#199: America's Contingency Corps - XVIII Airborne Corps Commanding General Lieutenant General Gregory Anderson

Modern warfare is no longer defined by who has the biggest force, but by who can adapt the fastest. The battlefield is changing in real time through artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, cyber capabilities, and the speed of information. But even in the most advanced operating environments, victory still comes down to disciplined leaders, trusted teams, and soldiers prepared to make decisions under pressure when everything is on the line.

The responsibility for America’s rapid response to any crisis belongs to the Army’s XVIII Airborne Corps.

From their headquarters at Fort Bragg, NC, Fran Racioppi sat down with Lieutenant General Greg Anderson, Commanding General of the XVIII Airborne Corps, to discuss how he is preparing America’s Contingency Corps for combat in an increasingly dangerous world.

Leading more than 80,000 soldiers across the 3rd Infantry Division, 10th Mountain Division, 82nd Airborne Division, and 101st Airborne Division, and other subordinate commands, LTG Anderson explains how the Corps balances readiness, speed, and innovation while maintaining the fundamentals that have always defined military success.

Our conversation explores the role of Noncommissioned Officer, the importance of mastering the basics, and why leadership development remains America’s greatest asymmetric advantage. We also discuss the integration of conventional and special operations forces, the concept of compound warfare, and the difference between interoperability and true integration on the battlefield.

LTG Anderson breaks down the Corps’ push toward innovation through initiatives like the Joint Innovation Outpost and experimental exercises that incorporate artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data-driven decision-making into operational planning. But even as technology changes warfare, he makes one thing clear; there must always be a human in the loop.

Highlights

• 0:00 Introduction
• 2:17 Welcome to the Jedburgh Podcast
• 4:01 The role of XVIII Airborne Corps
• 9:57 Empowering NCOs
• 14:58 Joint Innovation Outpost
• 19:00 Speeding the Acquisition Timeline
• 22:53 Keeping A Human in the Loop
• 25:41 Integration vs Interoperability
• 29:13 Guiding the Tactical Level Leader
• 32:48 Compound Warfare Today
• 37:22 Generational Warfighting Differences
• 42:00 The XVIII Airborne Corps Formation
• 45:04 Daily Habits

Quotes

• “What operational problems do they expect us to solve for them?”
• “If I’ve got a strong team…we’ll typically prevail.”
• “Certainly what I’ve learned of any value has come from non-commissioned officers that raised me up.”
• “The role of the non-commissioned officer is to become the technical tactical experts in the application of violence at the tactical level.”
• “What are we doing to get the NCO corps to that point where they are the Army?”
• “How do we use advanced computing to allow us to make decisions more informed and faster than our opponents?”
• “The advantage of war fighting is not replacing humans with machine decision making. It’s now creating superhumans that are enabled by it.”
• “Interoperability is our ability to work together in an efficient, effective manner.”
• “Compound Warfare is the blending of regular and irregular capabilities to create a host of dilemmas for your enemy.”
• “You’ll never be able to tell that tactical level leader when things are going to change and shift if you haven’t done the operational level rigor.”
• “My role as the general is not to solve the problem or be the hero that comes in, but to think and understand the problem we’re trying to solve.”

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