The specter of a future fight in the Pacific, with China or other regional adversaries, has triggered a renewed interest in the U.S. Army on jungle tactics, but training in the new environment comes with challenges, The New York Times reported.
To deter China and reassure partners in the Asia-Pacific region, the Army — by far the largest branch of the U.S. military at 452,000 active duty troops — needs to develop expertise in jungle warfare, Army leaders say, according to the NYT. Hawaii, with its tropical climate, mountains and harsh jungles, has become the proving ground for the Army’s experiment in modern Pacific warfighting and increasing the service’s lethality in places it might encounter during potential combat with China.
China has pursued “an incremental, insidious and irresponsible path for decades,” Gen. Charles Flynn, the commander of U.S. Army Pacific, told the NYT. Time is running out for the “total Army” to prioritize developing relevance in the Pacific. (RELATED: US Military Secures ‘Unimpeded Access’ To Major Pacific Base, Furthering Bid To Outmatch China)
Jungle training represents a reversal of the army’s recent decades of counterterrorism experience in Iraq and Afghanistan, but is years in the making amid efforts through several administrations to focus more on Asia, the NYT reported.
On Hawaii, signs of the change have become more prominent, with piers, runways and barracks dotting the landscape, the NYT reported, citing government records. An uptick in training tempo followed the built-up landscape.
“It’s more pragmatic,” Flynn told the NYT. “Hawaii gives us an invaluable platform to train and generate readiness.”
The Army’s 25th Infantry Division has expanded training at its expeditionary school and in 2022 stood up a new rotation. That rotation in November assembled 5,300 troops from the Army, other U.S. services and partner nations for mock battles.
⚡ The 12 Days of Tropic Lightning 🌺
On the first day of Tropic Lightning, 25th Infantry Division gave to me, one #Lightfighter in Hawaii. #AmericasPacificDivision generates lethal and combat-credible warfighters to ensure a #FreeAndOpenIndoPacific. pic.twitter.com/ApykWHJ0DU
— 25th Infantry Division (@25thID) December 15, 2023
The 25th Infantry Division earned its nickname, Tropic Thunder, from its performance on Guadalcanal in World War II after a blistering assault on Japanese troops, the NYT reported. Adam Elia, a staff historian for the division, said the Army can reach back to its experience in that conflict and draw lessons for a future Pacific fight.
Frequent cloud cover and humidity and muddy, uneven terrain can impede efficiency, make it harder for large units to stay together, disrupt communication and introduce a greater risk of disease, he said, according to the NYT.
“It’s not the enemy,” Elia told students at the first day of jungle school. “Learn to live with it.”
But, the training is tough. A swimming test and a humid run over hills, which had to be completed in 40 minutes, had already winnowed the class of 90 down to 79, according to the NYT.
Students learned how to waterproof, to set up a jungle ambush, navigate using a map and compass and cope with the unique challenges of the jungle — like jaguars and trench foot. Some of the Pentagon’s advanced warfighting technology becomes irrelevant in the jungle, where lack of electricity and swampy ground limits the effectiveness of artificial intelligence or drones, Army commanders note.
Some military officials worry the Army’s efforts fall short of what is needed to adequately prepare. Lighting Academy only plans to graduate 600 students this year.
“It’s incumbent on us to become resident professionals,” Col. Christopher Johnson, one of the students, told the NYT. “Firemen don’t figure out how to work a fire engine at the fire, right?”
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