4-3.     The ability of Army forces to fight and win underlies success in all operations, whether lethal force is used or not. Combat power is the ability to fight. It is the total means of destructive or disruptive force, or both, that a military unit or formation can apply against the adversary at a given time. Commanders combine the elements of combat power— maneuver, firepower, leadership, protection, and information— to meet constantly changing requirements and defeat an enemy (see Figure 4-2). Defeating an enemy requires increasing the disparity between friendly and enemy forces by reducing enemy combat power. Commanders do this by synchronizing the elements of friendly force combat power to create overwhelming effects at the decisive time and place. Focused combat power ensures success and denies an enemy any chance to maintain coherent resistance. Massed effects created by synchronizing the elements of combat power are the surest means of limiting friendly casualties and swiftly ending a campaign or operation.

4-4.     Maneuver is the employment of forces, through movement combined with fire or fire potential, to achieve a position of advantage with respect to the enemy to accomplish the mission. Maneuver is the means by which commanders concentrate combat power to achieve surprise, shock, momentum, and dominance.

4-5.     Operational maneuver involves placing Army forces and resources at the critical place in time to achieve an operational advantage. It is complex and often requires joint and multinational support. Deployment and intratheater movements are operational maneuver if they achieve a positional advantage and influence the outcome of a campaign or battle.

4-6.     To achieve operational results, commanders seek operational advantages of position before combat begins and exploit tactical success afterwards. Ideally, operational maneuver secures positional advantage before an enemy acts and either preempts enemy maneuver or ensures his destruction if he moves. Operational movements and maneuver allow commanders to create the conditions they desire for battle and take full advantage of tactical actions. During Operation Desert Storm, for example, US Central Command (USCENTCOM) moved VII and XVIII Corps west of Kuwait to position them to envelop or turn the strongest Iraqi defenses. This undetected operational movement resulted in surprise at both the operational and tactical levels. This surprise, combined with rapid tactical movement and overwhelming combat power, resulted in the decisive defeat of the Iraqi army.

4-7.     Tactical maneuver wins battles and engagements. By keeping the enemy off balance, it also protects the force. In both the offense and defense, it positions forces to close with and destroy the enemy. Effective tactical maneuver continually poses new problems for the enemy. It renders his reactions ineffective and eventually drives him to defeat.

4-8.     In stability operations, effective tactical maneuver preempts adversary options. It concentrates friendly combat power where it can deter or reduce the effects of violence and places friendly forces in position to use firepower should combat follow. Tactical maneuver gives credibility to an operation by providing tangible evidence of Army force capabilities. In support operations, maneuver positions Army forces to apply their capabilities where they are needed.

4-9.     Close combat is inherent in maneuver and has one purpose—to decide the outcome of battles and engagements. Close combat is combat carried out with direct fire weapons, supported by indirect fire, air-delivered fires, and nonlethal engagement means. Close combat defeats or destroys enemy forces, or seizes and retains ground. The range between combatants may vary from several thousand meters to hand-to-hand combat.

4-10.     All tactical actions inevitably require seizing or securing terrain as a means to an end or an end in itself. Close combat is necessary if the enemy is skilled and resolute; fires alone will neither drive him from his position nor convince him to abandon his cause. Ultimately, the outcome of battles, major operations, and campaigns depends on the ability of Army forces to close with and destroy the enemy. During offensive and defensive operations, the certainty of destruction may persuade the enemy to yield. In stability operations, close combat dominance is the principal means Army forces use to influence adversary actions. In all cases, the ability of Army forces to engage in close combat, combined with their willingness to do so, is the decisive factor in defeating an enemy or controlling a situation.

