US Army activates new multi-domain task force to ‘deny, disrupt’ enemies in Indo-Pacific

A new U.S. Army multi-domain task force, one of five recently established or under development by the service, was activated this week with a ceremony at Fort Carson, Colorado.

The 4th Multi-Domain Task Force will focus on synchronizing long-range precision fires in the Indo-Pacific region “to deny, disrupt and disaggregate adversary capabilities” and create advantages for other units in the joint force, the Army said in a release.

The task force includes four battalions and is planned to grow to 2,100 soldiers.

Col. Hugh W.A. Jones assumed command of the task force during Thursday’s ceremony. He previously commanded the 2nd Stryker Brigade, 4th Infantry Division at Fort Carson, leading the brigade when it deployed to the U.S.-Mexico border last year.

“While we build this formation to deter aggression and preserve peace, if war comes, we must be prepared to fight and win,” Jones said during the ceremony . “We owe those in harm’s way every advantage we can give them, while leaving our enemy nowhere to run and nowhere to hide.”

Col. Hugh W. A. Jones, incoming commander of the 4th Multi-Domain Task Force, receives the unit's colors during an activation ceremony on Oct. 8, 2026, at Founder’s Field on Fort Carson, Colorado. (Sgt. William Rogers/U.S. Army)

The task force reports to the 7th Infantry Division at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington.

In June, the Army combined the 7th Infantry Division and the 1st Multi-Domain Task Force at Lewis-McChord into the 7th Infantry Division (Multi-Domain Command-Pacific) , which serves as the multi-domain operational headquarters. Its mission is to integrate “maneuver, fires, air defense, cyber, space, electronic warfare, intelligence, unmanned systems, sustainment and command-and -control in support of the joint force across the Pacific,” the Army said in a release.

Maj. Gen. Bernard Harrington, commander of the 7th Infantry Division, attended the activation ceremony at Fort Carson.

“You are driving the change our nation demands today, to meet the changing character of war, to prevent conflict, and to maintain a free and open Pacific alongside our allies and partners,” Harrington told soldiers assigned to the new multi-domain task force.

The establishment of the 7th Infantry Division (Multi-Domain Command-Pacific) and the 4th Multi-Domain Task Force are part of a broader transformation initiative “to counter near-peer adversaries in an increasingly complex global landscape,” the Army said.

The initiative includes the service establishing five multi-domain task forces by 2028, according to a Congressional Research Service report . The Army activated the 2nd Multi-Domain Task Force in 2021 at the Clay Kaserne installation in Germany, and stood up the third in Hawaii in 2022. A fifth is planned for Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

The units are designed to operate across all domains — land, air, sea, space, cyberspace and information — and “provide combatant commanders with a versatile and potent array of options,” according to the Army.

“As we build this formation, we must never forget that technology earns its value in the hands of well-trained and disciplined soldiers,” Jones said Thursday. “A soldier who solves a difficult problem here may make the difference for an American fighting far beyond the horizon.”

Nikki Wentling is a senior editor at Military Times. She's reported on veterans and military communities for over a decade and has also covered technology, politics, health care and crime. Her work has earned multiple honors from the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, the Arkansas Associated Press Managing Editors and others.

美国陆军新成立的多域特遣部队本周在科罗拉多州卡森堡举行仪式正式启用，这是该军种最近成立或正在组建的五个多域特遣部队之一。

美国陆军在一份声明中表示，第四多域特遣部队将专注于在印太地区协调远程精确火力，“以阻止、扰乱和瓦解敌方能力”，并为联合部队中的其他单位创造优势。

该特遣部队包括四个营，计划扩充至 2100 名士兵。

休·W·A·琼斯上校在周四的仪式上正式接管了特遣部队的指挥权。他此前曾指挥驻扎在卡森堡的第4步兵师第2斯特赖克旅，并率领该旅于去年部署到美墨边境。

琼斯在仪式上说：“我们建立这个阵地是为了遏制侵略、维护和平，但如果战争爆发，我们必须做好战斗并取得胜利的准备。我们有义务尽一切可能保护那些身处险境的人们，同时让我们的敌人无处可逃，无处可藏。”

2026年10月8日，在科罗拉多州卡森堡的创始人场举行的部队成立仪式上，即将上任的第四多域特遣部队指挥官休·W·A·琼斯上校接过部队旗帜。（威廉·罗杰斯中士/美国陆军）

该特遣部队向位于华盛顿州刘易斯-麦科德联合基地的第7步兵师报告。

今年6月，美国陆军将驻刘易斯-麦科德空军基地的第7步兵师和第1多域特遣部队合并为第7步兵师（太平洋多域司令部），该师作为多域作战司令部。陆军在一份声明中表示，其任务是“整合机动、火力、防空、网络、太空、电子战、情报、无人系统、后勤保障和指挥控制，以支持太平洋地区的联合部队”。

第7步兵师师长伯纳德·哈灵顿少将出席了在卡森堡举行的启用仪式。

“你们正在推动我们国家今天所需要的变革，以应对战争性质的变化，防止冲突，并与我们的盟友和伙伴一起维护一个自由开放的太平洋，”哈灵顿对分配到新的多域特遣部队的士兵们说。

陆军表示，第7步兵师（太平洋多域司令部）和第4多域特遣部队的成立是更广泛的转型计划的一部分，“旨在应对日益复杂的全球形势中势均力敌的对手”。

根据国会研究服务处的一份报告，该计划包括陆军在2028年前建立五个多域特遣部队。陆军于2021年在德国克莱兵营启动了第二个多域特遣部队，并于2022年在夏威夷成立了第三个。第五个特遣部队计划设在北卡罗来纳州布拉格堡。

据陆军称，这些部队旨在跨越所有领域（陆地、空中、海上、太空、网络空间和信息）作战，并“为作战指挥官提供多种多样且强大的选择”。

琼斯周四表示：“在我们构建这支部队的过程中，我们绝不能忘记，技术的价值只有在训练有素、纪律严明的士兵手中才能体现出来。一名士兵在这里解决一个难题，就可能对远在天边作战的美国士兵产生决定性的影响。”

妮基·温特林是《军事时报》的高级编辑。她从事退伍军人和军人社区报道十余年，也曾涉猎科技、政治、医疗保健和犯罪等领域。她的作品曾多次荣获全国无家可归退伍军人联盟、阿肯色州美联社执行编辑协会等机构颁发的奖项。