US Army and six partner militaries move into force-on-force island combat drills in Hawaii

US Army units and troops from six partner countries moved into force-on-force combat training across Hawaii on 4 November, as the Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center rotation known as 27-01 shifted from staging into its first battle period. The Department of War and US Indo-Pacific Command said the rotation involves about 7,000 personnel.

The partner forces taking part come from South Korea, Singapore, France, New Zealand, Japan and the Maldives, according to the Army. The service said the rotation is meant to refine joint capabilities and rehearse the tactics and procedures needed to fight in jungle and archipelagic terrain during large-scale combat operations.

The current phase tests whether the 25th Infantry Division, the Army division based at Schofield Barracks on Oahu, can seize and hold key terrain against an opposing force in a contested environment that spans several domains. Brigadier General Robert Bryant, the division deputy commander for support, said the preparation and coordination of the opening days were meant to let the division's light infantry win in close combat.

Aviation is a central part of the plan. On Maui and Oahu, the 25th Combat Aviation Brigade is working with elements of France's 6th Light Armored Brigade to set up and secure forward arming and refuelling points, which the Army said extend how far its helicopters can reach and help them keep up pressure across the island chain.

On the ground, elements of the division's 2nd Mobile Brigade are manoeuvring on Oahu and the Island of Hawaii to take their first objectives, using mobility and newer command-and-control systems in dense jungle terrain. Army photographs from 3 November showed soldiers of the 1st Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment loading an infantry squad vehicle onto a logistics support vessel at Waipio Point, part of the maritime logistics that move troops between islands.

The next stage is larger. The Army said the 11th Airborne Division will carry out a mass tactical parachute jump, described as a joint forcible entry operation, into the Pohakuloa Training Area on the Island of Hawaii to secure key infrastructure. The 25th Infantry Division is then due to fly infantry over water in a long-range air assault to reinforce that position.

Local reporting has set out the timetable on the Island of Hawaii. Big Island Now said a significant part of the exercise will run there from 6 to 17 November, starting with paratrooper drops and night helicopter landings near Waikii Ranch, followed by round-the-clock ground manoeuvres, drone flights and blank firing in the Keamuku Maneuver Area until 9 November and cargo and vehicle parachute drops from 7 to 9 November.

Units are due to shift to the Pohakuloa Training Area on 10 November and train there until 16 November, with convoys of 10 to 15 vehicles moving between Kona airport, Kawaihae Harbor and the training areas. The outlet said the exercise also covers Oahu, Maui and Kauai, and that people and equipment are scheduled to be back at home stations by 25 November.

The Army garrison has told residents that no live rounds, tracers or pyrotechnics are allowed in the Keamuku area, where all simulated gunfire uses blanks, and that extra firebreaks and fire crews are in place because recent storms left heavy brush and grass growth.

The readiness centre is US Army Pacific's main regional combat training centre. Indo-Pacific Command describes it as running live, virtual and constructive training across the Hawaiian Islands, Alaska and other locations in the region, with a focus on archipelagic, jungle and arctic conditions and on building interoperability with allied and partner forces.

For the Army and partners such as Japan and South Korea, the rotation is a rehearsal for operating across islands separated by open water, the kind of archipelagic terrain the Army says it wants to master. The airborne jump and the long over-water air assault still to come are the phases that will test that most directly.