How We Fight

1st Cavalry Division, Divisional Air and Missile Defense

By MAJ Joe Van Valkenburg & MAJ Matt Covalt

Article published on: January 1, 2024 in Issue 1 of the 2024 Edition of Air Defense Artillery

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1CD Commanding General poses with sentinel team after receiving a radar brief during Remagen Ready at Fort Cavazos, Texas, November 7, 2023.

The 1st Cavalry Division is the first division to stand up a co-located maneuver short-range air defense battalion to provide air defense to the division. The successful employment of this capability requires synchronization and integration between the division and battalion staff.

The current modified table of organization and equipment for Divisional Air and Missile Defense Team is designed around the Joint Air Ground Integration Center with a minimal footprint of personnel serving in the main command post and rear command post. Preparing for operations against a peer threat in contested airspace required the division air and missile defense cell to revamp the current personnel layout. The required adjustment will ensure the six warfighting functions are synchronized regarding enemy capabilities and friendly protection. Command Post Exercise 2: Remagen Ready, served as the test bed to enable current operations and future operations to achieve a shared understanding and effectively tie into all warfighting functions.

A consistent question that the 1st Cavalry Division, Divisional Air and Missile Defense Team asked during our military decision-making process was which warfighting function does the divisional air and missile defense team fall under fires or protection? Our answer: the Divisional Air and Missile Defense Team belongs to both. We recommend a structure of personnel that allows the rear command post to focus on future operations while the main command post focuses on current operations.

Rear command post (air and missile defense future operations and protection warfighting functions)

The rear command post air and missile defense element served as the lead officer in charge for the protection warfighting functions, adjacent division coordination, III Armored Corps integration, and future operations planning.

Within the protection warfighting functions, divisional air and missile defense developed the division protection priority list in conjunction with the provost marshal office, chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and high yield explosives, and division engineer. The cell also planned for the employment of air and missile defense assets primarily, 6th Battalion, 56th Air Defense Artillery Regiment- M-SHORAD, across the division area of operation.

Divisional Air and Missile Defense conducted the planning process each air tasking order day based on this construct.

The rear command post establishes and maintains the protection priority list with a current battlefield framework provided by the main command post, through the assessment working group and coordinated adjustments during the division protection sync. The rear command post facilitated and ran the division protection sync where division staff and subordinate units coordinated the current protection overview based on assessments from the warfighting functions and unit combat postures. This overview produced: risks to mission, risks to force, and mitigation criteria which were considered in the development of the protection priority list by air tasking order day. The recommended protection priority list was then produced for approval at the battle update assessment to the division commander. This information was additionally compiled into request for forces and request for information and the rear command post served as the coordination point with the III Armored Corps protection cell during the corps protection working group.

Command Post Exercise 2

Allowed the opportunity to conduct a unique experiment with the addition of a 14G, air defense battle management system operator, in the rear command post. This soldier served as an air and missile defense workstation operator providing a current air picture to the deputy commanding general- support. Conducting terrain analysis to develop future locations for radar position areas and assessed enemy air avenues of approach to anticipate gaps in coverage within the division area of operation and adjacent divisions. This capability allowed the rear command post to provide detailed planning considerations in the daily published division fragmentary orders and provided the M-SHORAD battalion the ability to focus on current operations while providing a jumpstart for future operations planning.

Main command post (air and missile defense current operations & fires warfighting functions)

The main command post element served in the Joint Air Ground Integration Center, the current operations cell, branch and sequel operation planning with the G35/G5, the assessments working group and participated in the target working group, and target decision board.

The advanced working group initiates the critical path for the air tasking order day with the current situation based on data from the division operations research and systems analysis and G2. The air and missile defense cell validated current statuses of ada assets with the operations research and systems analysis and whether the division can protect items on the pre-planned launch with air and missile defense assets against aerial threats. It is equally important to assess what is affecting combat power in the division and how we can protect the force against these threats. The outputs from the advanced working group provide the inputs for the training working group and protection sync and drives the remainder of planning events for that air tasking order day.

