Suggested Themes and Topics

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Large-Scale Combat Operations

• How do we foster deep institutional focus on large-scale combat operations (LSCO)?


• What is the relationship between multi-domain operations and mission command in LSCO? How can they be integrated and synchronized?


• What specific impacts on the Army’s renewed emphasis on LSCO training, readiness, and doctrine are to be expected? How does one measure the effectiveness of adjustments in those areas?


• First strike: discuss how hypersonic weapons and other means would be employed by Russia to neutralize/devastate U.S. capabilities in the first stage of a conflict.


• Hypersonic weapons: What is the real threat? How do we defend against them? How do we use them?


• Specifically, what new kinetic threats can we expect to see in LSCO? How do we defend against them? How do we use them?


• How do we survive in hyperlethal engagements where “if you can see it, you can kill it; if you can be seen, you can be killed" (including attacks using weapons of mass destruction)?


• How does one perceive and seize fleeting opportunities in LSCO? What examples are there of fleeting opportunities and temporary advantages that were exploited? Are there repeating characteristics of such events to guide cultivation of future perception training?


• How do we offset “one-off” dependencies and contested domains?


• How do we continually present multiple dilemmas to a peer enemy?


• What must be done to adjust junior leader development to succeed in a modern operational environment?


• What changes are required to the professional development models for officers and noncommissioned officers?


• What logistical challenges are foreseen in LSCO due to infrastructure limitations in potential foreign areas of operation and how can we mitigate them?


• Regarding sustainment and mobilization for LSCO, how should the industrial base change to support LSCO? How does the Army communicate its requirements to industry?


• What rapid training and mobilization is required for COMPO2 and COMPO3 units to "join the fight" and meet deployment requirements?


• Brigade combat teams have the training centers, division headquarters have warfighters, and sustainment brigades sometimes rotate smaller elements to training centers, but how does a division exercise the sustainment function on a large scale?

General Topics

• What training gaps is the U.S. Army facing (e.g., mechanic training, talent management, and retention; large-scale casualty training [medical and G1 functions], etc.)?


• Is there a capability gap in air defense and rocket artillery at lower echelons? Do we need to become a more artillery- and air-defense-centric army?


• Do we need to increase security cooperation exercises in Europe or the Middle East?


• What lessons have we learned from National Guard, Army Reserve, and interagency responses to natural disasters including the response to coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic?


• How does China’s “New Silk Road” initiative compare with the pre-WWII Japanese "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere"?


• Is Russian doctrine changing regarding use of humanitarian assistance as a weapon?


• What are the security threats, concerns, and events resulting from illegal immigration/refugee movements globally?


• What is the role for the Army in homeland security operations especially along our borders? What must the Army be prepared to do in support of internal security?

U.S. Army helicopters fly above the Japanese coastline 9 January 2020 during a joint training exercise with Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force members to rehearse tactical flight operations at Camp Zama, Japan. (Photo by Sgt. Raquel Villalona, U.S. Army)

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May-June 2020