FM 3-0 Operations: The Army's Blueprint

The current landscape of persistent global conflict characterized by complex decentralized threats requires flexible and agile U.S. forces capable of deploying on short notice conduct immediate, effective, and sustained operations anywhere in the world. The Army maintains the enduring role of protecting U.S. interests both at home and abroad while also deterring future threats. The Army, the world's preeminent landpower, guided by creative versatile Soldiers and leaders operating under the umbrella of sound doctrine, boldly accepts this role. Traditionally, Army doctrine endeavored provide the how to approach for conducting operations. Today's conflicts require a more adaptive and progressive approach operations rather than the highly predictable cold War scenarios. With that point in mind, current Army operations doctrine discusses guiding principles while emphasizing how think about operations and thus guide our forces. The 2008 edition of FM 3-0, though shorter in length than its predecessors, presents the fundamental principles and concepts that guide the direction of Army operations rather than a checklist for success. Significant recent operational experience from the War on Terror, specifically the operations in Afghanistan, Iraq, and the Philippines, as well as urgent relief efforts following Hurricane Katrina and Rita, necessitated changes in doctrine. The development of this version of FM 3-0 traces back 2005 with a series of issue papers covering unified action, the design of the war fighting functions, the continuum of operations, and the Army's operational concept. The collective thoughts poured into and resulting from the issue papers served as a structural foundation for codifying the key concepts of the manual. The FM 3-0 issue papers were staffed a broad audience of over 200 organizations, media groups, and individual recipients. The major organizations included the Army Staff; Army commands; Army service component commands; Army corps and division headquarters; training divisions; and TRADOC commands and centers, proponents, and staff, as well Air Force, Marine, and Navy doctrine centers. The discussion generated from the issue papers led a draft of the content summary that served as guide for the overall layout of the themes, concepts, and chapter structure of the field manual. The Combined Arms Doctrine Directorate hosted three action-officer-level councils of colonels in an effort synthesize and integrate over 4,000 comments from various entities in the field at large across three drafts of the manual coalesce as much expert knowledge, thought, and current operational experience as possible. The meetings provided a separate forum for fostering debate, gaining consensus, and resolving critical and major comments from respective reviewing agencies prior a TRADOC commander-hosted doctrine and concepts conference. The latest iteration of FM 3-0 is evolutionary in nature, incorporating ideas from new joint doctrine while retaining those valued pieces of Army doctrine that have stood the test of time. However, the doctrine is revolutionary with respect its impetus and momentum drive change. FM 3-0 provides purpose and direction Army transformation and the application of force in complex operational environments. The current edition of FM 3-0 reflects Army thinking in a complex era of persistent conflict. the doctrine recognizes that military force alone will not resolve this type of conflict. Dominant landpower, while vital operations, represents only one element of a broader campaign that requires the application of each element of national power. In line with this realization and reasoning, Army doctrine now elevates stability or civil-support operations equal importance with offensive and defensive operations. As learned during operations following the thunder run Baghdad, today's conflict involves a strong human element with operations conducted in and among the people. …