Army activates new command focused on maneuverable, multidomain Pacific operations

The Army activated a new unit this week, combining two formations under a single command that officials said will give the service a theater-level, multidomain entity capable of independently maneuvering around the Pacific.

Army officials have been teasing the establishment of the Multi-Domain Command-Pacific (MDC-PAC) for more than a month, a two-star command that combines the 7th Infantry Division and the 1st Multi-Domain Task Force into a “self-contained,” mobile force that can deliver cyber, space, electronic warfare, intelligence and fires effects in theater.

In a ceremony on Joint Base Lewis-McChord Thursday, where both 7th ID and the 1st MDTF are located, 7th ID MDC-PAC was officially established, senior Army officials told reporters. The activation of the new command comes after the service has and continues to position itself as a relevant force in a potential Pacific fight against China.

The new command “allows us to see, sense, make sense, affect, protect, and sustain a force forward in the Pacific region,” said Gen. Ronald P. Clark, commander of U.S. Army Pacific.

The Army activated the 1st MDTF nearly a decade ago, the first of several units of its kind intended to synchronize different effects across several warfighting domains against an adversary so conventional forces can fight through denied environments.

7th ID, which has a long history in the Pacific, contains two Stryker brigades. Those mechanized elements, which center around their eight-wheeled namesakes, are tasked with rapidly deploying to and maneuvering through battlefields with infantry, artillery, engineers, logistics and other components that make it a self-sustaining combat force.

Now, those two elements are combined, the officials explained, tying the maneuver capability of the Stryker brigades with the cross-domain synchronization of the 1st MDTF more closely together. Part of including 7th ID’s namesake in the new command was to preserve its lineage, and officials said integration was part of a broader evolution in the division’s history.

Right now, the command is the only one of its kind, officials said. It consists of a division headquarters, three brigades, four battalions and includes about 12,000 soldiers.

The Army officials said they looked at the war in Ukraine and conflicts elsewhere around the world to inform the development of the new unit, particularly at the employment of drones to sense and strike targets at long ranges, a particular focus for the service in the Pacific. 

“[The] multidomain task force is sensing at those very long ranges,” said Maj. Gen. Bernard Harrington, commander of the new unit. “It is passing that data to shooters to be able to engage at those very long ranges, and it is all doing that on behalf of the theater Army.”

A soldier’s essential tasks at the tactical level may look the same, he added, but they would be equipped with capabilities that can conduct medium or short-range reconnaissance, for example, which are prioritized around supporting the multidomain efforts. Those conventional units would also be able to better protect and move the multidomain elements, officials said.

While the unit was officially activated Thursday, the officials said they began testing the command’s concept during a recent exercise in the Philippines known as Balikatan 2026.

“We used Army watercraft for sustainment, we utilized our unmanned systems,” Harrington said of the exercise, which ended last month. “We networked them all together and really provided those multidomain effects in a real theater environment as a rehearsal of concept.”

A particular benefit to the new formation was that 7th ID MDC-PAC is positioned at the theater level, according to the officials, meaning its authorities and scope to help the broader Pacific effort are much higher than its predecessors. 

“While each of these capabilities matter in and of themselves,” Harrington said, “I’ll really say that the real advantage is how we’ve organized them at the theater level in order to be able to project power and then enable the joint force right alongside each of our allies and our partners.”