Fundamental to operating successfully across the full range of military operations is an understanding of the Army's doctrinal foundations the principles of war and the tenets of Army operations.
The nine principles of war provide general guidance for the conduct of war at
the strategic, operational, and tactical levels. They are the enduring bedrock
of Army doctrine. The US Army published its first discussion of the principles
of war in a 1921 Army training regulation. The original principles adopted by
the Army, although slightly revised, have withstood the test of time. Today's
force-projection Army recognizes the following nine principles of war.
Objective
Direct every military operation toward a clearly defined, decisive, and
attainable objective.
The ultimate military purpose of war is the destruction of the enemy's armed
forces and will to fight. The ultimate objectives of operations other than war
might be more difficult to define; nonetheless, they too must be clear from the
beginning. The linkage, therefore, between objectives at all levels of war is
crucial; each operation must contribute to the ultimate strategic aim.
The attainment of intermediate objectives must directly, quickly, and
economically contribute to the operation. Using the analytical framework of
mission, enemy, troops, terrain, and time available (METT-T), commanders
designate physical objectives such as an enemy force, decisive or dominating
terrain, a juncture of lines of communication (LOCs), or other vital areas
essential to accomplishing the mission. These become the basis for all
subordinate plans. Actions that do not contribute to achieving the objective
must be avoided.
Offensive
Seize, retain, and exploit the initiative.
Offensive action is the most effective and decisive way to attain a clearly
defined common objective. Offensive operations are the means by which a military
force seizes and holds the initiative while maintaining freedom of action and
achieving decisive results. This is fundamentally true across all levels of war.
Commanders adopt the defensive only as a temporary expedient and must seek every
opportunity to seize the initiative. An offensive spirit must therefore be
inherent in the conduct of all defensive operations. The side that retains the
initiative through offensive action forces the enemy to react rather than act.
Mass
Mass the effects of overwhelming combat power at the decisive place and time.
Synchronizing all the elements of combat power where they will have decisive
effect on an enemy force in a short period of time is to achieve mass. To mass
is to hit the enemy with a closed fist, not poke at him with fingers of an open
hand. Mass must also be sustained so the effects have staying power. Thus, mass
seeks to smash the enemy, not sting him. This results from the proper
combination of combat power with the proper application of other principles of
war. Massing effects, rather than concentrating forces, can enable numerically
inferior forces to achieve decisive results, while limiting exposure to enemy
fire.
Economy of Force
Employ all combat power available in the most effective way possible; allocate
minimum essential combat power to secondary efforts.
Economy of force is the judicious employment and distribution of forces. No part
of the force should ever be left without purpose. When the time comes for
action, all parts must act. The allocation of available combat power to such
tasks as limited attacks, defense, delays, deception, or even retrograde
operations is measured in order to achieve mass elsewhere at the decisive point
and time on the battlefield.
Maneuver
Place the enemy in a position of disadvantage through the flexible application
of combat power.
Maneuver is the movement of forces in relation to the enemy to gain positional
advantage. Effective maneuver keeps the enemy off balance and protects the
force. It is used to exploit successes, to preserve freedom of action, and to
reduce vulnerability. It continually poses new problems for the enemy by
rendering his actions ineffective, eventually leading to defeat.
At all levels of war, successful application of maneuver requires agility of
thought, plans, operations, and organizations. It requires designating and then
shifting points of main effort and the considered application of the principles
of mass and economy of force. At the operational level, maneuver is the means by
which the commander determines where and when to fight by setting the terms of
battle, declining battle, or acting to take advantage of tactical actions.
Maneuver is dynamic warfare that rejects predictable patterns of operations.
Unity of Command
For every objective, seek unity of command and unity of effort.
At all levels of war, employment of military forces in a manner that masses
combat power toward a common objective requires unity of command and unity of
effort. Unity of command means that all the forces are under one responsible
commander. It requires a single commander with the requisite authority to direct
all forces in pursuit of a unified purpose.
Unity of effort, on the other hand, requires coordination and cooperation among
all forces--even though they may not necessarily be part of the same command
structure--toward a commonly recognized objective. Collateral and main force
operations might go on simultaneously, united by intent and purpose, if not
command. The means to achieve unity of purpose is a nested concept whereby each
succeeding echelon's concept is nested in the other. In combined and interagency
operations, unity of command may not be possible, but the requirement for unity
of effort becomes paramount. Unity of effort coordination through cooperation
and common interests is an essential complement to unity of command.
Security
Never permit the enemy to acquire unexpected advantage.
Security enhances freedom of action by reducing vulnerability to hostile acts,
influence, or surprise. Security results from the measures taken by a commander
to protect his forces. Knowledge and understanding of enemy strategy, tactics,
doctrine, and staff planning improve the detailed planning of adequate security
measures. Risk is inherent in war; however, commanders must not be overly
cautious. To be successful, commanders must take necessary, calculated risks to
preserve the force and defeat the enemy. Protecting the force increases friendly
combat power.