4-11.     Firepower provides the destructive force essential to overcoming the enemy’s ability and will to fight. Firepower and maneuver complement each other. Firepower magnifies the effects of maneuver by destroying enemy forces and restricting his ability to counter friendly actions; maneuver creates the conditions for the effective use of firepower. Although one element might dominate a phase of an action, the synchronized effects of both are present in all operations. The threat of one in the presence of the other magnifies the impact of both. One without the other makes neither decisive. Combined, they make destroying larger enemy forces feasible and enhance protection of friendly forces.

4-12.     Firepower is the amount of fires that a position, unit, or weapons system can deliver. Fires are effects of lethal and nonlethal weapons. Fires include fire support functions used separately from or in combination with maneuver. The extended range, capabilities, and accuracy of modern weapons systems (direct and indirect) and target acquisition systems make fires more lethal than ever before. These capabilities also allow commanders to create effects throughout the area of operations (AO). Commanders integrate and synchronize operational and tactical fires to accomplish their mission.

4-13.     Operational fires are the operational-level commander’s application of nonlethal and lethal weapons effects to accomplish objectives during the conduct of a campaign or major operation. They are a vital component of any operational-level plan. Assets other than those supporting tactical maneuver normally furnish operational fires. Commanders direct operational fires against targets whose destruction or neutralization they expect to significantly affect a campaign or major operation. Planning operational fires includes allocating apportioned joint and multinational air, land, and sea means. Operational fires can be designed to achieve a single operational-level objective, for example, interdiction of major enemy forces to create the conditions for defeating them in detail.

4-14.     Operational maneuver and operational fires may occur simultaneously but have very different objectives. In general terms, operational fires are not the same as fire support, and operational maneuver does not necessarily depend on operational fires. However, operational maneuver is most effective when commanders synchronize it with, and exploit opportunities developed by, operational fires. Combining operational fires with operational maneuver generates asymmetric, enormously destructive, one-sided battles, as the Desert Storm ground offensive showed.

4-15.     Tactical fires destroy or neutralize enemy forces, suppress enemy fires, and disrupt enemy movement. Tactical fires create the conditions for decisive close combat. Commanders take special care to synchronize fires with the effects of other systems. Massing maximum fires requires a thorough understanding of the commander’s intent and the ability to employ all available means simultaneously against a variety of targets. The effective application of tactical fires relies on procedures for determining priorities; locating, identifying, and tracking targets; allocating firepower assets; and assessing effects. Effective fires demand well-trained, competently led units with a high degree of situational understanding.

4-16.     Because it deals directly with soldiers, leadership is the most dynamic element of combat power. Confident, audacious, and competent leadership focuses the other elements of combat power and serves as the catalyst that creates conditions for success. Leaders who embody the warrior ethos inspire soldiers to succeed. They provide purpose, direction, and motivation in all operations. Leadership is key, and the actions of leaders often make the difference between success and failure, particularly in small units.

4-17.     The duty of every leader is to be competent in the profession of arms. Competence requires proficiency in four sets of skills: interpersonal, conceptual, technical, and tactical. Army leaders hone these skill sets through continual training and self-study (see FM 6-22).

4-18.     Leaders instill their units with Army values, energy, methods, and will. The professional competence, personality, and will of strong commanders at all levels represent a significant part of every unit’s combat power. All Army leaders must demonstrate strong character and high ethical standards. Leaders are soldiers first: they know and understand their subordinates and act with courage and conviction. During operations, they know where to be, when to make decisions, and how to influence the action.

4-19.     Leaders build teamwork and trust. Trust is a key attribute in the human dimension of combat leadership. Soldiers must trust and have confidence in their leaders. Leaders must command the trust and confidence of their soldiers. Once trust is violated, a leader becomes ineffective. Trust encourages subordinates to seize the initiative. In unclear situations, bold leaders who exercise disciplined initiative within the commander’s intent accomplish the mission.

