MILITARY CONCEPTS A BACKGROUND FOR FUTURE CAPABILITIES DEVELOPMENT

MILITARY CONCEPTS A BACKGROUND FOR FUTURE CAPABILITIES DEVELOPMENT Ján Spišák Abstract: The article presents some key ideas on subject of military concepts. Generally, concepts articulate a high-order vision of how the future Armed Force will operate in changing operational environment and describe potential approach through which the Armed Force will defend and secure the nation s interests against a wide range of security challenges. Their purpose is to guide force development and future capability package development to counter emerging threats in concert with other allies, partners and other governmental and nongovernmental organizations. The article is divided into two parts; the first part offers the basic context of the subject, terminology, purpose, hierarchy and characteristics of concepts as a solid background for understanding of the subject. The second part (in the subsequent issue of the periodical) will highlight the fundamental parts of the concept s content and possible approaches, implications and recommendations to the concept development process. Keywords: concept, doctrine, military problem, capability development, armed forces A new idea is first condemned as ridiculous and then dismissed as trivial, until finally, it becomes what everybody knows. William James, 1879 1. Introduction Heading out of any organization to meet the selected strategic goals is largely limited its ability to mark out and implement critical procedures or principles of future steps. Military organizations, obviously represented by the Armed Forces (AF), are guided in their activities by the normative acts and development plans such as strategies, visions or concepts that give an idea of the future direction and development of the AF, particularly in relation to securing the nation s interests and responding to predicated threats. The relevance of the word "concept" within the military environment is so widespread that it s true meaning, purpose and content has loosed its original importance, or vice versa, in terms of frequency of word usage it leads to confusion in sense, terminology, and thus the content. Because in the Czech AF (CZ AF) these uncertainties and differences in understanding of the meaning and content of the concept persists, the aim of this article is to explain some general issues related to concepts and highlight their purpose, importance and content. The very meaning of the concept relates in the article particularly to the military environment, and hence to the context of the "military concept". 2. Purpose and importance of the concept Concept in general means a timeless idea or vision of the modus operandi, the way how the AF will operate in future operations. It describes the capabilities required to 75

conduct these operations in the anticipated operational environment and the way in which the commander, using knowledge of military art and science, will use these capabilities to achieve desired effects or objectives. The concept defines how the AF or their parts can operate, the time frame and the conditions in which they operate (operational environment), and also individual activities, which must be able to perform, depending on the required capabilities. The concept also describes the nature of the problem or series of problems that need to be addressed, the character of individual actors or participants involved in the problem s solution as well as their interactions. Concept should be applicable within the mid-term even the long-term horizon, depending on changes in policy, strategy, security and/or operational environment and technology. Concept cannot be limited/restrained neither current capabilities nor financial sources. The key ideas described in the concept should lead to development of required capabilities, which are then assessed through war games, studies, experiments and other ways. The concept is the starting point of the evaluation process, the building up, development and subsequent implementation of capabilities; they serve for identification of deficiencies (gaps) in the capabilities and for generation of subsequent solution to overcome them in particular areas of Doctrine, Organization, Training, Materiel, Leadership and Education, Personnel, Facilities and Infrastructure (DOTMLPFI). If the process has been set properly, there are created favorable conditions for development of military capabilities. Finally, concepts are important challenge for the science and technology development, setting of their priorities, funding and orientation of their further development. Description of capabilities for future military operations, in terms of their time application, is stated in concepts differently, but generally for the next 8-20 years. Since the AF operate in mission hand to hand with the international partners, the concept must take into consideration demands on the capabilities not only joint forces or individual types of forces within the framework of the national AF, but also requirements of coalition partners, when the joint actions in operations are assumed. It is therefore appropriate and necessary to participate in development and validation of concepts together and benefit from the experience previously processed or proven concepts of those individual partners. Concept should respond to the fact that future joint forces will have to adapt and combine a series of complex military and non-military activities such as transportation and deployment of forces, conduct of combat activities, stabilization and securing of environment, humanitarian aid, reconstruction tasks, etc., in accordance with the requirements of each operational situation. Therefore, the concept approaches for each situation accordingly to its specifics with regard to the unique political and strategic context, rather than trying to rape this situation to the precise template. The concept, however, should not be detailed instructions with prescribing methods of carrying out these activities and it also should not set up any authoritative doctrine. It ought to describe a set of operational problems expressed in "scenarios", through the main idea of operational solutions up to finding of institutional implications for the adoption of these solutions. The concept focuses on strategy of achieving military objectives with simultaneous contribution of other (military and non-military) organizations and multinational partners. It assumes potential areas where the AF and other instruments of state power could find common interests for the best integration of their efforts. Furthermore, the 76

