Soldiers at Fort Leonard Wood are learning to operate unmanned aircraft systems, also known as UAS or drones.
The move follows a memo from Secretary of War Pete Hegseth titled “Unleashing U.S. Military Drone Dominance,” which calls for integrating drone training into “all relevant combat training.”
“Drones are the biggest battlefield innovation in a generation, accounting for most of this year’s casualties in Ukraine,” Hegseth wrote. “Accelerating this critical battlefield technology requires a Department of War culture.”
Soldiers spent a day in the classroom learning drone definitions, classifications and applications, as well as the capabilities of various systems, according to a U.S. Army Fort Leonard Wood news release.
Soldiers spent another day getting hands-on time controlling the drones.
Staff Sgt. Shadd Miser, a drill sergeant with Delta Company, 795th Military Police Battalion, said he hopes to incorporate drones into other field training events.
“I think it is important for them to know how drones are being used. The casualty production rate is devastating,” Miser said. “I want to give them an understanding of how to not only identify drones but also react and report, hopefully enabling some type of counter capability.”