Beyond teh Tool: How AI Transforms Military Planning Teams, Not Just Plans
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly changing the landscape of numerous fields, and military planning is no exception. However, the true impact of AI isn’t simply about generating flawless plans. It’s about fundamentally reshaping how planning teams operate. Recent experiences at the Marine command and Staff College highlight a crucial lesson: AI’s power lies not in the technology itself, but in a team’s willingness to adapt and evolve alongside it.
The Initial Promise & Unexpected Discoveries
Initial implementation of AI tools focused on assessing weather students could produce perfect plans.This proved to be the wrong metric. Success was actually measured by a team’s ability to grapple with a new technology, learn from mistakes, and begin to envision AI’s potential contributions to the planning process.
The most significant takeaway wasn’t about the limitations of AI, but the limitations within the teams themselves. Access to AI models sparked moments of insight, but these quickly dissipated without a deliberate restructuring of the planning process.
Re-Engineering for Human-Machine Collaboration
Simply providing access to AI isn’t enough. To truly leverage its capabilities, you need a strategic overhaul. Hear’s what that looks like:
* Integrate Prompt templates: Incorporate structured prompt templates into the early stages of planning. This ensures consistent and focused AI input.
* Invest in Skill Development: Don’t just ask your team to “try the tool.” Provide training to build genuine skill and confidence in utilizing AI effectively.
* Establish AI Checkpoints: create deliberate checkpoints where AI is required to challenge assumptions and refine ideas. This forces critical evaluation.
These adjustments may seem minor, but collectively they represent a significant shift. Planning teams must move away from being static structures and become malleable systems, designed for seamless human-machine collaboration.
AI Transforms Teams, Not Just Planning
The core lesson is clear: AI doesn’t automatically transform planning. It transforms the teams willing to change their workflows. If you want to move beyond experimentation, you must be prepared to redesign your planning groups.
This redesign should focus on reinforcing the synergy between human judgment and machine-generated insights. Without this restructuring, generative AI risks remaining a peripheral curiosity, relegated to the edges of established doctrine.
However, with deliberate restructuring, your team can unlock the full potential of AI-driven insights, leading to more robust and effective planning outcomes.
About the Authors:
Joseph O. Chapa is a U.S. Air Force officer with a Ph.D. in beliefs from Oxford. He frequently publishes on matters of war and technology, including in War on the Rocks and The New York Times.His book, Is Remote Warfare Moral?, was published by PublicAffairs in 2022.You can find his insights in his weekly newsletter: https://chapainsights.substack.com/.
Sofia Cantu is a U.S. Army officer and air defender specializing in tactical air defense and staff planning. She holds a Master of Military Studies from the Marine Corps University, where her thesis focused on AI-enabled decision support, workforce integration, and ethical considerations in Army modernization.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not reflect the official positions of the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Army, the Department of Defense, or the U.S. government.
Note: War on the Rocks adheres to a house style that uses ”Department of Defense” unless and until the name is officially changed by an act of Congress.
Image: Gunnery Sgt. Daniel Wetzel via U.S. Marines
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