I've often focused on an Army corps because with just ten divisions in the active component, that seems like the most likely maximum echelon in combat without significant mobilization of reserves and creation of new forces. But exploiting other service capabilities in multidomain warfare actually requires a theater army headquarters.
Theater armies are the most obscure Army echelon. Nevertheless, their complex mission is indispensable to Army support to joint force campaigns through multidomain operations (MDO). Theater armies (TA) provide an extensive breadth of capabilities such as theater-level sustainment, intelligence, fires, information advantage activities, protection, signal, aviation, medical, and civil affairs formations and staffs. TAs also provide unique access to the joint- and national-level enterprise. As the Army integrates MDO, most leaders tend to focus on the corps and division as the decisive echelons for large-scale combat operations in the land domain. However, to be decisive, the corps and division must have areas of operation properly managed by a TA, which enables their focus on achieving their objectives in close combat. In other words, the TA is the most significant enabler of MDO.
Okay, I have some problems with taking multidomain too far by straying too much over service boundaries of core competencies. I think multidomain synergy is best created by each service winning their domain. And it seems odd to have a theater army commanding a single corps.
That said, the fact that theater army is needed indicates cross-boundary encroachment hasn't gotten out of hand. And given that the Army had stripped down corps to be campaign-fighting headquarters rather than Cold War-era bloated entities, it makes sense that a theater army is needed rather than bloating the corps headquarters with too many staff officers.
Unless artificial intelligence (gulp) can push down theater army capabilities for integrating service capabilities to the corps without bloating and complicating the corps ability to effectively command its assets, that seems reasonable to me.
NOTE: TDR Winter War of 2022 coverage continues here.
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NOTE: Image from the article. ["Standard theater-level enablers include a theater sustainment command, theater medical command, signal command (theater), civil affairs command, and military intelligence brigade–theater. ... As theater operations expand, additional theater-level forces may include an Army air and missile defense command; a security force assistance brigade; a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosives command (CBRNE); engineers; military police; a battlefield coordination detachment; regional support groups; theater liaison detachments; and Army field support brigades."]
