The United States Army Operating Concept - 2016-2028 (TRADOC Pam 525-3-1)

The Army is the Nation's principal military force organized, trained, and equipped for prompt and sustained operations on land. As one of the critical elements in our national defense strategy, the Army must continually adapt to changing conditions and evolving threats to our security. An essential part of that adaptation is the development of new ideas to address future challenges. TRADOC Pam 525-3-1, The Army Operating Concept, describes how future Army forces conduct operations as part of the joint force to deter conflict, prevail in war, and succeed in a wide range of contingencies in the future operational environment. It describes the employment of Army forces in the 2016-2028 timeframe with emphasis on the operational and tactical levels of war. In addition to describing broadly how Army headquarters organize and direct the employment of their forces, the concept describes the major categories of Army operations and identifies the capabilities required of Army forces to guide and prioritize future force development. The ideas discussed in this document will guide revisions in Army doctrine, organizations, training, materiel, leadership and education, personnel, and facilities. These ideas will also enhance the integration of Army forces with a wide array of domestic and international partners. The challenges of future armed conflict make it imperative for the Army to produce leaders and forces that exhibit a high degree of operational adaptability. Achieving the necessary level of operational adaptability requires the Army to build upon a foundation of two broad responsibilities within the framework of full-spectrum operations: 1) Army forces conduct combined arms maneuver to gain physical, temporal, and psychological advantages over enemy organizations. Applying an expanded understanding of combined arms, Army forces integrate the combat power resident in the Army's six warfighting functions with a wide array of related civil and military capabilities to defeat enemies and seize, retain, and exploit the initiative. 2) Army forces conduct wide area security to consolidate gains, stabilize environments, and ensure freedom of movement and action. Wide area security operations protect forces, populations, infrastructures, and activities, predominantly in protracted counterinsurgency, relief, and reconstruction efforts, and sustained engagement focused on the development of partner capabilities. Army forces capable of combined arms maneuver and wide area security operations are an essential component of the joint force's ability to achieve or facilitate the achievement of strategic and policy goals.