New Army Guide Focuses on Multidomain Operations
The U.S. Army has unveiled a comprehensive new guide, “How The Army Fights,” which outlines a shift in military strategy to effectively combat contemporary threats. This 46-page document emphasizes a multidomain operations (MDO) approach, favoring large-scale unit maneuvers by divisions and brigades over the smaller, counterinsurgency tactics that have defined military operations for the past two decades.
The guide introduces a framework aiming to enhance the Army’s operational capabilities, comprising four key elements: Convergence, Strike, Close Battle, and Endurance.
Convergence: Disrupting Enemy Systems
Convergence involves disrupting enemy command and communication systems. According to the guide, this can be achieved through actions such as kinetic strikes on command posts and jamming communication backups. The document states, “A commander executes a kinetic strike against an adversary command post while electronic warfare assets jam backup communication systems.”
Strike: Deploying Diverse Munitions
The Strike phase involves unleashing an array of munitions, including artillery and drones, to disrupt and degrade enemy forces. HTAF emphasizes the use of precision fires and uncrewed systems to shape operations before engaging in close combat.
Close Battle: Maneuvering for Victory
Once the Convergence and Strike phases leave the enemy incapacitated, the Close Battle phase begins. Despite modern battlefield challenges, such as pervasive drone surveillance, HTAF stresses the need for well-trained, lethal ground maneuver formations. The guide notes, “Close Battle is built on highly lethal ground maneuver formations that cannot be formed over short periods of time.”
Endurance: Sustaining Operations
Endurance focuses on logistics and the protection of critical infrastructure. The guide underscores the importance of ensuring the Army’s capacity to maintain operations despite enemy interference, particularly in contested environments. This includes forward-deploying capabilities and utilizing autonomous systems for supply distribution.
HTAF also highlights the need for the Army to expand its organic industrial base, which consists of government depots and ammunition plants, to support this new operational approach. The guide calls for a shift from traditional industrial models to a more agile production system capable of rapid replenishment.
Importantly, the guide reaffirms the central role of the human soldier. It states, “Advanced technology, uncrewed systems, and autonomous networks optimize kill webs, yet they can never replace the human judgment, tactical discipline, and physical courage of the soldiers executing the fight in the mud.”
