Maj. Gen. Buzzard departs Fort Moore wondering ‘Have I done everything?’

FORT MOORE, Ga. (WRBL) — A two-star Army general leaves his post as commanding general of the Maneuver Center of Excellence on July 12. The thought that keeps Maj. Gen. Curtis A. Buzzard up at night: “Have I done everything?”

Everything to prepare the 60,000 young men and women who train at Fort Moore each year. Everything to keep up with the ever-changing character of war. Everything to keep the country safe.

Buzzard said, “God forbid something happens, I want to be able to look back at the end of the day and go, ‘We did everything to make sure they were ready.'”

Often in his talks to soldiers on post and civilians off post, Buzzard will throw out a caveat, speaking to what he sees as troubled times.

“We are one miscalculation from combat,” Buzzard has said time and again.

As he sat in the National Infantry Museum for an exit interview just days before he leaves his Fort Moore post, concern was clear in the major general’s eyes.

Buzzard will relinquish command of Fort Moore in a ceremony on Friday. Maj. Gen. Colin Tuley will assume the role.

Over a 32-year career in the Army, Buzzard, 54, has been privy to significant changes in the ways wars are fought and conflicts managed. During his time at the Maneuver Center of Excellence, he has overseen a transition toward increased robotics use in military endeavors.

“What we’re going to expect our young people to manage and understand continues to get more complicated,” Buzzard said.

Buzzard is a 1992 U.S. Military Academy at West Point graduate. Prior to coming to Fort Moore he was the commandant at his alma mater. He is positioned to continue his career, but the Army has not announced his next assignment.

The exiting commanding general has been in charge of the Army’s largest training post since July 14, 2022. His emphasis has been on training and innovation. On-post and Army-wide competitions, some international, highlight the effectiveness of that training.

Within the past year, Fort Moore hosted the first-ever small unmanned aircraft system (commonly known as “drones”) competition within the U.S. Army. It also paired with local institution Columbus State University for all-new robotics courses on post, which will offer training for both soldiers and students.

At the 2023 Manuever Warfighter Conference, then-U.S. Army Vice Chief of Staff, now U.S. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George commented on future unmanned systems use.

“I see every formation that we have, not just Infantry and Armor formations, but every formation is going to have to use unmanned systems for reconnaissance, for targeting – you name it,” George said.

Buzzard says he sees future warfare – which he called a “brutal contest of wills” – changing in that regard. The first contact with the enemy may no longer include bloodshed as close-combat forces are assisted by unmanned systems.

Buzzard acknowledged increasing pressure within the military community to prepare soldiers for a different sort of fight.

The U.S. military is experiencing what the major general called a “concerning” shift from counter insurgency efforts to large-scale combat operations “reminiscent of what we did in the ’90s,” with drastic technological advancement.

“I think we’re in an inflection point in warfare, but also a miscalculation away from combat,” Buzzard said, echoing nearly word-for-word his statement at the Warfighter Conference last September.

He pointed to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as well as modernization in China as evidence. Buzzard recently visited U.S. Army Pacific to get a handle on concerns in that area and make sure Fort Moore’s instruction and training will appropriately prepare soldiers.

Buzzard has two goals in mind:

“First, to deter any adversary from doing anything and, secondly, to be able to fight and win if we have to.”

He added, “The nature of war remains the same … At the end of the day, there’s two, you know. You and the enemy staring at each other.”

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