Army introduces Industry to Squad as a System concept

New concept coming out of the Infantry School for close-combat units - including my beloved Combat Engineers :)

ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA – During the Industry Stakeholder Engagement Forum here last week, the U.S. Army Chief of Infantry encouraged more than 400 representatives from across the military industrial enterprise to reconsider how they conceptualize the end user as they develop capabilities for front-line Soldiers.

Brig. Gen. Phil Kiniery, Chief of Infantry, Commandant of the U.S. Army Infantry School and the director of the Soldier Lethality Cross Functional Team at Fort Benning, Georgia, introduced the concept of Squad as a System, the Army’s new systematic and holistic approach to enabling and enhancing close combat squads.

“My goal this morning is to convey to you just how much we need you, what we need from you, and that the need is urgent,” said Kiniery, who spoke March 4 to an audience of representatives from traditional and non-traditional industries.

Decades of “kitting and equipping” Soldiers piecemeal and through various traditional “stovepipes” has resulted in redundancies, excessive weight, and cognitive overload, Kiniery said.

“Squad as a System is the way forward, a new approach,” he said. “It is a formation-based approach, because we fight formations.”

His message to those interested in partnering with the Army to facilitate Squad as a System: We need to rapidly deliver reliable technology and reduce redundancies.

“Going forward, we must focus on a common architecture to optimize the performance of the squad, not just the individual,” he said. “How can we effectively maximize combat power with packaged capabilities that are better designed, developed, and integrated to provide stable and predictable modernization?”

How do we reduce redundancy and increase combat power?

How do we reduce weight and increase combat power?

How do we reduce cognitive load and increase combat power?

How do we improve efficiency and increase combat power?