Document text
Ben Ennis
Army Modernization
ARMYAL&T
Field Manual (FM) 3-0 —
A Blueprint for Full-Spectrum Conflict and
FM 3-0 Operations, dated February 2008, gives the U.S. Army's view of how to
conduct prompt and sustained land operations. The manual draws on learned
lessons from the last 6 years of combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. "FM 3-0 is the
blueprint for an uncertain future," says GEN William S. Wallace, Commanding
General (CG), U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command. "The Army must pre¬
pare for a full-spectrum conflict — not just major combat operations. Preparation
for full-spectrum conflict and organizational change begins with doctrine. FM 3-0
presents doctrine that will become a driver for change in the Army."
LTG William B. Caldwell IV, CG, U.S. Army
Combined Arms Center, Fort Leavenworth, KS,
adds that to understand the size and scope of
changes in the doctrine, look back to the Army
of pre-Sept. 11, 2001:
• The organizational structure was based on the
division as the key warfighting element.
• Stability operations were considered, but were
treated as a symptom of mission creep.
• Talk about the peace dividend due to a strate¬
gic pause was driving our acquisition process
to potentially skip a generation of equipment.
• There was still a strong tendency toward
risk aversion because of Operation Southern
Watch, Bosnia, Beirut, and even, to some
extent, Vietnam.
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ARMYAL&T
Caldwell points out that today our
reality is:
• The organization structure is based on
the Brigade Combat Team (BCT) as
the key warfighting element.
• Stability operations are considered
a core mission of the military; full-
spectrum operations means stability
operations are just as important (and
sometimes more important) than of¬
fensive and defensive operations.
• We are in a state of persistent conflict
in a long-term global war.
• There is an emphasis on initiative and
accepting risk to achieve decisive results.
According to Caldwell, FM 3-0 provides
the blueprint for a new training strategy,
changes in organizational structure to re¬
spond to full-spectrum operations, and
changes in leader development and pro¬
fessional military education to focus on
adaptive and innovative leadership.
“This blueprint for the future looks be¬
yond the current fight in Iraq and
Afghanistan,” Caldwell continues. The
implication of full-spectrum operations
still includes the requirement to remain
fully capable to fight major combat op¬
erations in the future; the implication of
information engagement requires a
change in the cultural mindset; and
the whole-of-government approach —
inherent in all of our operations —
requires not only a change in the mili¬
tary but also in the interagency process.
“These changes, I believe, will be revo¬
lutionary — and FM 3-0 provides the
blueprint to move out,” he says.
FM 3-0 major doctrinal changes
include the following:
U.S. ARMY PHOTO BY SGT |AMES HUNTER.
▼ The FM emphasizes the critical nature and influence of
information in operations. Information engagement re¬
quires the integrated employment of related disciplines
such as public affairs, psychological operations (PSYOPS),
and combat camera. Information superiority is central to
mission accomplishment and requires consistency between
actions on the ground and the messages being presented to
the audiences at all levels. Here, Soldiers from the U.S.
Army’s 350th Tactical PSYOPS, 10th Mountain Div., drop
leaflets over a village near Hawijah in Kirkuk province,
Iraq. The leaflets are intended to promote the idea of self-
government to area residents.
A The importance of stability operations is elevated to
co-equal with offensive and defensive operations.
Stability operations embrace a whole-of-government
approach, which uses all elements of national power
to include diplomatic, information, military, and eco¬
nomic to achieve success. Stability operations are co¬
ordinated to maintain or reestablish a safe and secure
environment and facilitate reconciliation among local
or regional adversaries. Stability operations strive to
establish political, legal, social, and economic institu¬
tions and support the transition to legitimate local
governance. Here, SGT Brandon Griffis, 1st Platoon,
Go. A, 1st Battalion (Bn), 502nd Infantry Regiment,
2nd BGT, 101st Airborne Division (Div.) (Air As¬
sault), talks with an elderly Iraqi man during a dis¬
mounted patrol in Hurriyah, Iraq.
DOD PHOTO BY SSGT SAMUEL BENDET, U.S. AIR EORCE.
JULY - SEPTEMBER 2008
ARMYAL&T
r
U.S. ARMY PHOTO BY SPC SHAWN M. CASSATT.
