The Iron Pen
Protection
10 Tips for Improving Your Protection Working Group
Transform your Protection Working Group (PWG) from a marginalized meeting into a decisive operational advantage by framing protection strictly through the commander’s language of risk. This concise guide offers ten proven strategies to break down staff stovepipes, align capabilities with mission priorities, and synchronize proactive protection planning before the line of departure.
WINNER
Protection: The Australian Army Combat Engineer Regiment Approach
Often underappreciated, the protection warfighting function is the essential bedrock of mission survivability and resilience. This analysis explores how Australian Combat Engineer Regiments (CERs) leverage specialized capabilities—from hardening infrastructure to clearing explosive hazards—to secure critical A2/AD positions within the contested littoral environments of the Indo-Pacific.
War-Gaming
War-gaming has historically been an important, accessible, low-cost training tool that Army leaders could use to practice making better decisions faster, and it should play a more important role in COA analysis.
Army Chemical Review (CBRN)
WINNER
DINO_AVE CBRN is a Form of Contact: Informed Risk Acceptance for Commanders
While recent policy changes make annual CBRN training optional, commanders assume critical risk to force survivability and mission success by waiving these requirements. CBRN is an unforgiving operational environment—underscored by recent weaponized and industrial hazards in Ukraine—that demands consistent, integrated training to ensure Soldiers can fight, survive, and rapidly regenerate combat power under contaminated conditions.
The Need for 740As in BCTs
Addressing systemic Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) readiness gaps within Brigade Combat Teams, this analysis advocates for integrating MOS 740A (CBRN Warrant Officers) directly into maneuver staffs. By embedding these specialized technical experts within Armor and Stryker BCTs, commanders can rapidly resolve critical maintenance and training deficiencies, ensuring force survivability and lethality during large-scale combat operations.
Chaplains as AI Ethicists in the U.S. Army
The U.S. Army Chaplain Corps, which has historically been responsible for carrying out the Army ethics mission, is favorably positioned to provide the human capital, institutional knowledge, and allocated funding necessary to execute the increasingly important artificial intelligence (AI) ethics mission in a way that is consistent with national values, democratic ideals, and ethical behavior and will advance peace and stability in support of the Army of 2030 and beyond.
Engineer (EN)
WINNER
Enabling Convergence: How Engineers Protect the Multidomain Battlespace
U.S. Army Engineers serve as the critical architects of convergence in multidomain operations, seamlessly synchronizing combat power across land, air, sea, space, and cyberspace. By operationalizing the protection warfighting function—through advanced mobility operations, electromagnetic infrastructure hardening, and proactive terrain shaping—engineer units ensure the freedom of maneuver and survivability necessary to decisively overmatch adversaries in contested environments.
Improving Protection Training: How to Prepare for the Next Conflict
To effectively safeguard military installations from internal threats, the Army must expand its protection strategy beyond traditional combat tactics to include realistic, scenario-based crisis response. This article emphasizes the critical need to integrate high-stress active shooter simulations with comprehensive mental resilience and crisis communication training, ensuring Soldiers are fully prepared to mitigate crises at home.
WINNER
Open Data Sources in Support of Engineer Reconnaissance
This article explores various repositories of unclassified open-source geospatial data that can be leveraged in support of engineer reconnaissance efforts—either with or without the assistance of geospatial engineer teams.
Military Police (MP)
WINNER
Lessons Learned at JRTC: A Look Into 194th Military Police Company Preparation and Execution
The 194th Military Police Company successfully adapted its force structure and tactics to match the high operational tempo of the 2d Mobile Brigade Combat Team (MBCT) during a Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC) rotation. By prioritizing mobility, early staff integration, and advanced survivability techniques, the company provided seamless protection and support without degrading the brigade's momentum.
Operation Pathways
Through Operation Pathways exercises, the 8th Military Police Brigade, along with its subordinate and partner units, is preparing to protect logistics and conduct mission