Sec. 1071. Report on large-scale, joint exercises involving the air and land domains
453 words·~2 min read·
/bill/115/s/1519/pcs/section-1071·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Congress makes the following findings: General Milley has stated that the Army would experience High Military Risk against emerging threats or great power conflict. General Goldfein has stated that for 15 consecutive years, the Army's been decisively committed to Iraq and Afghanistan and other counter terrorist, counter insurgency type operations. In order to do that, [the Air Force] essentially came off of a core warfare fighting skills of combined arms maneuver against a near peer or a higher end threat .
The United States has grown accustomed to technological supremacy and weapons overmatch to deter and defeat potential adversaries. The Department of Defense conducts several large-scale, joint exercises that stress interoperability in contested air and sea domains, including the VALIANT SHIELD, NORTHERN EDGE, and RIMPAC exercises, yet few large-scale, joint Army and Air Force exercises exist to stress interoperability in contested air and land domains. Large-scale, joint training exercises that stress interoperability across domains are a vital part of establishing and maintaining military readiness for conflicts involving near-peer competitors.
It is to the benefit of the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
(NATO)to train to contested air and land operations in order to increase joint and coalition readiness, as well as to correct capability gaps in the European theatre of operations that may be discovered during these exercises. Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Defense shall submit to the congressional defense committees a report on the following: Existing large-scale, joint exercises involving the air and land domains. Plans to expand the scale and scope of the exercises described in paragraph (1). Plans to conduct new large-scale, joint exercises in the domains referred to in paragraph (1). The report under subsection
(b)shall include an analysis of potential locations for the expanded or new exercises covered by the plans described in paragraphs
(2)and
(3)of that subsection, with priority given to locations that facilitate training by and with— sufficient overlapping airspace and ground range capabilities and capacity to meet the training requirements for operating within an anti-access area denial (A2/AD) environment for air and ground operations; the ability to host bilateral and multilateral training opportunities with international partners in both the air and land domains; limited encroachments that adversely impact training or operations; robust use of the electromagnetic spectrum, including global positioning system (GPS), atmospheric, and communications-jamming; minimization of adversary intelligence collection capabilities; realistic replication of diverse geographic, topographic, and weather environments in which a near-peer combined air and ground campaign might occur; existing facilities to support personnel, operations, and logistics associated with the flying missions and ground maneuver missions; and minimization of overall construction and operational costs.