Doctrine 2015's Effect on the Army Field Manual

The Doctrine 2015 framework is having an effect. That point is practically beyond dispute.  What is disputable is what, exactly that effect is.  The first thing to understand about Doctrine 2015 is that it is not about producing better doctrine. Instead, it's about revolutionizing the doctrinal publication development and dissemination paradigm.  Under Doctrine 2015, it's the process--not the product--that matters.

Mostly.

Evidence that the product is suffering may be found in talk that is common these days when the subject of the Doctrine 2015 hierarchy of publications comes up.  It is often said that field manuals are about "what" the Army does and ATPs (Army Techniques Publications) are about "how" the Army does what it does.

Which is nonsense.

Army field manuals have always explained how to do stuff. And the regulation that implements Doctrine 2015, TRADOC Regulation 25-36 The Army Doctrinal Publication Program, doesn't change that.  The regulation says ...

"A field manual is a Department of the Army publication that contains principles, tactics, procedures, and other doctrinal information. It describes how the Army and its organizations conduct operations and train for those operations. FMs describe how the Army executes operations described in the ADPs [*]. They fully integrate and comply with the fundamental principles in the ADPs and the tactics and principles discussed in the ADRPs [**]."  [Emphasis added.]

Still, those who follow the regulation seem to be in the minority.  Too many PowerPoint briefings to overcome.

Consider the case of FM 6-02 Signal Support to Operations. An "initial draft" was recently staffed to Army commands for review.  It obviously suffers from the kind of thinking described above.  It is full of "what," but completely devoid of "how."  Consequently, it contains no doctrine; i.e., it describes no "fundamental principles by which the military forces, or elements thereof, guide their actions in support of national objectives."

That's the definition of doctrine from Joint Publication 1-02, which also says of doctrine, that "it is authoritative but requires judgment in application."

Because the current draft of FM 6-02 has left off the "how," and because a decision appears to have been made to the effect that the manual will offer no illustrations or examples of the abstract, theoretical "whats" it attempts to describe, because of all these things, it carries no voice of authority.

The prescribed framework for Doctrine 2015 calls for the publication, by no later than December 2013, of fifty field manuals. According to the Combined Arms Doctrine Directorate at Fort Leavenworth, dated 1 October 2012, the Army has published four Doctrine 2015-type field manuals so far. However, none of these are accessible via standard repositories, either from the Army Publishing Directorate's web site, or from CADD's.  Nevertheless, a handful of field manuals have been staffed out for review, and this author has participated in a few of these reviews. All of them lack authority.  All of them lack authority because they lack specific tactics-related information and they lack illustrative examples--they fail to show what right looks like.

Perhaps it is too premature to draw reasonable conclusions, since so few field manuals written or revised to comply with Doctrine 2015 guidance exist. But the early returns are that Doctrine 2015 is indeed having an effect.  It's chief effect seems to be that it is ruining the Army field manual.

______________________________ 

* Army Doctrine Publications ... higher-level doctrinal publications than field manuals, under Doctrine 2015.

** Army Doctrine Reference Publications ... companion publications to ADPs.