4-20.     Protection is the preservation of the fighting potential of a force so the commander can apply maximum force at the decisive time and place. Protection is neither timidity, nor risk avoidance. The Army operates in tough, unforgiving environments where casualties occur. Full spectrum operations create an inherently tense relationship between accomplishing the mission and taking casualties. Accomplishing the mission takes precedence over avoiding casualties. However, soldiers are the most important Army resource, and excessive casualties cripple future mission accomplishment. Casualties from accident and disease are particularly galling. They contribute nothing to mission accomplishment and degrade unit effectiveness. Commanders are responsible for accomplishing the mission with the fewest friendly casualties feasible.

4-21.     Protection has four components: force protection, field discipline, safety, and fratricide avoidance. Force protection, the primary component, minimizes the effects of enemy firepower (including weapons of mass destruction [WMD]), maneuver, and information. Field discipline precludes losses from hostile environments. Safety reduces the inherent risk of nonbattle deaths and injuries. Fratricide avoidance minimizes the inadvertent killing or maiming of soldiers by friendly fires.

4-22.     Force protection consists of those actions taken to prevent or mitigate hostile actions against DOD personnel (to include family members), resources, facilities, and critical information. These actions conserve the force's fighting potential so it can be applied at the decisive time and place and incorporates the coordinated and synchronized offensive and defensive measures to enable the effective employment of the joint force while degrading opportunities for the enemy. Force protection does not include actions to defeat the enemy or protect against accidents, weather, or disease. It includes air, space, and missile defense; nuclear, biological, and chemical defense; antiterrorism; defensive information operations; and security to operational forces and means. The increased emphasis on force protection at every echelon stems from the conventional dominance of Army forces. Often unable to challenge the Army in conventional combat, adversaries seek to frustrate Army operations by resorting to asymmetric means, weapons, or tactics. Force protection counters these threats.

4-23.     Force protection at all levels minimizes losses to hostile action. Skillful and aggressive counterintelligence and threat assessments decrease the vulnerability of friendly forces. Effective operations security (OPSEC) keeps adversaries from exploiting friendly information. Proper dispersion helps reduce losses from enemy fires and terrorist action. Camouflage discipline, local security, and field fortifications do the same. Protection of electronic links and nodes, to include combat troops with electronic devices, is vital to protecting information, information systems, and soldiers. At the operational level, rear area and base security contributes to force protection. Air defense artillery forces protect installations and civilian populations from over-the-horizon strikes by conventional warheads and WMD. Army air and missile defense units complement the air component’s control of the air. Nuclear, biological, and chemical (NBC) defense measures provide the capability to sustain operations in nuclear, biological, or chemical environments.

4-24.     Field discipline, a second component of protection, guards soldiers from the physical and psychological effects of the environment. Oppressive environments can sap soldier strength and morale far more quickly than enemy action. Soldiers can adapt to the point that they outperform indigenous populations; however, this adaptation can only stem from training in fieldcraft skills and thorough preparation.

4-25.     Commanders take every measure and precaution to keep soldiers healthy and maintain their morale. Such actions include securing equipment and supplies from loss or damage. Commanders ensure systems are in place for adequate combat health support (to include preventive medicine) and the quick return of minor casualties. They provide effective systems for maintenance, evacuation, and rapid replacement or repair of equipment. Tactical commanders take care of their soldiers’ basic health needs and prevent unnecessary exposure to debilitating conditions.

4-26.     Safety is a third component of protection. Operational conditions often impose significant risks to soldiers’ lives and health and make equipment operation difficult. Trained crews and operators must know the capabilities and limitations of their weapons systems. Commanders must know how to employ them. In designing operations, commanders consider the limits of human endurance. They balance the possible benefits of sustained, high-tempo operations with the risks involved. In combat, fatigue extends reaction times and reduces alertness. Fatal accidents, loss of combat power, and missed tactical opportunities may follow. Command attention to safety and high levels of discipline lessen those risks, particularly as soldiers become exhausted. Safe operations come from enforcing standards during training. While taking calculated risks is inherent in operations, commanders are obligated to embed safety in the conduct of all operations.

