The Future of Warfare: Issues from the 1999 Army After Next Study Cycle

In February 1996, the Chief of Staff of the Army gave the Commander of the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) a broad charter to explore the nature of warfare thirty years into the future and to help develop a long-term vision of the Army. The mission of the AAN project was to conduct broad studies of war to about the year 2025, frame issues vital to the development of the U.S. Army after about 2010, and provide issues to senior Army leadership in a format suitable for integration into TRADOC combat development programs. This long-term vision was designed to connect to the Army's research and development programs. The Strike Force initiative embodied AAN concepts and was to provide a bridge from current Army forces, using today's technologies, to future Army forces, exploiting technological breakthroughs. The Strike Force concept was deleted from consideration while this report was being prepared. The concepts announced in the Transformation Plan are based in part on the results of AAN studies.