The most useful warning about military automation last week did not come from a drone swarm, a command center, or a classified exercise. It came from the freezer aisle of a base commissary.

Beginning Aug. 26, military installations across the United States reported refrigeration failures. At Fort Huachuca, Arizona, the commissary said all its freezers had entered defrost mode overnight, and its frozen inventory was spoiled. Other stores restricted sales while technicians inspected or repaired their equipment. What looked mundane on paper became costly before most customers woke up.

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