4-27.     A fourth component of protection is fratricide avoidance. Fratricide is the unintentional killing or wounding of friendly personnel by friendly firepower. The destructive power and range of modern weapons, coupled with the high intensity and rapid tempo of combat, increase the potential for fratricide. Tactical maneuvers, terrain, and weather conditions may also increase the danger of fratricide. Commanders seek to lower the probability of fratricide without discouraging boldness and audacity. Good leadership resulting in positive weapons control, control of troop movements, and disciplined operational procedures contributes to achieving this goal. Situational understanding and using friendly personnel and vehicle identification methods also help. Eliminating fratricide increases soldiers’ willingness to act boldly, confident that misdirected friendly fires will not kill them.

4-28.     Information enhances leadership and magnifies the effects of maneuver, firepower, and protection. In the past, when forces made contact with the enemy, commanders developed the situation to gain information. Today, Army leaders use information collected by unmanned systems to increase their situational understanding before engaging the enemy. They also use offensive information operations (IO) to shape the operational environment and create the conditions for employing the other elements of combat power.

4-29.     The common operational picture (COP) based on enhanced intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) and disseminated by modern information systems provides commanders throughout the force with an accurate, near real-time perspective and knowledge of the situation. Information from the COP, transformed into situational understanding, allows commanders to combine the elements of combat power in new ways. For example, superior understanding of the situation allows commanders to avoid enemy engagement areas, while concentrating fires and maneuver at the decisive place and time. This ability increases the survivability of the force without substantially increasing passive protective systems, such as armor. Modern information systems help leaders at all levels make better decisions faster. Better decisions rapidly communicated allow Army forces to mass the effects of combat power more rapidly and effectively than the enemy. This enables Army forces to see first, understand first, and act first.

4-71.     Either the National Command Authorities or a combatant commander may designate a theater of war. It is the area of air, land, and water that is, or may become, directly involved in the conduct of the war. A theater of war does not normally encompass a combatant commander’s entire AOR and may contain more than one theater of operations. Combatant commanders typically assign theaters of operations to subordinate unified commanders.

4-72.     A theater of operations is a subarea within a theater of war defined by a combatant commander required to conduct or support specific combat operations. Different theaters of operations within the same theater of war will normally be geographically separate and focused on different enemy forces. Theaters of operations are usually of significant size, allowing for operations over extended periods of time.

4-73.     A combat zone is that area required by combat forces for the conduct of operations. It normally extends forward from the land force rear boundary. The COMMZ is the rear part of theater of operations (behind but contiguous to the combat zone). It contains the LOCs, establishments for supply and evacuation, and other agencies required for the immediate support and maintenance of the field forces. It reaches back to the continental US, to a supporting combatant command AOR, or both.

4-74.     An AO is an operational area defined by the JFC for land and naval forces. AOs do not typically encompass the entire operational area of the JFC but should be large enough for component commanders to accomplish their missions and protect their forces. AOs should also allow component commanders to employ their organic, assigned, and supporting systems to the limits of their capabilities. Within their AOs, land and naval force commanders synchronize operations and are supported commanders.

4-75.     Component commanders normally designate AOs for subordinate units. They use control measures to describe AOs and design them to fit the situation and take advantage of joint force capabilities. Commanders specify the minimum control measures necessary to focus combat power, delineate responsibilities, assign geographic responsibility, and promote unified action. At a minimum, control measures include boundaries on all sides of an AO (see FM 3-90). In linear operations, AOs require forward boundaries.

4-76.     Commanders typically subdivide some or all of their AO by assigning AOs to subordinate units. Subordinate unit AOs may be contiguous or noncontiguous (see Figure 4-4). When AOs are contiguous, a boundary separates them. When AOs are noncontiguous, they do not share a boundary; the concept of operations links the elements of the force. The higher headquarters is responsible for the area between noncontiguous AOs.