^ FM 3-0 doctrine continues to advocate Soldiers as
the Army’s centerpiece. Army leaders and Soldiers
should be given maximum latitude to exercise indi¬
vidual and small-unit initiative. Here, a Soldier
from Alpha Co., 2nd Bn, 23rd Infantry Regiment,
4th BCT, 2nd Infantry Division (2ID) views a
monitor in his Stryker vehicle to check if all is clear
before deploying his team in Muqdadiyah, Iraq.
U.S. ARMY PHOTO BY CPT RICHARD YBARRA.
U.S. ARMY PHOTO BY SPC LARAYNE HURD.
A.FM3-0 operational concept drives
initiative, embraces risk, and focuses on
creating opportunities to achieve decisive
results. The FM’s operational concept
emphasizes leaders and Soldiers seizing,
retaining, and exploiting the initiative to
achieve decisive results. Here, SGT
Amaury Lantigua and SFC John Guy of
Heavy Co., 3rd Squadron, 3rd Armored
Cavalry Regiment, inspect a vehicle that
was destined for use as a car bomb as a
Kiowa helicopter provides cover in the
AI-Rissala market of Mosul, Iraq.
A The commander leverages experience, knowledge,
and intuition to play the central role in full-
spectrum operations, bridging battle command
and operational art. The commander has the
central role in full-spectrum operations and must
creatively apply battle command and operational
art. Here, U.S. Army CPT Edmond Hardy, 1st
Armored Div. Commander, 2nd Stryker Cavalry
Regiment, 4th Squadron, holds an Iraqi child
while giving orders during an aid mission in
Baghdad, Iraq.
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ARMYAL&T
LTG N. Ross Thompson III, MILDEP to the Acting ASAALT, emphasizes that
we are doing everything possible to meet Soldiers’ needs by accelerating the deliv¬
ery of vital equipment and new technologies. Here, U.S. Army ILT James Cleary
(right), 1st Bn, 38th Infantry Regiment, 4th Stryker Brigade, 2ID, uses a field
radio in Baghdad during a combined cordon and search mission.
FM 3-0 doctrine execution requires
well-trained Soldiers and the finest
weapons and equipment available.
“This doctrine is the engine driving
change in our concepts and designs for
organizations, training, leader develop¬
ment, and the materiel solutions we
need to support our modernization
strategy,” explains LTG N. Ross
Thompson III, Military Deputy
(MILDEP) to the Acting Assistant
Secretary of the Army for Acquisition,
Logistics, and Technology (ASAALT).
“Army modernization is necessary,
successful, and long overdue.”
According to Thompson, just as the
commercial market has been trans¬
formed to meet market demands, the
Army is transforming to meet the needs
of our Soldiers in an era of persistent
conflict. “Our Soldiers are depending
on us to get them what they need to ac¬
complish their mission and return home
safely,” Thompson states. “We are doing
everything possible to meet their needs
by accelerating the delivery of vital
equipment and new technologies.
“We are pushing the limits of technology
to provide our Soldiers with the very
best weapons systems and equipment
America can produce as quickly as possi¬
ble,” Thompson emphasizes. “Much of
our effort centers on providing new,
more robust communications capabili¬
ties to connect our Soldiers, our leaders,
and the systems that support and protect
them in unprecedented ways. We are
succeeding in this critical aspect of our
modernization. We are already delivering
some measure of our desired capabilities
to our Soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan
— providing a glimpse of what we will
achieve in the future through the power
of a modern, redundant network.
“Our modernization strategy is flexible,
adaptive, and well suited to the uncer¬
tainties inherent to the environment in
which we operate,” Thompson adds.
“We continuously refine and adapt our
efforts to address new requirements in
an effort to keep ahead of the ruthless-
thinking, adaptive enemies we face. De¬
velopment risk exists in any venture
that seeks to move beyond the status
quo; it must be actively managed and
mitigated to the maximum extent pos¬
sible. Without assuming some risk,
however, progress will never occur. The
real risk — to our Soldiers, our Army,
and the cause we serve — lies not with
a modernization effort that is both
comprehensive and ambitious. Rather,
the real risk lies with a failure to realize
that the world has changed and that
our Army must change accordingly.”
BENENNIS is the Strategic Communica¬
tions Chief at the U.S. Army Acquisition
Support Center. He has a B.S. in business
from the University ofCobrado and an
M.B.A. in marketing from Atlanta Uni¬
versity. Ennis is a former Army Reserve Ad¬
vertising Chief and has attended numerous
military schools, including the U.S. Army
Command and General Stajf College and
Defense Information School.
JULY - SEPTEMBER 2008
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