The Army's Multi-Domain Task Force: Soldier-Driven Innovation in Action
About our Guests
Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Burns serves as the Deputy Commander of the 2nd Multi-Domain Task Force (MDTF), headquartered in Germany in support of US Army Europe and Africa. With a background in traditional Army operations, Burns brings a task force-level perspective on how new capabilities need to integrate into joint warfighting concepts.
Lieutenant Colonel Aaron Ritzema commands the 2nd Multi-Domain Effects Battalion (MDEB), which serves as the primary sensing and non-kinetic effects arm of the task force. His battalion comprises specialized companies focused on space, cyber, electronic warfare, and unmanned systems. Ritzema's role involves organizing, training, and equipping soldiers across multiple technical specialties that historically have been siloed across different parts of the Army.
Together, these officers represent the operational leadership of one of the Army's most innovative organizational constructs - a unit specifically designed to counter anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) capabilities that potential adversaries have developed to keep U.S. forces at bay.
About the Multi-Domain Task Force
Established through Army Chief of Staff General James McConville's 2021 vision paper "Army Multi-Domain Transformation," the MDTF concept represents the Army's primary organizational innovation for multi-domain operations. The Army is currently building five such task forces, with three currently established - two focused on the Indo-Pacific and the 2nd MDTF focused on Europe.
The 2nd MDTF, activated in late 2021, consists of a headquarters element, an intelligence/cyberspace/electronic warfare/space detachment, and a brigade support company. At its core is the Multi-Domain Effects Battalion, which is organized into specialized companies:
A signal company providing mission command networks
A military intelligence company for target analysis
An extended range sensing and effects company with unmanned aerial systems, electronic warfare, and high-altitude balloon platoons
A space company with modular and fixed space control capabilities
An information defense company with defensive cyber and electromagnetic attack platoons
What makes the MDTF concept unique is that it brings capabilities previously reserved for joint or national-level commands down to the tactical level, enabling field commanders to integrate and synchronize effects across domains. As LTC Ritzema explains, the task force's mission is fundamentally about finding adversaries faster than they can find you, then delivering effects - whether kinetic or non-kinetic - to enable broader joint operations.
Key Takeaways
Empowering Soldiers to Address Capability Gaps: When faced with equipment shortfalls, the MDTF established a "Forge" innovation lab where soldiers build solutions rather than waiting for formal acquisition. When aviation specialists arrived without unmanned aerial systems (their primary equipment), the battalion began 3D printing fixed-wing drones. What started as a training stopgap evolved into a potential operational capability as they studied Ukrainian drone tactics. This approach demonstrates how operational units can supplement formal acquisition channels when properly empowered and resourced.
Creating Synthetic Training Environments: Rather than waiting for perfect training systems, the MDTF integrated commercial and existing software to create comprehensive virtual environments. A warrant officer recognized how first-person view drone pilot software could be connected with their tactical command system to create a simulation environment where operators could practice while generating tactical data for command posts. This ability to rapidly assemble training tools from available components represents a mindset shift from waiting for perfect solutions to assembling adequate ones.
Balancing Experimentation with Training: A critical lesson from previous exercises was the risk of tying training objectives too closely to experimental technologies. As LTC Burns explained, "There were some challenges that we learned where we had sort of linked all of the training objectives to the technical objectives. And then when things started to fail, we really lost a lot of training value." Their approach now deliberately separates core capabilities from experimental ones, ensuring that when technologies fail (as expected in experiments), the training value isn't compromised.
Establishing Decision Frameworks for Innovation: The MDTF has created a structured approach to determine when to build versus buy solutions. LTC Ritzema described their process: "We're going to identify either training or operational gaps... then there's basically a whole checklist of things that we're going to do before we kind of get to that last piece, which is like, okay, we couldn't buy it. We don't already have it in inventory. We couldn't outsource it... So let's go ahead and start building this thing." This pragmatic framework prevents reinventing solutions that already exist while focusing innovation resources on true gaps.
Multi-Continental Operational Testing: The upcoming Arcane Thunder exercise spans both Poland and Arizona, demonstrating an innovative approach to capability testing. In Poland, they'll test their homegrown UAS with Wi-Fi-seeking payloads against emulated threats, completing a sensor-to-shooter thread that culminates with Polish partners firing into the North Sea. Meanwhile, separate capabilities will be tested in Arizona. This distributed approach allows them to maximize testing opportunities while working within constraints of overseas operations.
The 2nd MDTF case illuminates how the Army is addressing the challenge of integrating emerging technologies into operational units. Rather than treating innovation as a separate function handled by labs or acquisition professionals, the MDTF integrates it directly into operational planning and execution.
Perhaps most importantly, the MDTF leadership recognizes that the technological capabilities themselves, while critical, are only part of the challenge. As LTC Ritzema noted, the real challenge lies in coordinating these capabilities with precision across vast spaces - a command and control problem that requires both technological and doctrinal innovation.
This case study demonstrates how operational units, when properly empowered and resourced, can drive innovation from the bottom up while still connecting to formal acquisition processes. By creating space for experimentation within operational units rather than isolating it in labs, the Army increases the likelihood that innovations will actually meet warfighter needs and integrate effectively into operations.
For more on Arcane Thunder 25: https://www.dvidshub.net/news/496977/exercise-arcane-thunder-25-press-release
For more Crossing the Valley: www.valleycrossers.com
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