4-77.     Battlespace is the environment, factors, and conditions commanders must understand to successfully apply combat power, protect the force, or complete the mission. This includes the air, land, sea, space, and the included enemy and friendly forces, facilities, weather, terrain, the electromagnetic spectrum, and the information environment within the operational areas and areas of interest (see Figure 4-5).

4-78.     Battlespace is conceptual—a higher commander does not assign it. Commanders determine their battlespace based on their concept of operations, accomplishing the mission, and protecting the force. Commanders use their experience, professional knowledge, and understanding of the situation to visualize and change their battlespace as current operations transition to future operations. Battlespace is not synonymous with AO. However, because battlespace is conceptual, Army forces conduct operations only within that portion of it delineated by their AO.

4-79.     Battlespace has an associated area of influence and area of interest. An area of influence is a geographical area in which a commander can directly influence operations by maneuver or fire support systems normally under the commander’s command or control. Areas of influence surround and include the associated AO. The extent of subordinate units’ areas of influence normally guides higher commanders in assigning subordinate AOs. An AO should not be substantially larger than the unit’s area of influence. An area of interest is that area of concern to the commander, including the area of influence and areas adjacent to it. It extends into enemy territory, to the objectives of current or planned operations. This area also includes areas occupied by enemy forces that could jeopardize the accomplishment of the mission. Areas of interest serve to focus intelligence development and IO directed at factors outside the AO that may affect the operation.

4-80.     A commander’s battlespace includes that part of the information environment that encompasses information activity affecting the operation. The information environment contains information activities that collect, process, and disseminate information to national and international audiences but are beyond direct military influence. It includes space-based systems that provide data and information to Army forces. To envision that part of the information environment that is within their battlespace, commanders determine the information activities that affect their operation and the capabilities of their own and opposing C2 and information systems.

4-81.     Army forces may deploy from home station directly to the AO or may move to the AO through force projection bases. Intermediate staging bases and power projection platforms are force projection bases. Force projection bases influence operations in a fashion similar to home stations. Sometimes one part of the deploying force will be at the force projection base while another operates in the AO. The deployed force may receive combat support (CS) and CSS from the force projection base for some or all of the operation.

4-82.     Home stations are the permanent locations of active component (AC) units and reserve component (RC) units (for example, the location of an armory or reserve center). Because the Army is a power projection force, its AC units deploy from and return to home stations. RC forces normally mobilize and deploy from installations that serve as power projection platforms (see FM 3-100.22). Although home stations and power projection platforms lie outside the AO, the commander’s battlespace includes them. Home stations provide support to deployed forces until they return. The ability to receive CS, CSS, and C2 support from home station assets reduces the size of the deployed force. To a significant degree, events occurring at home station affect the morale and performance of deployed forces. Thus, the commander’s battlespace encompasses all home station functions, including family readiness programs.

4-83.     As part of the military decision making process, commanders visualize their battlespace and determine how to arrange their forces. The battlefield organization is the allocation of forces in the AO by purpose. It consists of three all-encompassing categories of operations: decisive, shaping, and sustaining. Purpose unifies all elements of the battlefield organization by providing the common focus for all actions. Commanders organize forces according to purpose by determining whether each unit’s operation will be decisive, shaping, or sustaining. These decisions form the basis of the concept of operations. When circumstances require a spatial reference, commanders describe the AO in terms of deep, close, and rear areas. These spatial categories are especially useful in operations that are generally contiguous and linear and feature a clearly defined enemy force.

4-84.     Decisive operations are those that directly accomplish the task assigned by the higher headquarters. Decisive operations conclusively determine the outcome of major operations, battles, and engagements. There is only one decisive operation for any major operation, battle, or engagement for any given echelon. The decisive operation may include multiple actions conducted simultaneously throughout the AO. Commanders weight the decisive operation by economizing on combat power allocated to shaping operations.