concept is useful for these organizations and partners to evaluate requirements and opportunities for possible integration. 3. Concept and Doctrine In practice we meet different views on the meaning and content of concepts and their relationship to the military doctrines. Concepts, in some cases, are mistakenly considered to be doctrines and vice versa. The key to understand the meaning and difference between the concept and the doctrine is to identify their mutual relationship and distinguish the fundamental differences between both. Doctrine (military doctrine) contains and describes the fundamental principles based on which the AF conduct activities (operations) to achieve or support national and/or multinational objectives. It provides the basic theoretical background for the planning, conduct, command, control and support of operations and provides a framework for understanding the doctrinal approaches to operations. It also serves as background and source of information for education and study of the principles for planning and conduct of operations. It is authoritative but requires a judgment in its application - it is not dogma. Doctrine describes the characteristics of existing AF (or forces of near future), their current capabilities as well as ability to use these capabilities in concurrent military operations or operations in near future. Concept, however, describes the future (probable) operational environment and related future operational requirements that the AF will have to meet, to counter potential challenges in this environment. Shortly, the doctrine directs activities of the AF of present days, influenced by the current security and operational environment in the short or mid-term, while the concept is focused on the future and specifies requirements for development of today's forces toward possible operations in the future operational environment. 4. Historical, Present and Future concepts The concepts can be generally considered in terms of their validity in certain period of time. According to this they are labeled as historical, current and future concepts. Their general characteristics are stated in the Table 1. Tab. 1 Description of historical, current and future concepts Period of concept Characteristics Examples [1] Historical Concepts Describe their subject (topic) and methods of application in some historical context - They are often not expressed exactly in time, rather derived from historical records - At the time of their applicability they are not clearly codified (legalized) - Drawn from historical records (analysis) - Can be set up by regulations and continuously altered during the course of their realization - Schlieffen Plan - Blitzkrieg - Deep Operations - Operational maneuver group (OMG) - Follow-On Forces Attack (FOFA) - AirLand Battle (ALB) Current Concepts Describe their subject (topic) and - Can be clearly enacted in existing documents (doctrinal, tactical, - Joint Vision (1996) for 2010 - Army After Next (1997) for 77

own applicability in present days with current organization, methods and technologies Future Concepts Express an idea of how their subject (topic) will be used in future context technical, procedural) - May arise from current conditions (operational, technological, institutional) - Should form the basis for operational planning and for DOTMLPFI areas - Future concepts are initially untested, should be the subject of experimentation and discussion - Can be developed and legalized or invalidated - Are being developed from untested hypotheses to decisive conclusion - Only after the concept was experimentally verified and confirmed its accuracy and is legalized, then provides the basis for force planning, planning development and sustaining of military capabilities 2020 - Joint Vision (2000) for 2020 - Capstone Concept for Joint Operations (USA 2004) for 2012-2020 - The concepts of the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Australia AF and other countries (except the CZ AF concepts they are not processed) [2] 5. Hierarchy of concepts Concepts are systematically arranged within a family of concepts into the hierarchy. At the top of the hierarchy is the institutional concept that dominates all others subordinate concepts; operational (known also as operating), functional and enabling (known also as integrating) concepts. Institutional concept defines the content, role and its relationship to development and employment of the future AF. These ideas and solutions are further developed subordinated concepts. The concepts of a lower level must be compatible with the concepts of a higher order, which are subordinate to them. While the concepts of the higher level generally drive development of the subordinate concepts, it is obvious that this relationship works also in the opposite direction. Breakthrough concepts on the lower level can sometime result in necessity to revise principles of the higher level concepts. If these rules are met, the logical and conceptual stream of the concept development is secured; it conveys the strategic vision (directive) into the recommendation for development of the required capabilities and their employment in future operations. General characteristics of aforementioned concepts can be summarized in the Table 2 as follows: Tab. 2 - Characteristics of concepts Institutional Concepts Describe military institutions Operational Describe how military forces operate (operating) Concepts Describe effect or influence (performance, behavior) of Functional Concepts operational (joint) functions or sub-functions Enabling (integrating) Describe capabilities required for the effect or influence of 78

Concepts military functions or sub-functions and the way of their integration within the whole AF 5.1 Institutional concepts Institutional concepts describe the concept, direction and functioning of the military institution(s) in the long term horizon. They directly originate from the Security strategy, Defense strategy or Military strategy, provide content (context) and advice for all the other concepts. Future institutional concepts are often published (promulgated) as expression of a vision for a specific future time horizon. 5.2 Operational concepts Operational concepts describe how to employ the AF in future operations, depending on the interests or political-military ambitions. They discuss rather about the principles and fundamental ideas (topics) than about the details of execution. They deal with more general than specific operational situations. They include a wide range of military activities, not just one functional area and more broadly describe what and how it should be done militarily in a given situation how the military power will be used. 5.3 Functional concepts Functional concepts describe the context (functioning) of particular joint functions (Command and Control, Intelligence, Maneuver and Fire, Protection of troops and so on) in broader operational context. For example: "Achieving the required level of troop s protection requires the mutual and common employment of protective activities which may include: identify, assess, warn, defend, restore, etc. Activities include process of integrated military tasks, which can deter (discourage), prevent or mitigate adverse effects activities of enemy on activities of own troops. They serve to increase the protective function by defining the required protective capabilities. Concept then provides instructions describing how individual components of the AF should plan, integrate and provide protection of troops during their deployment, employment, sustainment and withdrawal across the spectrum of operations. 5.4 Enabling concepts Enabling concepts describe how a single task or procedure is performed by applying partial capability (within the context of broader functional areas, such as specific technologies, training/education program, organization, equipment, etc. E.g. the concept describing the Application of Technology for Battlespace Visualization may be enabling concept for the Command and Control functional concept. 6. Concept characteristics and requirements Processed concept should be specific in its content and should meet some common requirements: - Although the future concept is more speculation about the future, supplemented with information from the previous period, it has historical roots. The starting point for processing of the concept may be, for example existing doctrine, lessons learned from operations, the results from experimentation and different (scientific, academic) studies; - The basis of the concept is made up of a system of views on the character of operations and their successful conduct. The concept thus includes the theory of military operations; - The concept harmonizes the military art and science. It may emphasize the importance of one or the other area, their ratio may be different due to the purpose of the concept, but both must not be neglected; 79