Surprise
Strike the enemy at a time or place or in a manner for which he is unprepared.
Surprise can decisively shift the balance of combat power. By seeking surprise,
forces can achieve success well out of proportion to the effort expended. Rapid
advances in surveillance technology and mass communication make it increasingly
difficult to mask or cloak large-scale marshaling or movement of personnel and
equipment. The enemy need not be taken completely by surprise but only become
aware too late to react effectively. Factors contributing to surprise include
speed, effective intelligence, deception, application of unexpected combat
power, operations security (OPSEC), and variations in tactics and methods of
operation. Surprise can be in tempo, size of force, direction or location of
main effort, and timing. Deception can aid the probability of achieving
surprise.
Simplicity
Prepare clear, uncomplicated plans and concise orders to ensure thorough
understanding.
Everything in war is very simple, but the simple thing is difficult. To the
uninitiated, military operations are not difficult. Simplicity contributes to
successful operations. Simple plans and clear, concise orders minimize
misunderstanding and confusion. Other factors being equal, the simplest plan is
preferable. Simplicity is especially valuable when soldiers and leaders are
tired. Simplicity in plans allows better understanding and troop leading at all
echelons and permits branches and sequels to be more easily understood and
executed.
Whenever Army forces are called upon to fight, they fight to win. Army forces
in combat seek to impose their will on the enemy; in operations other than war,
they seek to alter conditions to achieve their purpose. Victory is the
objective, no matter the mission. Nothing short of victory is acceptable. The
Army's doctrine describes its approach to generating and applying forces and
force at the strategic, operational, and tactical levels.
The Army's success on and off the battlefield depends on its ability to operate
in accordance with five basic tenets: initiative, agility, depth,
synchronization, and versatility. A tenet is a basic truth held by an
organization. The fundamental tenets of Army operations doctrine describe the
characteristics of successful operations. All training and leadership doctrine
and all combat, combat support, and combat service support doctrine derive
directly from, and must support, the fundamental tenets. The US Army believes
that its five basic tenets are essential to victory. In and of themselves they
do not guarantee victory, but their absence makes it difficult and costly to
achieve.
Initiative
Initiative sets or changes the terms of battle by action and implies an
offensive spirit in the conduct of all operations. Applied to the force as a
whole, initiative requires a constant effort to force the enemy to conform to
commanders' operational purposes and tempos, while retaining freedom of action.
It means depleting the enemy's options, while still having options of their own.
This requires leaders to anticipate events on the battlefield so that they and
their units can act and react faster than the enemy. Applied to individual
soldiers and leaders, initiative requires a willingness and ability to act
independently within the framework of the higher commander's intent.
In the attack, initiative implies never allowing the enemy to recover from the
initial shock of the attack. Attacking commanders gain and maintain the
initiative by surprise in their selection of the time and place of attack and
the violence with which they execute it. They concentrate forces and execute
with speed, audacity, and violence, continually seeking soft spots and shifting
their main effort when required. They are prompt in transitioning from the
attack to exploitation and back, if necessary. Commanders press the fight
tenaciously and aggressively, accepting risks and pushing soldiers and systems
to the limits of their endurance for as long as necessary. The goal is to create
a fluid situation where the enemy loses the coherence of the defense. Retaining
the initiative over time requires thinking ahead, planning beyond the initial
operation, and anticipating key events on the battlefield hours, days, and weeks
in advance.
In the defense, initiative implies quickly turning the tables on the attacker.
Defending commanders act rapidly to negate the attacker's initial advantages.
They gather intelligence to gain advance warning and anticipate likely enemy
courses of action. They set the tempo and restrict, as much as possible, enemy
options. Once the attacker commits to a particular course of action, defenders
frustrate it and then preempt any adjustments by the attacker, thereupon seizing
the initiative.
In battle, initiative requires the decentralization of decision authority to the
lowest practical level. At the same time, decentralization risks some loss of
synchronization. Commanders constantly balance these competing risks,
recognizing that loss of immediate control is preferable to inaction.
Decentralization demands well-trained subordinates and superiors who are willing
to take risks.
In operations other than war, initiative implies controlling the environment
rather than letting the environment control events. In responding to a natural
disaster, commanders direct their forces to the critical points or facilities
where prompt action is needed to stabilize the environment. The objective is to
allow local governments to assume control at an appropriate time while the
community regains control of basic services. Commanders direct their military
activities in combination with other elements of national and coalition power to
restore stability.