4-85.     In the offense and defense, decisive operations normally focus on maneuver. For example, Third Army’s decisive operation in the Gulf War sent VII Corps against the Iraqi Republican Guard after a major shaping operation by the USCENTCOM air component. Conversely, CSS units may conduct the decisive operation during mobilization and deployment or in support operations, particularly if the mission is humanitarian.

4-96.     Close Areas. When designated, the close area is where forces are in immediate contact with the enemy and the fighting between the committed forces and readily available tactical reserves of both combatants is occurring, or where commanders envision close combat taking place. Typically, the close area assigned to a maneuver force extends from its subordinates’ rear boundaries to its own forward boundary. Commanders plan to conduct decisive operations through maneuver and fires in the close area and position most of the maneuver force within it.

4-97.     The activities of forces directly supporting fighting elements also occur in the close area. Examples of these activities are field artillery fires and combat health support. Within the close area, depending on echelon, one unit may conduct the decisive operation while others conduct shaping operations. Commanders of forces engaged in the close area may designate subordinate deep, close, and rear areas.

4-98.     Deep Areas. When designated, the deep area is an area forward of the close area that commanders use to shape enemy forces before they are encountered or engaged in the close area. Typically, the deep area extends from the forward boundary of subordinate units to the forward boundary of the controlling echelon. Thus, the deep area relates to the close area not only in terms of geography but also in terms of purpose and time. The extent of the deep area depends on the force’s area of influence—how far out it can acquire information and strike targets. Commanders may place forces in the deep area to conduct shaping operations. Some of these operations may involve close combat. However, most maneuver forces stay in the close area.

4-99.     Rear Areas. When designated, the rear area for any command extends from its rear boundary forward to the rear boundary of the next lower level of command. This area is provided primarily for the performance of support functions and is where the majority of the echelon’s sustaining operations occur. Operations in rear areas assure freedom of action and continuity of operations, sustainment, and C2. Their focus on providing CS and CSS leaves units in the rear area vulnerable to attack. Commanders may designate combat forces to protect forces and facilities in the rear area. In some cases, commanders may designate a noncontiguous rear area due to geography or other circumstances. In this case, the rear area force protection challenge increases due to physical separation of forces in the rear area from combat units that would otherwise occupy a contiguous close area.

4-100.     Commanders combine AC and RC Army forces—consisting of different types of units with varying degrees of modernization—with multinational forces and civilian agencies to achieve effective and efficient unified action. A broad range of organizations makes up the institutional Army that supports the field Army. Institutional Army organizations design, man, train, and equip the force. The institutional Army assists effectively integrating Army capabilities. It does this through leadership and guidance regarding force structure, doctrine, modernization, and budget (see FM 3-100.11).

4-101.     The Army supports JFCs by providing tailored force packages to accomplish joint missions and dominate enemies and situations on land. Trained and equipped AC and RC units comprise these force packages. Within these force packages, Army commanders organize groups of units for specific missions. They reorganize for subsequent missions when necessary. This process of allocating available assets to subordinate commanders and establishing their command and support relationships is called task organizing. A temporary grouping of forces designed to accomplish a particular mission is a task organization. The ability of Army forces to tailor (select forces based upon a mission) and task organize (temporarily organize units to accomplish a tactical mission) gives them extraordinary agility. It allows operational- and tactical-level commanders to organize their units to make best use available resources. The ability to task organize means Army forces can shift rapidly among offensive, defensive, stability, and support operations.

4-102.     The fundamental basis for the organization and operations of Army forces is combined arms. Combined arms is the synchronized or simultaneous application of several arms—such as infantry, armor, field artillery, engineers, air defense, and aviation—to achieve an effect on the enemy that is greater than if each arm was used against the enemy separately or in sequence. The ultimate goal of Army organization for operations remains success in joint and combined arms warfare. Its combined arms capability allows commanders to form Army combat, CS, and CSS forces into cohesive teams focused on common goals.

