The Army is testing procedures for temporarily burying large numbers of fallen personnel in future wars where air superiority, transport and safe evacuation may be unavailable. During Phase II of Operation Dragon Covenant in North Carolina, engineers, medical specialists, chaplains and fatality-management teams practiced digging and backfilling trenches while protecting simulated remains for later identification and return to families. Temporary interment is authorized in mass-casualty situations when remains cannot be moved safely, including after chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear attacks. Rules require respectful treatment and preservation of identifying information, including for enemy combatants; cremation is generally restricted.
The exercise showed how equipment affects capacity: D6 bulldozers dug a trench for 20 remains in an average of 75 minutes, compared with earlier trials in which backhoes took three hours to excavate a trench for ten. With suitable equipment and continuous work, an engineer company could dig and cover trenches for as many as 2,400 remains in a day. Teams also found that existing doctrine’s seven-foot spacing between trenches is too narrow for bulldozers, prompting revisions to guidance. Because combat conditions may prevent individual religious services or identification of faith, chaplains tested consecrating burial sites beforehand. A third exercise phase, planned for spring 2027, will add security, medical facilities and a mortuary-affairs collection point.
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