FORT IRWIN, Calif. — The 1st Cavalry Division recently participated in Project Convergence 2022 from Sep. 29 to Nov. 9 at Fort Irwin. Project Convergence is an Army-led experiment offering opportunities to access future warfighting strategies, including how the all-service and multinational force can work together to detect and defeat threats.
The First Team’s primary mission during the experiment consisted of forming attack positions each morning while moving to a landing departure zone in the M113 Tracked Armored Personnel Carrier, M1A2 SEP v3 Abrams Tank, M2A3 Bradley Fighting Vehicle, and the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle while fighting the opposing forces. Each day new technology was added to the mission to test its success and practicality when used in a lifelike scenario.
Electronic assets allowed the unit to conduct reconnaissance and bring out the enemy without endangering Troopers, preserve combat power of larger platforms, scan the battlefield in a minimal amount of time and allowed the commander to make decisions with less risk.
The assets also provided rapid communications with allied partners across the spectrum of operations, reducing the time needed for decision making and allowing for more rapid target engagement by the 1st Cav artillery.
The 1st Cav is transforming by integrating these new technologies across the formation to enhance their ability to compete globally, deter adversaries and win on all-domain battlefields.
“I firmly believe that everything we do here is something that we’ll see throughout the Army over the next 60 years,” said Lt. Col. Brennan Speakes, 1st Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment commanding officer. “This is the equivalent of the Army moving from the horse drawn cavalry to the armored formations we know today.”
Army Futures Command established Project Convergence in 2020 as an opportunity for collaboration, experimentation and a way of informing how we fight, how we organize, the talent we need and what we fight with.
“1-7 Cav is going to be the best trained squadron in the Army by next summer,” said Maj. Gen. John B. Richardson IV, 1st Cavalry Division commanding general. “You are building an incredible reputation right now across the Army.”
Project Convergence is designed to aggressively advance and integrate the Army’s contributions to the joint and multinational force and ensure that the Army, as part of that force, can rapidly and continuously converge effects across all domains including air, land, sea, space and cyberspace, to overmatch our adversaries, increase operational tempo and generate decision advantage over our adversaries.
Convergence — the namesake of the project — refers to integrating efforts across all echelons, from the tactical to the strategic level, to deliver optimal lethal and non-lethal effects across all domains.
“Project Convergence 2022 is good for not only the training value for the squadron, but to learn the use and capabilities of this new technology,” said Sgt. Kyler Tackett, a Bradley gunner with 1st Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. “Hopefully PC22 will help with the further development of these vehicles, and to help solve problems for the future of the Army.”
Through Project Convergence, the Army is demonstrating new technologies continuously throughout the year to ensure we can fight and win as one team by framing objectives within the Joint Warfighting Concept and Joint All-Domain Command and Control network.
These experiment demonstrations and future modernization capabilities inform Army emerging technologies, future concepts and future formations.
“Hopefully we leave our mark as a contributor to future technologies that are going to help the Army fight our future wars,” said Cpt. Rannie Lintag, a human resources officer with 1st Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division.
Looking to Project Convergence 2023 and beyond, the Army will continue to expand its alliances and demonstrate the impact modernization will have in various theaters of our geographic combatant commands.
“I couldn’t be prouder of the team that’s out here,” said Speakes. “This team is making things happen, and I’ve seen a stark improvement in not only their capabilities, but also their leadership potential.”
By SGT Brayton Daniel
