Commandant's Note

By MG Monté L. Rone

Article published on: June 20, 2024 in the Summer 2024 edition of Infantry

Read Time: < 5 mins

As I write this final Commandant’s Note, I am filled with pride and gratitude for the opportunity to serve as the 61st Infantry Commandant.

Although it’s only been 10 months, I still believe that I had the best one-star assignment in the U.S. Army. As we transition Commandants, I want to welcome COL (Promotable) Phil Kiniery to the team — a phenomenal leader of character who is exactly the right officer with the knowledge, skills, and experience to take the Infantry Branch to even greater heights.

Our mission in 2024 is the same mission General Marshall had in 1924 and that is to educate, train, and develop Infantry Soldiers and Leaders who are capable of fighting and winning (decisively) anywhere in the world. This means Leaders and Soldiers who are fit, disciplined, trained, and ready; Leaders and Soldiers with an unwavering commitment to the Profession of Arms; and Leaders and Soldiers who are imbued with the warrior spirit — the physical and mental toughness and innate ability to close with and destroy the enemies of our nation.

The Summer 2024 issue of Infantry embodies the themes of training, warfighting, and winning. In the first article of this edition’s Professional Forum, LTC Aaron Childers and MAJ Joseph Jenkins share how the 2nd Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment redesigned its command post (CP) to survive on the modern battlefield. With the proliferation of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and precision fires, larger legacy GWOT CPs are no longer suitable. By balancing function and survivability, the battalion developed and tested a lighter and leaner CP design that it set up in just over five minutes and jumped more than 20 times during a recent Joint Readiness Training Center rotation.

Another article provided by leaders from the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) and 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment recommends a training methodology for incorporating enabler integration training which culminates in a platoon fire support coordination exercise.This training progression aims to bridge the gap between squad and platoon live-fire exercise events and includes five lines of effort: mortars, fires, UAS, weapons, and leader professional development.

In a subsequent article, a group of observer-coach/trainers from the National Training Center (NTC) advocate for reinvigorating the five principles of patrolling. After observing more than 30 infantry and tank companies at NTC, the authors note that those units that planned, prepared, and executed operations using the five principles tended to succeed, while those that didn’t often suffered defeat to varying degrees.

Leaders from the Infantry Basic Officer Leader Course continue their series of articles on developments within the course highlighting its culminating platoon live-fire exercise (LFX). Aligning with the Infantry School’s focus on warfighting and building strong teams, the LFX provides student officers with a realistic and demanding scenario, which will prepare them for their first duty assignments.

Lastly, CPT Cody Rosenberg provides insight into lessons learned from the use of commercial small UAS during a recent Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center-Alaska rotation in “Commercial sUAS in Support of Targeting.” As we have seen in recent conflicts, the proliferation of UAS on the modern battlefield is a threat, and U.S. forces need to be prepared for what they could face in combat. While serving as the opposing force for the exercise, CPT Rosenberg captured a number of observations, including the need to correctly camouflage, move assets frequently, operate in decentralized manner, incorporate sUAS more into training events, and equip squads with anti-drone capabilities.

Thank you again to all the contributors and readers of Infantry! Your work here contributes to the body of professional discourse and ensures we never forget the importance of the foot Soldier and the formations, specifically the squads, they serve in. TheInfantry Squad will always be America’s most complex, dynamic, and resilient system. As we continue to transform the force and prepare for future conflict, we must never forget that it is the Infantry Soldier and their family whose fighting spirit, courage, valor, and sacrifice have secured almost 250 years of freedom for our nation.

“Remember, wherever brave men fight… and die, for freedom, you will find me, I am the bulwark of our nation’s defense. I am always ready… Now and forever. I am the Infantry — Queen of Battle! Follow me!”