4-103.     Commanders build combined arms organizations using command and support relationships (see Figure 4-7). Command relationships define command responsibility and authority. Support relationships define the purpose, scope, and effect desired when one capability supports another.

4-104.     The services and the various arms within Army forces complement each other by posing a dilemma for the enemy. As the enemy evades the effects of one type of action, he exposes himself to destruction by another. This leads to enemy paralysis, destruction, or surrender. A tactical example of complementary effects is suppressing a defender with indirect fires while maneuvering to envelop and destroy him. If the enemy attempts to move to meet the threat, he risks destruction from the fires. If he remains in place to survive the fires, he risks being encircled and trapped.

4-105.     Complementary capabilities protect the weaknesses of one system or organization with the capabilities of another (see Figure 4-8). For example, tanks combine protection, firepower, and mobility. However, they are vulnerable to mines, antiarmor missiles, concealed infantry, and restricted avenues of approach. They are particularly vulnerable in urban areas and dense vegetation. Therefore, commanders combine tanks, infantry, and engineers into combined arms teams and task forces. The infantry maneuvers on terrain where armor cannot and eliminates concealed threats to the tanks. The engineers clear obstacles, restoring the mobility of the armor. Unhindered by small arms fire, the armor maneuvers to deliver devastating firepower to support the infantry and engineers. CSS units support, providing the capabilities that the mix of systems requires.

4-106.     At the operational level, the capabilities of the services complement each other. This situation provides JFCs with a wide range of options and confronts enemies with difficult dilemmas. Army, Navy, Marine, and Air Force aircraft engage targets that degrade enemy capabilities. Space, airborne, and land-based sensors monitor enemy reactions. Pilots and aviators use this information to refine and sharpen strikes. Ground forces maneuver, seize terrain, and destroy enemy forces. If the enemy attempts to meet the ground maneuver, he leaves his protected areas and exposes himself to the full weight of air power and long-range missiles. He is then even more vulnerable to the effects of maneuver. If the enemy attempts missile strikes on US air bases and lodgments, theater missile defenses, supported by space systems, intercept the weapons. As US ground forces maneuver, they overrun enemy air defenses, air bases, launch areas, command posts, and CSS units, eliminating both tactical and operational threats and rendering the enemy’s situation hopeless.

4-107.     Army forces and those of the other services reinforce each other when they combine the effects of similar capabilities (see Figure 4-9). Commanders reinforce to achieve focused, overwhelming effects at a single point. When massed, different types of field artillery systems, such as howitzers and missiles, reinforce each other. Aerial fires have similar effects and can reinforce indirect fires. In a similar manner, commanders reinforce maneuver elements to guarantee superiority at the decisive time and place.

4-108.     Achieving complementary and reinforcing effects requires synchronization, initiative, and versatility. Synchronized action is the basis for complementary and reinforcing effects. Commanders focus systems in space and time to generate synergy that increases effects. The initiative of leaders combines units and systems in the fluid circumstances of action, often in the absence of orders. Confronted with a constantly changing situation, leaders develop new combinations of systems and pose new dilemmas for the adversary. Properly combined, these effects produce asymmetries that the joint force uses to achieve theater objectives.

4-109.     Asymmetry concerns dissimilarities in organization, equipment, doctrine, capabilities, and values between other armed forces (formally organized or not) and US forces. JFCs arrange symmetrical and asymmetrical actions to take advantage of friendly strengths and enemy vulnerabilities, and to preserve freedom of action. Engagements are symmetric if forces, technologies, and weapons are similar; they are asymmetric if forces, technologies, and weapons are different, or if a resort to terrorism and rejection of more conventional rules of engagement are the norm. In one sense, there are always asymmetries between forces: differing circumstances lead to differing military structures. Asymmetry becomes very significant, perhaps decisive, when the degree of dissimilarity creates exploitable advantages. Asymmetric engagements can be extremely lethal, especially if the target is not ready to defend itself against the asymmetric threat. Asymmetry tends to decay over time as adversaries adapt to dissimilarities exposed in action. In a larger sense, asymmetric warfare seeks to avoid enemy strengths and concentrate comparative advantages against relative weaknesses. The following tactical and operational examples illustrate the dynamic nature of asymmetry.

