As the new administration occupies their positions, they are undoubtedly faced with a litany of issues and challenges to address. Force Management has got to be at the top of the list. Force Management is the all inclusive term that describes the processes used to determine force requirements, allocate resources and assess utilization of resources. It includes force, doctrine, training, organizational and material development. The most important force management challenge facing a new administration in 2009 is “doctrine development” with a major emphasis on counterinsurgency.
The US Army is a doctrine-based organization. Doctrine is composed of fundamental principles, and tactics, techniques and procedures (TTP). Soldiers and members of units learn and rehearse doctrinal principles and TTPs within the Army school system and at the Combat Training Centers. Following unit training, after action reviews produce feedback (lessons learned) that is used to update new doctrine.[i] The American way of war includes mass, power, and the use of sophisticated smart weapons. However, large main force engagement that characterized conflict in World War II, Korea, and Operations Desert Storm and Iraqi Freedom in the Middle East have become the exceptions in American warfare.[ii] The Army has been conducting stability operations which have included counterinsurgency operations for some time now. Over the last 50 years alone, the Army gained considerable experience in fighting insurgents in Southeast Asia, Latin America, Africa, Southwest Asia and now the Middle East. There used to be a time when counterinsurgency operations fell square on the shoulders of Special Operations Forces. Those times have changed. Our conventional forces frequently encounter insurgent forces which has all but forced us to develop doctrine aimed specifically at defeating insurgents; hence FM 3-07.22 Counterinsurgency Operations and FM 3-24, Counterinsurgency. These two regulations...