1st Infantry Division Provides Higher Command Element for Combined Resolve 27-01

HOHENFELS, Germany - Soldiers assigned to the 1st Infantry Division and deployed in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve participated in exercise Combined Resolve 27-01 at the 7th Army Training Command's Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels, Germany, from Oct. 4 through Nov. 4, 2026.

Combined Resolve is a recurring U.S. Army Europe and Africa exercise that provides rotationally deployed forces the opportunity to train in a demanding, realistic environment across the European theater.

"As the regionally aligned division headquarters, we are providing the higher command, or HICOM, element," said Maj. Taylor Mextorf, chief of the 1st Infantry Division Analysis and Control Element. "We provide the command signals a division would have, offer resources and coordination, and enable the brigade to receive the best tactical-level training possible on this terrain during its rotation."

The HICOM element provides a division-level command framework for the brigade training in the field. It replicates key division staff functions and gives the rotational unit the opportunity to operate within a broader battlefield structure.

"From an intelligence perspective, much of our discussion has focused on the process of handing off information to support situational awareness: what the enemy is doing, the decisions they are making, what that means for us, and how our command can respond in support of targeting throughout the battlefield framework," Mextorf said.

Mextorf said the HICOM element helps provide the fidelity of a full division staff to an armored brigade combat team operating in a relatively confined training area. The framework includes neighboring units competing for resources and support, creating a more realistic operational environment for the brigade.

The Joint Multinational Readiness Center provides brigade-level units the opportunity to train as they fight, achieve mission-essential training objectives, and consolidate lessons learned across diverse terrain. The training helps formations strengthen warfighting proficiency, refine tactics and procedures, and improve readiness.

Large-scale combat operations exercises such as Combined Resolve require detailed preparation, including weeks or months of training before the rotation and continued process refinement throughout the exercise.

Earlier this year, the 1st Infantry Division executed a warfighter exercise focused on adaptability in an evolving operational environment.

"That was the culminating event after about a year's worth of training progression, from CPX 0 through CPX 3," Mextorf said. "It was the crawl-walk-run training methodology at a higher echelon."

"We established our structures and refined them through the CPX progression," Mextorf said. "Once we reached the headquarters exercise, we settled on what worked best for us. We brought all that refinement into this exercise to continue building lethality and readiness."

The JMRC combat training center exercise series supports NATO's Eastern Flank Deterrence Initiative by helping validate regional plans, strengthen warfighting readiness, and employ emerging capabilities that support deterrence and defense across the European theater.

"For an armored brigade combat team whose objective is to destroy the enemy by fire, maneuver, and shock effect, there is no better way to do that than getting an entire brigade in a place where it can maneuver, synchronize, integrate with higher headquarters, and bring in enabling effects and capabilities," Mextorf said. "They can truly exercise that on this terrain."