4-110.     Third Army forces in the Gulf War were equipped with second-generation thermal sights. Iraqi units depended upon older, far less capable active infrared and light amplification systems. In engagement after engagement, US, British, and French armor destroyed Iraqi units, who could only return ineffective fire. At the system level, the advanced armor on the US and British tanks resisted the occasional hit from Iraqi fire, while friendly rounds immediately destroyed their targets. At tactical levels, Army forces exploited asymmetry in terms of equipment and organization.

4-111.     In 1999, Serbian forces in Kosovo faced unrelenting aerial bombardment by North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) air forces. As the air operations intensified, NATO refined its strike techniques while the Serbs applied techniques learned by the Iraqis during the Gulf War. Over time, the Serbs became very proficient at using decoys and concealment. Although they were unable to prevent losses, Serbian units protected most of their ground combat systems from this asymmetric attack. Thus, the asymmetric advantage conferred by advanced air power over ground elements decayed over time.

4-112.     At the operational level in the Gulf War, USCENTCOM exploited the inherent flexibility of sea power and amphibious assault to threaten the Iraqi forces in Kuwait with a major strike from the Persian Gulf. Lacking a navy, the only possible operational response by the Iraqi high command was to shift six divisions to coastal defense. The coalition ground offensive enveloped and destroyed these Iraqi forces, which were fixed by the threat of amphibious assault.

4-113.     The likelihood of asymmetric attack increases with the continued conventional dominance of US forces at sea, on land, in the air, and in space. Such attacks may only disrupt tactical activities briefly; however, the operational and strategic consequences, particularly in stability operations and support operations, may be far-reaching. In Beirut, Lebanon, in 1983, and again at Khobar Towers, Saudi Arabia, in 1996, massive truck bombs destroyed portions of US military compounds, with heavy loss of life. Both attacks demonstrated asymmetry in terms of equipment and values. In addition, each was a political act of terrorism taken against a military objective. The risks of asymmetry multiply with the threat of WMD.

4-114.     Asymmetric attacks pose dilemmas to both friendly and enemy forces. Countering asymmetric attacks requires the disadvantaged side to alter rules of engagement, organization, doctrine, training, or equipment. The higher the echelon, the longer it takes to remedy an enemy asymmetric advantage. To reduce the vulnerability to asymmetric attacks and to minimize their effects, Army organizations, training, and equipment emphasize flexible employment in diverse situations. Protective measures, such as physical security and OPSEC, lessen the effects of asymmetry. A credible NBC defense capability at the tactical level deters the use of WMD. Commanders must anticipate asymmetries and take preventive measures that reduce adversary advantages. Commanders identify and exploit friendly capabilities that pose asymmetric challenges to the enemy force, even as Army forces act to counter hostile asymmetric threats.Asymmetric attacks pose dilemmas to both friendly and enemy forces. Countering asymmetric attacks requires the disadvantaged side to alter rules of engagement, organization, doctrine, training, or equipment. The higher the echelon, the longer it takes to remedy an enemy asymmetric advantage. To reduce the vulnerability to asymmetric attacks and to minimize their effects, Army organizations, training, and equipment emphasize flexible employment in diverse situations. Protective measures, such as physical security and OPSEC, lessen the effects of asymmetry. A credible NBC defense capability at the tactical level deters the use of WMD. Commanders must anticipate asymmetries and take preventive measures that reduce adversary advantages. Commanders identify and exploit friendly capabilities that pose asymmetric challenges to the enemy force, even as Army forces act to counter hostile asymmetric threats.