TRAIN, HARDEN, SUSTAIN: MAINTAINING THE ARMY’S LETHALITY IN THE NUCLEAR SHADOW
MICHAEL LOSACCO
FEBRUARY 29, 2024
On the morning of Nov. 1, 1951, within the confines of Area 7 at the Nevada Nuclear Test Site, soldiers from the U.S. Army’s 11th Airborne Division dug foxholes and positioned weapon systems in anticipation of the Atomic Energy Commission’s BUSTER-JANGLE nuclear tests. The Soviet Union had conducted its first nuclear test two years earlier, prompting the Army to confront the possibility of its troops encountering nuclear weapons on the battlefield. The exercise, known as “Desert Rock,” was an Army program aimed at studying soldiers’ psychological reactions to a nuclear detonation while also testing their ability to maneuver in a post-detonation environment. After the blast, troops moved in attack formation to seize an objective — at one point coming within 900 meters of ground zero. Despite of the dangers of subjecting servicemembers to radiological effects, such training was all too common at the height of the Cold War and only gradually declined as nuclear weapons became less prominent tools of war.
Now, however, nuclear weapons have surged back onto the global stage. Following the initiation of his “special military operation” in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin made nuclear threats part of his playbook in deterring the United States and NATO from intervening. Putin began by elevating Russia’s Strategic Missile Force alert level to “enhanced combat duty” and issued thinly veiled warnings of cataclysmic reprisals surpassing any in history against meddlesome nations. Additionally, he prepositioned nuclear weapons in Belarus while personally overseeing large-scale nuclear exercises.
Amid the crisis, NATO responded by increasing its troop levels in Europe. The U.S. Army established a new garrison in Poland and deployed an additional brigade combat team to the region in anticipation of aggression against the alliance. These brigade combat teams excel in conventional military operations. However, Russia’s demonstrated willingness to brandish nuclear weapons as a coercive tool and the persistent risk of NATO entering the conflict makes it increasingly likely that these forces will need to deploy, fight, and win in a nuclear environment.
https://warontherocks.com/2024/02/train-harden-sustain-maintaining-the-armys-lethality-in-the-nuclear-shadow/
