Army Western Hemisphere Command – beginning of a bigger change?

Practical effects are already visible from a U.S. tilt back toward the Western Hemisphere that began with decisions by the current presidential administration and has gained doctrinal and strategic weight with the appearance of the National Security Strategy 2025. Chief among these steps is the creation of the U.S. Army Western Hemisphere Command, a unified theatre command for land forces that allows better use of forces and assets that until now fell under the responsibility of two geographic commands, U.S. SOUTHCOM and U.S. NORTHCOM. It also enables the systematic integration of task forces and provides greater ability to surge rapid-response forces for specific crises or contingencies. The new command will be based at the well-known Fort Bragg in North Carolina. Its official stand-up was planned for Dec. 5, 2025, with elements of U.S. Army Reserve Command and U.S. Army North, U.S. Army South and U.S. Army Forces Command transitioning in various forms of reporting through to October of the following year. The first commander is Gen. Joseph A. Ryan.

Border defence, homeland defence, crisis response

U.S. authorities expect the new command to strengthen broad national defence capabilities. Above all, officials say it will provide support to civilian authorities and deliver crisis response at the interface of homeland security and national security. It will enable integration of U.S. Army capabilities within joint and interagency operations, which can include activities beyond U.S. borders (for example, in counternarcotics operations). Remember that the United States has chosen to significantly expand forces and assets, including land-domain capabilities, on its southern border.

The operation we have reported on repeatedly on Defence24 and Infosecurity24 requires long-term thinking about command-and-control (C2) support and resources extended to include communications, computers and cyber (C5). It is therefore not surprising that new command arrangements have been sought in creating the U.S. Army Western Hemisphere Command, especially as threats to the United States evolve. It should be assumed that some missions, such as those tied to securing the border with Mexico, are not ad hoc engagements but rather require a permanent support structure, including command arrangements. In Poland this can be understood, albeit on a smaller scale, if we consider the challenge our armed forces faced in 2021 and the continued operation to secure critical border areas with Belarus over subsequent years (with no clear end date indicated).  

Beyond border security, many actions aimed at cartels are increasingly militarized. Importantly, some cartels have officially been designated as terrorist organizations. That situation requires close cooperation between the Department of Defense, its agencies and branches of the U.S. armed forces, as well as the wider Intelligence Community and federal agencies such as the DEA. It is reasonable to expect that the U.S. Army’s experience in building and implementing the U.S. Army Western Hemisphere Command will be hybrid in character. Not only conventional land forces but also special operations forces (SOF), psychological operations (psywar) and civil-military cooperation (CIMIC) are likely to play important roles. In any case, building the U.S. Army Western Hemisphere Command will present a new and unique challenge. It is worth noting that two worlds of needs and challenges are already bridged by organisations such as U.S. Army Europe and Africa.   

We should also note that new possibilities may lie under the heading of crisis response, including the activation of military resources (taking into account the federal-state relationship) during disasters caused by natural forces or human activity. This is particularly relevant when National Guard resources are heavily tasked, and governors« requirements must be taken into account. The information posture of the new command will be interesting to watch. Various currents in the United States have resisted strengthening such structures, sometimes invoking conspiracy-like concerns. That said, the information domain, including strategic communications, is treated as a key element within U.S. armed forces.   

Strengthened regional military cooperation

The creation of the command is also meant to advance regional security cooperation with partners across the Americas, particularly by saturating the hemisphere with military cooperation. The current administration has assessed that the United States lost significant political, military and economic influence with partners in the region. Rebuilding — or rather scaling up — military cooperation may be key to building trust and improving cooperation with states across the Western Hemisphere, and could help counter Chinese influence that has become increasingly visible in the region over recent years.

The U.S. Army Western Hemisphere Command should be seen as part of efforts to build partner capacity so that local forces eventually take on more responsibility for their own security. Put simply: the more capable U.S. partners are in security and defence, the easier it is to counter the most dangerous non-state actors, particularly those involved in narcotrafficking (this applies across the Americas and, in a narrower sense, the Caribbean, where fragile states such as Haiti are stark examples). In many countries the military often acts as a fire brigade when confronting groups that outmatch police structures. The U.S. Army will therefore likely face new tasks that can be framed as military diplomacy. Behind potential increases in exchanges, exercises and manoeuvres is also a desire to improve export capabilities. It is well known that military relationships are important to the United States and can help promote domestic defence industry products — a pragmatism aligned with the approach of the Donald J. Trump administration.

US defence efforts - a priority not to get caught off guard

Practically speaking, the goal is to ensure trained, ready land forces for regional and international employment. Observers also say the command will give the U.S. Army the ability to mobilise and employ necessary reserves to protect U.S. interests and security across the Western Hemisphere. This does not concern only contentious relations, such as with Venezuela (an important signal to the Maduro regime), but also new U.S. capabilities to defend interests in the Far North. Let us recall the United States would rather not, colloquially speaking, lower the tempo in competing for Far North, given its resources-related and transportation-tied benefits. The National Security Strategy 2025 references U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard capabilities, but one should also note the development of new land force capabilities in Alaska for Arctic needs. It is no accident that a promotional video for the U.S. Army Western Hemisphere Command shows units trained for operations in demanding terrain.   

US Army Western Hemisphere Command

The U.S. Army Western Hemisphere Command is a step toward implementing new strategic assumptions meant to strengthen U.S. deterrence and defence capabilities in its immediate neighbourhood. When assessing the move, it is important to remember the scale of the challenges the United States faces at its southern border and in other countries to the south. But the picture should not be limited to that geographic vector: growing Arctic needs are repeatedly signalled, and these are in part a response to the Russia-China tandem. After the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, it became clear the U.S. Air Force was unprepared to defend key elements of the homeland. Today the U.S. Army appears unwilling to await such a test and is investing ahead of time in new crisis-response capabilities. NATO’s eastern flank states should understand this development, analysing U.S. actions while remembering how their defence needs were treated over years compared with expeditionary priorities. The current U.S. administration signals that to be ready to support allies abroad, it first needs to regain capabilities in its immediate neighbourhood.