- The concept is firmly rooted in given military-technological context. The concept should take in account an approach of nation (its citizens) about waging war and military operations as such, because they may constitute a general attitude to broad national values. The concept does not imply that application of technology is a solution, rather assumes that this solution makes possible. The concept exploits a new technology, or positively responds to dissemination of it. Technological application and assumptions are limited by what is fiscally and technologically feasible within the timeframe of the concept; - The concept must be subsequently verified. Initially no concept does enforce the presumption of validity, but recognizes that it is received with disbelief; its own justification must demonstrate through logic, experimentation and other relevant ways. The concept should simultaneously establish criteria for evaluating its feasibility and applicability; - The concept encourages discussion by describing the context in clear and understandable terms. This allows all interested parties to understand the fundamentals of the concept and avoid haggling over its purpose; - The concept should apply to different situations. It should meet the requirements of several possible scenarios within their defined parameters; - The concepts are concise and eliminate irrelevant context. The concept introduces ideas concisely and efficiently; its message can be quickly taken into account when implementing the concept. The aim is to provide the minimum necessary context, to hit the essence of the problem as quickly as possible and remove unnecessary content that does not develop the central idea of the concept; - The concept uses a simple language and a valid terminology; it avoids using phrases and creating of new abbreviations, as well as new terms for purpose of novelty. Clear terms should ensure clarity and consistency of language. Using abbreviations and "popular expression" leads concept s users to bigger confusion rather than understanding of the meaning. The concept must therefore be written clearly enough to be fully understood at first reading. 7. Conclusion The military concepts represent the foundation for future Armed Forces development and the base for subsequent developments of supporting concepts. They describe the broad capabilities the Armed Forces will require in the future and explain how they will apply available resources to overwhelm adaptive enemies to accomplish challenging missions in the complex future operational environments. All the necessary basic information regarding the content of the concept and the concept development process are to be continued. References [1] Individual examples of (military) concepts indicate how the AF were, are or will be employed in different time periods. Limited space does not permit a more detailed explanation of these examples, but they are available, e.g. on the Wikipedia.com pages. [2] U. S. concepts are available on: http://www.dtic.mil/futurejointwarfare/, U. K. concepts are available on: https://www.gov.uk/development-concepts-anddoctrine-centre#futures-concepts [3] Capstone Concept for Joint Operations. Version 3.0, 2009. DoD USA. 80

[4] Capstone Concept for Joint Operations Activity Concepts. 2010. DoD USA. 228 p. [5] GALATÍK, Vlastimil; PIKNER, Ivo; SPIŠÁK, Ján. Zásady tvorby operačních koncepcí. Univerzita obrany, BRNO. 2010. ISBN: 978-80-7231-755-4. 73 s. [6] Joint Operations Concepts Development Process. 2007. Washington D.C. Joint Chiefs of Staff, 76 p. [7] Joint Operations Concepts Development Process. Washington. 2007. 76 p. Available from: http://www.dtic.mil/futurejointwarfare [8] Major Combat Operations Joint Operating Concept. 2006. DoD USA. 114 p. [9] MATTIS, James N. Joint Concept Development Vision. 2009. DoD USJFCOM, Norfolk Available from: http://www.jfcom.mil/newslink/storyarchive/2009/jc_vision.pdf [10] OCHRANA, František. Vize, prognózy, koncepce, realizační plány a prováděcí metodiky jako nástroje řízení rezortu. In Vojenské rozhledy, 4/2008, s. 3-13. [11] SCHMITT, John F. A Practical Guide for Developing and Writing Military Concepts. Defense Adaptive Red Team: Working Paper #02-4 [online]. December 2002, Available from: http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/dod/dart_guide.pdf [12] The Future Land Operational Concept. 2008. The Development, Concepts and Doctrine Centre, Ministry of Defence, Shrivenham SWINDON, Wiltshire, [13] TRADOC Pamphlet 71-20-3. The U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command Concept Development Guide. 2011. Department of the Army TRADOC Headquarters, US Army Training and Doctrine Command Virginia, 48 p. Available from: http://www.tradoc.army.mil/tpubs/ [14] Zásady tvorby koncepcí v resortu Ministerstva obrany (pomůcka). 2009. Finální pracovní verze k 5.6.2009. MO SOPS, Praha. 56 s. 81