Maj. Robert E. Jones, left, and Col. Jeffrey Fuller of the 56th Theater Multi-Domain Command coordinate plans and strategies for exercise Avenger Triad in Mainz-Kastel, Germany, Oct. 9, 2025. (Rajheem Dixon/ U.S. Army)

WIESBADEN, Germany — A Germany-based Army unit dubbed a test bed for high-tech battlefield operations is fresh off facing its first big test. 

During the recent Avenger Triad and Steadfast Duel exercises, the newly formed 56th Theater Multi-Domain Command took center stage as troops were tasked with coordinating attacks across land, maritime, air, space and cyberspace battlefield domains.

“We try to stay on the cutting edge of innovation, and a lot of that involves working with theoreticals,” said Sgt. 1st Class Steve Smitha, an artilleryman who served as a lead operations NCO during Avenger Triad.

“It’s an intellectual challenge because it’s a lot more conceptual,” Smitha said, adding that his job often involves working with emerging and sometimes unfamiliar technology.

The drills marked the first major exercise for the headquarters, which was formed from a merger between the 56th Artillery Command and 2nd Multi-Domain Task Force.

Maj. Robert E. Jones, left, and Sgt. 1st Class Steven Smitha of the 56th Theater Multi-Domain Command review a map while planning for exercise Avenger Triad in Mainz-Kastel, Germany, Oct. 9, 2025. The exercise tested the recently formed command's ability to coordinate fires and nonlethal effects in a simulated European conflict. (Rajheem Dixon/U.S. Army)

The consolidation was part of the service’s larger Army Transformation Initiative announced in May, and Army leaders in Europe have been quick to put the new organization together.

“No change is easy, but by and large we had a lot of cooperative efforts already, so I think that just kind of lent itself to doing this early, getting it right, and then just integrating it and moving forward.” said Col. Jeffrey Pickler, commander of the 2nd Multi-Domain Task Force.   

During Avenger Triad, the command entered the war game scenario about three weeks into a simulated invasion of NATO territory with the goal of reestablishing the borders of the Eastern Flank Deterrence Line through anti-access and area denial and countering mass movement momentum of enemy forces.

Around the time of the 56th Theater Multi-Domain Command’s formation, Gen. Christopher Donahue, who leads the Army in Europe and oversees NATO Land Command, said the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad gives the Kremlin’s forces arguably the best anti-access and area denial bubble in the world.

“They have mass and momentum on you,” Donahue said. “You have a very limited space to maneuver, and they have this giant umbrella over top. So how do you destroy that? How do you get to deterrence?”

Capt. Eric Murphy, standing, and Capt. Daniel Savana of the 56th Theater Multi-Domain Command coordinate plans and strategies for exercise Avenger Triad in Mainz-Kastel, Germany, Oct. 9, 2025. The exercise was the first for the newly formed unit, which was created by the merger of the 56th Artillery Command and the 2nd Multi-Domain Task Force. (Rajheem Dixon/ U.S. Army)

Exercise leaders said the mission involved complex planning and processes aimed at synchronizing operations among all 32 NATO allies in a battle that went far beyond traditional artillery fire, including things like cyber information and electronic warfare.

“To create multiple strategic dilemmas for the adversary ... this is unlike what we’ve done in previous exercises,” Pickler said.

The soldiers employed these processes through a principle that participants called “convergence in time.” It involves synchronizing a series of lethal and nonlethal fires and effects to create opportunities for allied ground forces to gain a battlefield advantage.

“Multidomain effects are taking all those different factors the enemy is using to protect their priority targets and trying to diminish it so it gives our ammunition the best chance at surviving and attacking what we want,” said Capt. Jason Pulido, an intelligence officer.

Avenger Triad was a first step for the new command and a stepping stone to future exercises like Dynamic Front in early 2026, leaders said.

“What we’re doing here is transferable into any theater against any enemy,” Pickler said. “I think that is the way of the future in terms of fighting.”