The war in Ukraine has demonstrated the critical vulnerability of command posts, necessitating that headquarters units can effectively hide, move, and restore communications while directing operations. Headquarters units, from battalion to corps, must be organized and trained as the primary entities responsible for protecting command-and-control nodes and other critical sites.
This doctrinal shift is crucial because current Army practices often treat headquarters as mere sustainment and administrative organizations, which is inadequate for modern contested rear areas. Training must emphasize survivability, including displacement under observation, alternate communications, restoration after strikes, and reduced-signature operations. Furthermore, division and corps exercises, particularly the Mission Command Training Program, need to realistically resource enemy assets like special purpose forces, drones, and electronic warfare to stress headquarters survivability. Commanders must also resource headquarters units with dedicated combat power for protection tasks from an operation's onset, recognizing that headquarters failure leads to a loss of synchronized fires, movement, and sustainment, risking early culmination and contracting operational reach.
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