Decisive, Shaping and Sustaining Operations: An Operational Organization for the Contemporary Mission Environment

摘要

The United States Army is adapting to a changing mission environment defined by a new National Security Strategy, the perceived threats to national security, significant technological developments, and an updated National Military Strategy derived from this new environment. These dynamic charges have had dramatic effects on the Army's doctrine, training, leader development, organization, materiel, and soldier systems (DTLOMS). However, there is a lag in doctrinal progress, specifically related to the commander's tool for arranging forces and activities on the battlefield: the battlefield organization. As defined by the 1993 version of FM 100-5, Operations, the Army's current battlefield organization uses the terms deep, close and rear (DCR) operations to relate forces to one another and to the enemy in time, space, resources, and purpose. Unfortunately, this organization is based upon the conditions that defined the previous, Cold War mission environment. A more comprehensive method suitable for today's mission environment uses decisive, shaping, and sustaining (DSS) operations to organize forces and activities across the breadth and depth of the area of operations.