ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY

Today’s uncertain and dynamic security environment remains as volatile and unpredictable as ever, perhaps even more so. In fact, constant change now and in the foreseeable future is the norm. Once thought to be receding, the accelerating insecurity and instability across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the Pacific, coupled with the continued threat to the homeland and the U.S. Army’s ongoing operations in Afghanistan, remain significant concerns to America’s security community. Potential adversaries continue to emphasize and pursue indirect and asymmetric techniques to negate the U.S.

For centuries, the United States Army has answered the nation’s call to defend America’s vital interests both at home and abroad. The Total Army— active, Guard and Reserve—and the Department of the Army (DA) civilians are one team, integrating their capabilities in support of the National Military Strategy and achieving military objectives that can be translated into enduring political outcomes. This Total Army is a global force, fully engaged worldwide in preventing conflict and shaping security environments.

Despite views to the contrary, U.S. combatant commanders and U.S. allies continue to request land forces to mitigate risk in their respective theaters. The joint and combined force currently faces an increasingly complex, ambiguous and rapidly changing operating environment. Threats are developing from diverse sources, such as nation-states, rogue states and nonstate actors.

The growing and emerging threats to the global security environment—the velocity of instability—recently compelled the Department of Defense (DoD) to reexamine its capabilities and capacity for deterrence, sustained operations and reassurance of allies and partners. In contrast to projections in earlier strategic guidance, the regional security and stability in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and the Pacific have deteriorated in the past several years in ways that were not anticipated.

While the U.S. Army is working to meet the challenges of today’s security environment—such as Russian intervention, Middle East regional instability, humanitarian relief and disaster response, transnational criminal organizations and tension on the Korean peninsula—it is also transitioning to address threats of the future. Increasingly capable enemies will employ conventional and hybrid strategies to threaten U.S. vital interests; therefore, the Army continues to adapt and innovate to maintain overmatch.

“The Mad Scientist Initiative: An Innovative Way of Understanding the Future Operational Environment” (Torchbearer Issue Paper, May 2016) begins with a brief discussion of the myriad and growing threats facing our nation today: diverse current and potential adversaries, fiscal constraints and continually increasing avenues of danger as technology develops. Mad Scientist, organized by the Army’s Training and Doctrine Command, provides a continuous dialogue with academia, industry and government on the innovations needed for the future operational environment.

Read the full report

The U.S. military has been at war for more than a decade. Even as operations in Afghanistan begin to draw down, efforts to reintegrate returning reserve component (RC) servicemembers with their families, employers and communities continue at a high tempo. In many ways, reunion and reintegration activities are only beginning; it will be years after the end of the current conflict before the medium- and long-term effects of this decade’s accelerated deployments are fully realized.

Today, people are always connected. Current smartphones, tablets and computers are user-friendly and compatible with one another, seamlessly sharing data and applications from one device to the next. But in today’s complex operational environments, such seamless connectivity cannot be taken for granted on the battlefield. At present, commanders must be inside a static tactical operations center (TOC) to access many mission command capabilities over the Army network, greatly limiting their freedom of movement.