Agility
Agility is the ability of friendly forces to react faster than the enemy and is
a prerequisite for seizing and holding the initiative. It is as much a mental as
a physical quality. Greater quickness permits the rapid concentration of
friendly strength against enemy vulnerabilities. Forces may need to concentrate
repeatedly so that by the time the enemy reacts to one action, another has taken
its place, disrupting the enemy's plans and leading to late, uncoordinated, and
piecemeal responses. This process of successive concentration against locally
weaker or unprepared enemy forces enables smaller forces to disorient, fragment,
and eventually defeat much larger opposing formations. To achieve such a defeat,
leaders and units must be agile.
Friction is the accumulation of chance errors, unexpected difficulties, and
confusion of battle that impede both sides. It can never be completely
eliminated, but left unchecked, it can have a devastating effect on unit
agility. To reduce friction, leaders must continually read the battlefield, know
when to decide, and act without hesitation.
In operations other than war, as commanders perceive changes to their
environment, they devise imaginative methods of applying their resources to
those changes and act quickly to gain or maintain control of the environment.
For example, Army forces in disaster relief operations can use tactical vehicles
and communication systems to reach isolated locations, to direct efforts, and to
restore services to supplement the efforts of local governments whose normal
resources are overwhelmed.
In peacekeeping operations, Army forces might defuse conditions that would
otherwise lead to a resumption of fighting by recognizing the inherent dangers
and by resolving grievances before they ignite into open combat. A situational
awareness that perceives and anticipates changes in the environment, combined
with the ability to act quickly within the intent of higher commanders, leads to
an agility in operations other than war that is vital to successful outcomes.
Depth
Depth is the extension of operations in time, space, resources, and purpose.
These factors vary by echelon and by constraints given to commanders. What is
most important, however, is the fact that in any operation the Army must have
the ability to gain information and influence operations throughout the depth of
the battlefield. This ability highlights the joint nature of deep operations,
which means participation by the other services.
To think in depth is to forecast and to anticipate so that the enemy can be
attacked simultaneously throughout the depth of the battlefield. Commanders
consider the effects of distance on operations. They determine how far
operations must extend and how long their LOCs and those of the enemy will be.
They consider the effect of depth on force densities throughout the length and
breadth of their area of operations (AO). They calculate the effective range of
supporting functions such as intelligence, fire support, logistics, air defense,
and aviation.
Depth allows commanders to sustain momentum and take advantage of all available
resources to press the fight, attacking enemy forces and capabilities
simultaneously throughout the battlefield. Momentum in the attack and elasticity
in defense derive from depth. Successful commanders are always concerned with
the outcome of current operations and the anticipation of future operations;
they think in depth, understanding that war is the province of uncertainty and
chance. They look beyond the requirements of the moment and forecast the actions
needed in the future.
In pursuit of operational objectives, commanders employ joint assets with Army
forces to extend their ability to attack the enemy throughout the battlefield.
Key are multiple modes of attacks on different targets in some reasonable
sequence to achieve a common objective. By extending the depth of the fight,
commanders force the enemy to fight on their terms. With joint resources,
commanders observe enemy movements and activities and protect their forces
throughout the theater. In conjunction with air and naval operations, they
employ maneuver, fires, space assets, and SOF to attack the enemy.
In offensive and defensive tactical actions, commanders fight the enemy
throughout the depth of his disposition with fires and with attacks on his
flanks and rear. They attack committed and uncommitted forces and synchronize
the attack of enemy artillery in depth with close operations. Such in-depth
operations degrade the enemy's freedom of action, reduce his flexibility and
endurance, and upset his plans and coordination. Most importantly, these
operations prevent the enemy from impacting on friendly actions. Commanders
retain reserves and adjust their main efforts to exploit tactical opportunities
and carry the fight into the depths of the enemy's formations or defenses. At
the same time, commanders guard their own freedom of action by protecting their
forces and the means needed to sustain combat operations.
In operations other than war, depth extends activities in time, space,
resources, and purpose to affect the environment and the conditions that are to
be resolved. Seldom are short-term situations conclusive. Commanders envision
simultaneous activities and sequential stages that lead to a long-term outcome.
For example, to solve the problem of feeding the local population, commanders
may set up kitchens and distribute food in the first stage, assist in the
reestablishment of commercial food distribution points in the second stage, and
finally assist in improving road networks as the local government regains the
ability to provide a steady supply of food. Similarly, peacekeeping operations
may begin with an initial objective of observing a cease-fire, then move to
support of an economic recovery program, and finally conclude in support of an
international agency program that results in cultural assimilation and the
resolution of the underlying conflict. Just as in war, commanders anticipate
future situations and decide how to coordinate activities in depth that will
achieve the desired end state.
Synchronization
Synchronization is arranging activities in time and space to mass at the
decisive point. For example, integrating the activities of intelligence,
logistics, and fire support with maneuver leads to synchronized operations. It
means that the desired effect is achieved by arranging activities in time and
space to gain that effect.
