Army Doctrine Publication 3-0: An Opportunity to Meet the Challenges of the Future

While we cannot predict the future in today's uncertain and complex strategic environment, we can be certain that our Nation will continue to call on America's Army. As we apply the lessons of our recent combat experiences and adapt to a constantly changing strategic environment, I am committed to ensuring that we remain the best manned, best equipped, best trained, and best led Army in the world.- 38th Chief of Staffof the Army (CSA) Marching OrdersIN 2001, THE U.S. Army entered a period of sustained conflict that continues to this day. Through successes and hardships, in multiple theaters, the Army has conducted and continues to conduct operations in defense of the Nation. The past 11 years have been intense in terms of demands placed on soldiers and leaders as well as in efforts to capture key changes to doctrine resulting from changes in operational environments.1 In fact, since 2001, the Army has published four versions of its capstone doctrine on operations.2 In a sense, this is a statement of recognition that change is constant, and Army doctrine needs to keep pace with change. In dynamic operational environments, what may be true today may not be true tomorrow.3Thus, the Army has an opportunity to develop doctrine that fulfills the 38th CSA Marching Orders by defining what Army forces do and how they should best be organized.4 Army Doctrine Publication (ADP) 3-0, Unified Land Operations, and its associated Army Doctrine Reference Publication (ADRP) provide direction for how the Army will operate in the future. This article discusses the development process of ADP 3-0 to inform the Army and responds to questions and concerns about the rationale for the various conventions used in the publication.The Purpose of DoctrineDoctrine provides the Army with a common philosophy, language, purpose, and unity of effort for the employment of forces. It represents what is taught, believed, and advocated as right. It provides a common perspective from which to train and fight. To meet the challenges of the future, Army leaders must understand the fundamental principles, tactics, techniques, and procedures articulated in doctrine publications. As changes occur in an operational environment, the doctrine development process provides Army forces the ability to make rapid doctrinal changes to techniques through active participation by soldiers and leaders in the force.5Army leaders must reflect on the past but also look to an uncertain future. The concept of unified land operations provides a common operational concept for a future in which Army forces must be prepared to operate across the range of military operations, integrating their actions with joint, interagency, and multinational partners as part of a larger effort.6 Unified land operations is a natural extension of doctrine that has advised the Army for many years. Lessons learned over 11 years of combat have honed the Army's views of what the Army is, how the Army operates, and how the Army contributes to unified action.7 ADP 3-0 was developed in the context of a new way of presenting doctrine, one that would provide ease of access and review to the reader.The Beginning of Doctrine 2015Army Doctrine Publication 3-0 is the Army's first manual published under a concept known as Doctrine 2015. This concept, once completed, will provide soldiers with doctrine that is more collaborative and accessible.8 In 2009, senior leaders in the Army expressed a concern that soldiers were not reading doctrine due to the length of the manuals. Additionally, main ideas were often buried within the text. Finally, there was a sense that there were simply too many field manuals in the Army inventory. As a result, in 2009 the Combined Arms Center began an effort known as Doctrine Reengineering. Doctrine Reengineering was intended to reduce the number of field manuals, as well as review the size of the manuals.In 2010, based on an inquiry from the CSA concerning the size of existing doctrine manuals, work began on developing a 10-page doctrine manual. …