The air and missile defense cell in the main command post is split between the Joint Air Ground Integration Center and current operations integration cell. The Joint Air Ground Integration Center oversees all air and missile defense operations, maintains situational awareness of enemy aircraft, assists identification of unknown aircraft in coordination with the air support operations center and airspace command and control, maintains the tactical air picture, via the air and missile defense workstation, to protect friendly forces and preserve combat power. The air and missile defense Joint Air Ground Integration Center monitors and updates all battle drills, two specifically pertaining to air and missile defense operations, tactical ballistic missiles affecting the division area of responsibility, and aerial threat (fixed wing, rotary wing, and unmanned aircraft systems). The air and missile defense and G2 sections collaborate to provide enemy air avenue of approach assessments to the help prioritize intelligence assets and array air defense assets. Based on these air track trends, they were able to assist the G3 fires section in targeting and destroying enemy airfields, forward arming and refueling points, and ground control stations. This process enabled the first team to proactively protect the division from aerial threats by neutralizing them on the ground through fires.

In the training working group, the air and missile defense cell discuss what aerial threats are operating in the area of operations and which anti-aircraft artillery the enemy is utilizing or assessed to utilize to attack high value targets. Additionally, the training working group is used to make recommendations for changes in the division high-payoff target list and the pre-planned launch based on the current air tasking order cycle. In the training de-brief, the air and missile defense cell brief the outputs from the training working group and protection synchronization to the commanding general on the arrayment of air and missile defense assets across the battlefield and how we anticipate the enemy will fight and risks to mission and risk to forces from aerial threats. This information is compiled and codified into the orders process through the division field artillery fighting document along with any changes to Annex D (Fires), Appendix 7 (Air Defense) or Annex E (Protection).

Shortfalls

We fought through several challenges captured in our after-action review and are sharing with the Center for Army Lesson’s Learned, but overall, we saw success with the adjusted military table of organization and equipment configuration. There are two primary adjustments identified during Command Post Exercise 2 that the air and missile defense cell is looking to modify in the future.

Divisional tactical command post operations

Although the unit established and exercised the division tactical command post multiple times throughout the Command Post Exercise, the Joint Air Ground Integration Center was not exercised in the same manner. When the main command post exercised their ability to jump to an alternate location, the Joint Air Ground Integration Center Cell co-located with Division Artillery until conditions were met at the main command post to regain control of the Joint Air Ground Integration Center. This worked well but showed the benefit of the current military table of organization and equipment structure as well as the current equipment requirement.

Joint Air Ground Integration Center

Not discussed in this paper is beyond line-of-sight surface-to-air systems (i.e. Coyote Interceptor). Will the Joint Air Ground Integration Center chief remain the approving authority for all fires, or will the deputy air and missile defense chief be required to approve surface-to-air engagements? If the latter, our current concept of how the divisional air and missile defense fights is no longer feasible with current manning. We will provide our thoughts on the best way to integrate this process into an already established identification and kill chain in a later paper.

Conclusion

The importance of air and missile defense in division combat operations is not going away while preparing for operations against a peer threat in a contested airspace with unmanned aircraft systems, rotary wing, fixed wing, and tactical ballistic missile threats. Air and missile defense operations must remain flexible and continue to adapt based on the experiences seen in recent conflicts (Ukraine/Russia or Israel/ Hamas) to provide capability to protect friendly combat forces. The air and missile defense cell’s integration with all warfighting functions is required and a layered and weighted air defense posture must be maintained when possible.

Authors

MAJ Joe Van Valkenburg serves as the Deputy AMD Chief for 1ST Cavalry Division, Fort Cavazos, TX. Previous experiences include Avenger and Patriot positions at the Battery and Battalion level and as an Instructor in the Department of Military Instruction at the United States Military Academy. His military schools include the Air Defense Artillery Basic Officer Leadership Course, Captains Career Course, and the Command and General Staff Officer Course. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Texas A&M University and master’s degrees from the University of Texas at El Paso and the Command and General Staff College.

MAJ Matt Covalt serves as the Deputy AMD Chief for 1ST Cavalry Division, Fort Cavazos, TX. Previous experiences include MANPAD and Patriot positions at the Battery and Battalion level and has served as an OC/T at the National Training Center. His military schools include the Air Defense Artillery Basic Officer Course, the Marine Expeditionary Warfare School, and the Command and General Officer Course. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Virginia Military Institute.