The American Vanguard

In an era when foreign adversaries are waging sophisticated campaigns to shape what American citizens see, read, and believe — including during elections — the U.S. military's ability to counter disinformation and information warfare has never mattered more. The Army's restructuring of its psychological operations forces reflects a growing recognition that the battle for democratic information environments is not theoretical; it is happening right now, at a pace that American institutions are struggling to match.

Every year, the Association of the United States Army convenes in Washington to chart the future of American military power — and the decisions made in those halls directly affect hundreds of thousands of service members who are also voters. This year's conference, held October 12–14, placed automation, unmanned systems, and rapid modernization front and center, but it also surfaced urgent questions about democratic accountability, military pay fairness, civilian oversight, and the voting rights of deployed troops that every American citizen deserves to understand.