| Summary/Abstract |
The press, analysts, and officials took close notice of the Russian strategic-level field-exercise (FTX) organized in mid-September 2018. Of note was its immense geographic size. It ranged from the Southern Military District, across nine distinct training ranges, with naval operations in the Sea of Okhotsk, the Bering Sea, and in the Avacha, and Kronotsky bays in Kamchatka. Whilst many commentators focused on the challenge of effecting span-of-control over the exercise; or debated the actual number of troops, Defense & Security Analysis asked a number of experts of the Russian army whether they detected any hint of experimentation in the areas of mission-command and free-play in the FTX-phase of the exercise. Five experts contributed short analytical essays on whether such approaches were detected, let alone actually used.
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