Gen. William “Scott” Wallace, speaking at the Association of the United States Army’s Symposium and Exposition in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., said one premise of the manual, 2 ½ years in the works, is that “national security is inextricably linked to global security” and “local security requires land power.”

The manual “is about the commander,” Lt. Gen. William Caldwell, commanding general of the Combined Arms Center and Fort Leavenworth, Kan., said.

The last time the Army updated its operations manual was during the summer of 2001 before the “notion of persistent conflict” began to take hold in the wake of the terrorist attacks on the United States on Sept. 11.

The manual also takes into account lessons from the continuing operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

To succeed in that changing environment requires “a whole government approach,” employing diplomatic, information, military and economic tools.

Caldwell said drafts of the manual were taken to the media, academia, think tanks, junior officers, noncommissioned officers and retirees for comment.

In addition drafts were sent to the other services, the Defense Department and meetings were held with other governmental agencies and non-governmental agencies to solicit their comments about the manual’s content and approach.

As an example of other department’s input, Lt. Col. Steve Leonard, one of the manual’s authors, said, “The State Department laid out the tasks, articulated who ought to be there and at what stage.”

The manual also recognized “operations in the next several decades will be amongst people,” Wallace said Feb. 28.

Adding, “The threat will be unpredictable, sometimes asymmetric” that will require the simultaneous use of offensive, defensive and stability operations.

The manual states: “Army doctrine now equally weights tasks dealing with the population – stability or civil support – with those related to offensive and defensive operations. Winning battles and engagements is important but not alone is not sufficient. Shaping the civil situation is just as important to success.”

Clinton J. Ancker, director of the Combined Arms Doctrine Directorate at Fort Leavenworth, said, “This articulates what we’ve been doing for five or six years.”

In the foreword to the manual, Wallace wrote, “FM 3.0 institutionalizes this recognition that stability operations are part of military operations and ensures that stability ops are a more conscious portion of what we prepare for and execute in the future.”

“It will not change the Army into a bunch of herbivores, but strikes a balance,” he added in his AUSA address.

Adding, “One has to understand the environment, the problem you are trying to solve. One cannot visualize unless one understands” and “must constantly assess the environment” in which the operations are taking place. That assessment includes cultural awareness, history, politics and the economy.

The manual predicts: “The operational environment will remain a dirty, frightening, physically and emotionally draining one in which death and destruction result from environmental conditions creating humanitarian crisis as well as conflict itself.”

At the same time, the manual recognizes the central role of information now and in the future.

Col. Wayne Parks, also from the Combined Arms Center, said “Information is an element of combat. … Every operation requires an information element.”

The manual divides five information management tasks and assigns responsibility for military deception, command and control warfare, information protections operations and information engagement.

As to using military deception with the press, Caldwell said media were not to be lied to. “The media are only used to inform. … There is a clear black and white line.”

Parks said recognizing the power of information in the spectrum of military operations raises questions, such as: Do we need an information platoon? – What is a cyber warrior in the future?

Ancker said that the Army is already putting resources toward implementing 3.0.

He cited human terrain teams, red teams who advise commanders with different points of view, increasing the number of psychology operations and civil affairs specialists. “We expect to re-look all our headquarters.”

While the manual lays out requirements for skills in the future, Caldwell said, “Current force structure is finite. … Some tough decisions lay ahead in Army and defense.”

To succeed over time in attracting recruits who have or can be taught these needed skills, “You have to develop a career path” for them “to maintain the skill set,” Leonard said.

Wallace said that he expected the manual to be updated in about five years.
The manual is available at http://www.adtdl.army.mil.