People as the Decisive Advantage Preparing the Dismounted Soldier for the Future Battlefield

Chapter headingChapter subheadingDrawing on more than two decades of experience, Colonel Parsons explores lessons from Ukraine, the growing importance of adaptability and “techcraft”, and the challenges of allied interoperability.Contents

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People as the Decisive Advantage

Col Tom Parsons on Preparing the Dismounted Soldier for the Future Battlefield

As the character of land warfare evolves, dismounted soldiers are operating in an increasingly transparent, technology-driven and contested battlespace. Yet while drones, artificial intelligence, autonomy and persistent surveillance are reshaping the battlefield, the human element remains fundamental to success.

Ahead of International Dismounted Soldier 2026, we spoke with Colonel Tom Parsons MBE, Assistant Head Personnel Strategy, British Army, about how armies must prepare their people for the realities of future close combat.

Drawing on more than two decades of experience,Colonel Parsons explores lessons from Ukraine, the growing importance of adaptability and “techcraft”, the challenges of allied interoperability, and why curiosity, resilience and human judgement will remain essential even as technology becomes increasingly sophisticated.

Colonel Tom Parsons MBE

Col Tom Parsons commissioned into the Scots Guards in 2001. He has served in ceremonial, light, mechanised and armoured infantry roles in training and on operations. He commanded 1st Infantry Training Battalion from 2018 to 2021, where he led the introduction of the first women into the Infantry and the development of a new Combat Infantry Course, while also managing 1,500 recruits and instructors through the challenges of COVID.

On the staff, he has served in intelligence collection roles in Army Headquarters and with 3 Commando Brigade in Afghanistan; developed warfighting initiatives with NATO in Headquarters 3 (UK) Division and served with the US Marine Corps in Iraq; supported the institutional foundations of the Army as Military Assistant to Commander Standing Joint Command (UK); and shaped individual training as Chief of Staff of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst Group and Assistant Head Transformation in Army Individual Training Command. He is currently Assistant Head Personnel Strategy, leading work to help ensure the Army makes the most of its people, now and into the future.

He holds a BSc (Hons) in Biology, an MSc in Battlespace Technology, and an MA in Defence Studies, and is a graduate of ACSC. He was awarded an MBE in 2017.

You’ve served in light, mechanised and armoured infantry roles throughout your career, from platoon command through to senior leadership. Looking back, what experiences have had the greatest influence on your approach to preparing and leading dismounted soldiers?

Every operation, exercise, book or conversation offers something useful, and I’ve probably learned more from the things that have gone badly than the things that have gone well. The best lessons come from combining experiences with honest reflection.

For example, I can think of a successful counter-IED operation in Afghanistan that reinforced the value of collaboration and empowering junior leaders. Conversely, I remember watching a division rapidly reduced to around 30% combat effectiveness during a warfighter exercise in the United States. We followed the textbooks too closely, did not adapt to the changing situation and were too reliant on the science of planning rather than the art. The latter example is a cautionary tale about the over-use of AI today. Since over-reliance on probabilistic mathematical calculations without intuitive creativity does not always lead to success.

Together, those experiences have shaped the way I think about preparing soldiers today.

Having worked on warfighting initiatives with NATO and alongside the US Marine Corps, what do you see as the biggest lessons the British Army and its allies have drawn from the war in Ukraine for today’s dismounted soldiers?

Drawing on your experience working with NATO and allied forces, where do you see the greatest opportunities - and the remaining challenges - for improving interoperability between allied dismounted forces?

The battlefield has become increasingly transparent through drones, persistent surveillance and electronic warfare. How do you see the role, training and tactics of the modern dismounted soldier evolving in response?

You’ve led major changes to Army individual training, including introducing the first women into the infantry and developing a new Combat Infantry Course. You now lead work on Army personnel strategy. What qualities do tomorrow’s dismounted soldiers need beyond technical proficiency, and how should armies develop and retain those qualities?

Across your career, you’ve served in ceremonial, training, operational and staff appointments spanning light, mechanised and armoured infantry. Despite rapid advances in technology, are there any enduring principles of soldiering that you believe remain constant?

Looking ahead, which emerging capability - or perhaps changes in how we recruit, train or develop people - do you believe will have the greatest impact on the effectiveness of future dismounted soldiers over the next five to ten years?

International Dismounted Soldier brings together military leaders, government stakeholders and industry to discuss the future of close combat capability. What conversations are you most looking forward to at this year’s conference?

There are many lessons we can learn from Ukraine. I’ll highlight three that stand out from a people perspective.

The first is that adaptation has become a combat function in its own right. The side that identifies lessons, incorporates them into training and changes its tactics the fastest gains the advantage.

