear protocols, and leveraging technology to enhance interoperability and information sharing among allies and partners.
● Asymmetric Capabilities: The panel as a whole emphasized the need to develop and integrate asymmetric capabilities, such as space, counter-space, and electronic warfare.
| Date Taken: | 05.14.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 05.15.2025 00:18 |
| Story ID: | 498020 |
| Location: | HONOLULU, HAWAII, US |
| Web Views: | 90 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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