The US Army is testing whether reserve drill sergeants could help train a larger force for a major war

An Army Reserve drill sergeant with 1st Brigade, 95th Training Division, speaks to trainees on Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Maj. Linda Gerron/US Army The Army is planning for a potential future fight that could require it to train more recruits quickly. The service recently examined how reservists could help rapidly plus-up basic training. The experiment will be used as a springboard for a larger effort next year. The US Army is testing whether it could use reserve drill sergeants and other personnel to quickly expand basic training in the event that a major conflict suddenly needed training pipelines to produce far more soldiers. An experiment called Operation Wildcat Rising put dozens of Army Reserve drill sergeants into a single basic training cycle at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, this summer to examine how the Army might increase its existing training capacity while also maintaining basic training standards.