The second lesson is that technology has not diminished the importance of the soldier. If anything, it has increased it. We need soldiers who combine sound tactical judgement with strong technical competence so they can continue adapting. This is what we are calling techcraft.

The third lesson is that Ukraine reinforces the enduring importance of physical and mental resilience. We’ve all seen the video footage, and we can’t underestimate how difficult modern conflict is - not only for soldiers, but also for their families. Resilience is a ‘whole-of-society challenge’, and one we all need to address.

Interoperability is often described as having three pillars: human, procedural and technical.

Naturally, we tend to focus on technology because it’s visible and relatively easy to quantify. However, throughout my career I’ve repeatedly seen strong human relationships compensate for technical shortcomings.

Fortunately, our alliances are strong at every level. We deploy together, exercise together and, increasingly, learn together. Those relationships create trust, and I believe that is our greatest opportunity.

The challenge is ensuring that our procedures, data standards and technology evolve at the same pace as those relationships.

Ultimately, interoperability is built on trust, which is essentially a balance between risk and reward. If soldiers trust one another, they will usually find a way to overcome technical friction. If that trust doesn’t exist, even the best technology in the world won’t solve the problems they face.

The battlefield is more transparent, but not completely. Soldiers must still master concealment and deception if they are to survive and manoeuvre effectively. They need to develop their ability to hide and seek.

The challenge for training organisations is identifying which training objectives remain valid, which need to be adapted, and which should be discarded altogether.

The hardest part of adaptation is often unlearning. Organisations need to examine what they do and be willing to let go of lessons that no longer serve them, even if they have been learned, often the hard way, from previous wars and previous successes.

One of our greatest assets in this process is our young soldiers. Since they carry fewer scars and fewer hard-won assumptions from previous operations, they often see problems differently. They can help us identify what we still need to know, and equally importantly, what we no longer need to know.

Recent work on people as a capability has reinforced the idea that future soldiers will need both specialist and universal skills.

Specialist skills enable them to perform their specific role, while universal skills allow them to collaborate, solve problems, innovate and adapt in unfamiliar situations.

Evidence from both operations and academia points in the same direction, highlighting adaptability, resilience and curiosity as essential qualities.

I think curiosity is particularly important because future soldiers will operate in an environment where technology, threats, and tactics are constantly evolving.

My concern with artificial intelligence is not that it will replace human judgement, but that it may reduce curiosity if we become over-reliant on convenient answers. We must continue developing soldiers who ask questions, challenge assumptions and keep learning. In my experience, soldiers are naturally very good at that and we shouldn’t stifle them.

Yes, I’ll highlight a few.

Firstly, our soldiers are remarkable. Given the right resources and direction, they can achieve almost anything.

Secondly, leadership matters. That means caring about your people, understanding the purpose, ensuring others understand it too, maintaining a positive attitude, and leading by example. That means living the Army’s values and standards, staying fit and looking the part.

Thirdly, it’s about mastering your profession - being excellent at the fundamentals of soldiering, excelling in your specific role, adapting to change and maintaining intellectual humility, because there is always something new to learn.

Finally, it’s about getting stuck in. The more you commit yourself, the more you’ll understand, the more you’ll be able to contribute, and the more you’ll get out of the experience.

You probably expect me to talk about AI, robotics and autonomy.

Technology is incredibly important, but it isn’t everything. I firmly believe that people remain our greatest advantage, provided we use them wisely.

Mass matters, but when recruiting is challenging, we need to make the most of the people who choose to join by understanding their skills, matching them to the right roles, and supporting their development throughout their careers.

If we do that well, we’ll build a workforce with the skills needed to succeed. Technology will continue to evolve, but I truly believe that people will remain our decisive advantage.

I’ll highlight three, although I’m sure the conversations will range far and wide, and I certainly don’t have a monopoly on good questions.

Firstly, I’m particularly interested in discussions about the interaction between technology and people. We’ve invested significant effort in understanding technological change, but I think we’ve invested less in understanding its impact on cognitive load, decision-making and human performance.

Secondly, I’m interested in how we scale adaptability. We often talk about adapting quickly, but how do large organisations - both inside and outside the military - actually achieve that?

Finally, I’m looking forward to discussions around techcraft and the best ways to bring together industry, academia, technology and the military to solve problems collaboratively.

Join the Conversation at International Dismounted Soldier 2026

2–3 December 2026

Novotel London West, London

These questions will be at the heart of International Dismounted Soldier 2026. Join the international dismounted soldier community to exchange lessons, explore emerging capabilities and help define how tomorrow’s soldiers will be equipped, trained and prepared for the future battlefield.

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