AirLand Battle - FM 100-5

FM 100-5

When Active Defense had been introduced in 1976 it faced a wave of criticism, both from within the Army, and from highly influential civilian advisers outside. Having witnessed this first-hand, Starry took measures to ensure this would not happen a second time. Foremost in these efforts was the early dissemination of the concept through briefings and wide circulation of Fort Leavenworth's draft of the new FM 100-5 in 1981. These were well received, especially its newly offensive orientation, which it summed up neatly with this statement:

"... once political authorities commit military forces in pursuit of political aims, military forces must win something--else there will be no basis from which political authorities can bargain to win politically. Therefore, the purpose of military operations can not be simply to avert defeat--but rather it must be to win."

AirLand Battle became the primary NATO battleplan in 1984. Its roll-out required upgrades to the C3I equipment of all branches of the military, along with similar changes in the command and control structures to take advantage of the massive amounts of information the new C3I assets would be generating.

Today, the Pentagon embraces a new doctrine: network-centric warfare, made possible by the Digital Revolution.