With exercises in Asia, U.S. Army searches for relevance

First came the whistle, then the thud and the plumes of dust as the “mortar” landed in the area where the “enemy” had been spotted.

The Japanese soldiers, having bundled out of tanks so they could lie in wait behind clumps of tall grass, then let loose. Two American Apache helicopters came in low to avoid detection, then suddenly soared up to (pretend to) unleash their weaponry on the enemy forces.

Loudspeakers along the side of the field, which sounded like World War II relics, crackled out radio chatter in Japanese and English. “We have eyes on the enemy tank,” an American voice said.

Read the full article in The Washington Post.