First armor brigade conducts combat center rotation with new tools

The Army recently put its first armor brigade through a combat training center rotation under its new Transformation in Contact initiative.

The 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division launched Exercise Combined Resolve this past week in Hohenfels, Germany, at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center.

The brigade is the first armored unit to conduct the new Transformation in Contact modernization effort. The initiative seeks to deliver new equipment to operational units as they prepare for major training events and deployments.

The aim is to gain feedback and make adjustments to deployment needs while continuing the regular readiness preparation that operational units undergo for standard deployments.

The initiative began with three infantry brigades, one each from the 101st Airborne Division, 25th Infantry Division and 10th Mountain Division.

Those units saw the addition of Infantry Squad Vehicles, drones, sensing and strike capabilities.

The work resulted in changes to the structure of the infantry brigade, which have since been dubbed “Mobile Brigade Combat Teams.” Final decisions about the layout of those brigades have yet to be made.

The TIC initiative continues with this armor brigade and seeks to raise those changes to the division level also, officials said.

“Raider Brigade is spearheading the Army’s Transforming in Contact initiative and experimenting with new capabilities to enhance battlefield effectiveness while deployed to Europe,” said Maj. Gen. Christopher Norrie, commanding general of the 3rd Infantry Division. “The lessons learned through this exercise will help inform the Army how an armored brigade combat team fights on future battlefields.”

Exercise Combined Resolve pairs U.S. and NATO forces with partner nations to validate interoperability. The armor brigade used a variety of recently acquired unmanned robotic systems, counter drone tools and electromagnetic decoys during the training.

The 1st ABCT’s participation in TIC is structured around four key phases: adapting how the unit fights, integrating emerging technologies, reorganizing formations to suit mission needs and rapidly incorporating new capabilities as they become available, according to an Army release.

Maj. Gen. Thomas Feltey told Army Times in April that his unit, 1st Cavalry Division, oversaw training for 3rd BCT, 10th Mountain Division during that unit’s Germany rotation. The experience helped kickstart TIC work in the cavalry unit.

But, Feltey said, the armor units have their own characteristics separate from the traditional dismounted infantry units.

“An ABCT has a lot of different moving pieces,” Feltey said. “Our battlespace is much larger, and things move faster.”

Feltey plans to convene senior armor leaders for feedback on how to reconfigure the units and their assets to capitalize on the new tech and approaches to fighting fast with armor. These sessions will be called “Iron Horse sprints,” he said.