The US Army doesn't want its soldiers trying to figure out new tech right before heading into combat training

Army officials have said soldier feedback on how systems perform is the most important takeaway on whether a drone will be useful.

US Army photo by Staff Sgt.

John Bae The Army has new guidance for when soldiers get unfamiliar technology.

Leaders say new drones and other tech shouldn't arrive just before major combat training.

Soldiers will now get months to learn new technology before key exercises.

US soldiers are experimenting with a growing number of new technologies, particularly drones, but Army leaders say that there is a limit to how much troops can take on at once and still keep their focus on training for war.

The Army is pushing to deploy thousands of drones across its formations over the coming years, but officials caution that giving soldiers new systems too late in the training cycle distracts them.

A 180-day requirement is designed to give them time to master the tech before trying it in warfighting exercises.

"We've established a temporal threshold 180 days out where we have to give them that equipment then, so that they have sufficient time at home station to integrate that," Lt.

Gen.

James Isenhower, commander of the Army's Combined Arms Command, told reporters last week.

Isenhower said the rule came about after the realization that soldiers were feeling the exhausting push and pull of training and experimentation, with the service asking troops to learn unfamiliar technology while simultaneously preparing for a fight.

"We've had a couple of examples in the recent past where we've given new technology to units just as they were entering what we call the box, where they're conducting their force-on-force operations," he said.

"We've realized the reality is we, I think, owe them more time so they can integrate that equipment and focus on fighting the enemy as opposed to what, often times, is a focus on simply trying to understand the equipment." Part of the challenge with drones, in particular, has been getting them into soldiers' hands long enough for them to be adequately trained on them.