The US Army is reworking how it writes doctrine, turning to artificial intelligence (AI) to gain efficiencies while protecting accuracy.
Traditionally, developing military doctrines could take years. Now, the service’s Combined Arms Doctrine Directorate (CADD) is exploring how AI can responsibly accelerate the process without replacing human oversight.
“We have had people ask us about using AI and large language models to speed up the doctrine development process for years,” CADD Director Richard Creed Jr. explained.
“When some of these tools became available, the first thing we did was figure out their capabilities.”
Like an Actual Officer
The AI strategy includes a four-part rollout.
CADD launched foundational AI training for writers and designated one “master gunner” per division as an in-house expert.
It also added AI instruction to the Doctrine Developer’s Course and began working with industry partners to explore a purpose-built tool.
So far, leaders describe the gains as incremental.
An internal AI tool scans hundreds of approved texts in minutes to find historical examples that once took days to track down. Writers also use AI to spark ideas and overcome creative blocks.
“You treat it like a resourceful and motivated young officer who might not know all the information, but they can certainly assist you in cutting some corners and being a little more efficient,” said Lt. Col. Scott McMahan, an operational level doctrine writer at CADD.
Humans Still in Control
Despite their benefits, officials warn that the technology remains imperfect, as AI can “hallucinate” or cite outdated material.
In one case, a test question pulled from an obsolete manual — an error caught by a subject matter expert.
“We made it perfectly clear that AI tools were not intended to be a crutch,” Creed said. “Humans will review every line.”
