Honolulu, HI - Today, I sat down with I Corps Commanding General Lt. Gen. Matthew McFarlane at the LANPAC Symposium and Exhibition. I was one of five reporters, so we had quality time with the General.

The main topic in front of I Corps today is the Army's reorganization of its Pacific fighting force.

I Corps Public Affairs described the background of the media roundtable in the following manner:

I Corps, headquartered at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, is a globally deployable, combat-ready force that serves as the operational-level headquarters for the U.S. Army in the Indo-Pacific. Through its command of major subordinate units and its leadership of Operation Pathways, I Corps builds readiness and strengthens relationships with allies and partners to maintain regional stability and deter aggression.

McFarlane discussed how the Army is operationalizing the theme 'Prevailing Through Transformation and Innovation' through forward presence, realistic training, and the modernization of its soldiers and equipment, the "Hardware vs. Headwear" concept, the importance of "Transformation in Contact," and the central role of alliances in building credible deterrence.

I found the General to be serious about answering questions from the press.

I'm paraphrasing the General's comments:

"Army senior leadership is focused on accelerating transformation. We test concepts at the small unit level and allow soldiers to share grievances to get better faster. If something doesn't work, I want to know about it.

"We are integrating with partners and allies on a massive level, conducting record-breaking exercises. We are driving interoperability.

"The Army pursued this reorganization to push needed information and capabilities into the hands of the theater commander."

I pushed on the issue of counter-drone technology, specifically the FPV drone threat which has been so effective and lethal in Donbass, Lebanon, and now proliferating around the world.

General McFarlane described the high-priority nature of finding a passive defense against drones on the battlefield. He described the work towards finding a solution to protect troops in-contact as a critical priority. He stressed that soldiers need to now be very cognizant of how they are viewed from above on the battlefield, including heat, signal and other signatures. The Army is now focused on speed and maneuverability for its infantry vehicles and is working to put command posts routinely under ground.

Regarding the issue of centralized command and control, the General viewed the information-sharing ability that advancing technology provides as critical for situational awareness at the command level, but need not interfere with tactical decisions made by battlefield commanders. Rather, he sees centralized C2 as a benefit to the officer on the ground.

I found the media roundtable useful and informative.