Synchronization includes, but is not limited to, the massed effects of combat
power at the point of decision. Some of the activities that commanders
synchronize in an operation, such as jamming enemy communications, suppressing
enemy air defenses, and shifting reserves, might occur before the decisive
moment. They may take place at locations distant from one another. Though
separated in time and space, these activities must be well synchronized if their
combined effects are to be felt at the decisive time and place. Synchronization
seeks to gain overwhelming combat power.
Attacking commanders have synchronized their supporting fires with maneuver when
they have shifted an artillery strike to a target series of enemy direct fire
systems while maneuvering forces rapidly to the enemy's flanks and rear. Or, on
a larger scale, commanders have synchronized their main and supporting attacks
when the supporting attack takes place at precisely the right time and place to
divert enemy forces and fires from the main effort as they strike the enemy. An
operational commander has synchronized two major operations if one diverts the
attention of the bulk of enemy forces, thus uncovering a key objective for
decisive attack by the other.
Synchronization usually requires explicit coordination among the various units
and activities participating in any operation. By itself, however, such
coordination is no guarantee of synchronization unless commanders first
visualize the consequences to be produced and how they sequence activities to
produce them. Staffs must understand their commander's intent since they make a
large part of the synchronization plan happen. Synchronization thus takes place
first in the minds of commanders and then in the actual planning and
coordination of movements, fires, and supporting activities. Rehearsals are key
to successful execution of synchronized operations.
In a force-projection army, the ability to synchronize operations becomes
paramount. When forces are not already forward deployed in the AO, the following
considerations of early and, if necessary, forced entry become highly complex:
protection, intelligence preparation, logistics, force buildup, infrastructure
access, and the attainment of overwhelming combat power. Joint and combined
operations demand careful synchronization of operations to effect intertheater
and intratheater logistics flow, mutual support, efficient use of all available
resources, and the ultimate application of force to achieve the strategic
purpose.
Early decisions that put the operation in motion need to consider the array of
branches and sequels that may ensue. The need to synchronize effects in the
sequencing of operations is equally important in operations other than war. In
all matters, the enemy will attempt to disrupt operations at the most
inopportune time. Throughout the depth of the operation from the CONUS base,
through the many time zones and regions, to the lodgment, and to the points of
decisive combat commanders will have to synchronize events to maximize the
probability of success.
In the end, the product of effective synchronization is maximum use of every
resource to make the greatest contribution to success. This is true in
operations other than war as well as in war. Synchronization implies judgment in
choosing among simultaneous and sequential activities. Commanders make this
distinction clear to their staffs and subordinate commanders when effects of one
activity are a precondition for subsequent action. To achieve this requires the
anticipation that comes with thinking in depth, mastery of time-space-purpose
relationships, and a complete understanding of the ways in which friendly and
enemy capabilities interact. Most of all, synchronization requires a clear
statement of the commander's intent.
Versatility
Versatility is the ability of units to meet diverse mission requirements.
Commanders must be able to shift focus, tailor forces, and move from one role or
mission to another rapidly and efficiently. Versatility implies a capacity to be
multifunctional, to operate across the full range of military operations, and to
perform at the tactical, operational, and strategic levels.
Versatility is to the decathlete as agility is to the boxer. The decathlete
trains for and competes in ten separate events; the boxer, one. Army units are
capable of rapidly realigning forces and refocusing on widely divergent
missions. Disciplined units, highly trained and competent throughout the range
of military operations, are the wellspring of versatility.
Versatility is the ability of tactical units to adapt to different missions and
tasks, some of which may not be on unit mission-essential task lists (METL).
Army forces have always been versatile; in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam,
they adapted quickly to the environment and the tactics of the enemy. In a
force-projection army, however, the demands for versatility increase. Operations
Just Cause, Desert Shield, Desert Storm, and Provide Comfort introduced Army
forces to dynamic environments that called for quick, successful action across a
wide range of war and operations other than war. Forces must be prepared to move
rapidly from one geographical region to another and from one type of warfare to
another in quick succession.
The same is true for operations other than war. Military police (MP), for
example, can provide a mobile, lethal show of force, restore civil order,
process prisoners of war, and assist peacekeeping operations. Engineer units,
with some reorganization and retraining, can transfer their skills from combat
missions to other tasks such as rebuilding infrastructures or restoring water
and power supplies. Field artillery or infantry units can be committed to
fighting forest fires on short notice with minimal training.
Versatility denotes the ability to perform in many roles and environments during
war and operations other than war. It allows for the smooth transition from one
mission to another. Versatility requires competence in a variety of missions and
skills. It suggests that all military organizations must have the ability to
organize in different combinations of units and the capacity to redeploy from
one area or region to another without the loss of focus. Versatility is the
result of well-led, well-trained, and well-equipped forces; high standards; and
detailed planning. Versatility ensures that units can conduct many different
kinds of operations, either sequentially or simultaneously, with the same degree
of success.
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