RAF and Fires Warfighting Function
Abstract
As the Army transitions from its operational mission in Afghanistan and sets the conditions for the Army of 2020, a new strategy for managing forces is being developed that regionally aligns Army units to combatant commanders (CCDR) to meet their needs, including, but not limited to, employment in steady-state, theater security cooperation activities and phase 0 and phase 1 operations of OPLANs. In concept, Regionally Aligned Forces (RAF) provide a scalable and tailorable capability to meet requirements for familiarity and understanding of the culture, geography, history, socio-economic issues, and operational environment in which Army forces operate. This report provides an analysis of the fires warfighting function (WfF) through the lenses of doctrine, organization, training, materiel, leadership and education, personnel, and facilities (DOTMLPF); captures opportunities and risks; and analyzes how the fires WfF should transform to better support the RAF concept and implementation. Recommendations that will enable the Army to better realize the full potential of RAF are advanced. They include changes to organizational manning policies, lifecycle management, operating doctrine, professional military education, mission-specific training, and equipment. As the Army embarks on this new operations paradigm, taking the time to weigh ideas and identify better solutions to the challenges faced in today s environment is critical. The RAF concept endeavors to regionally align U.S. Army maneuver brigades, division headquarters, functional brigades, and other supporting units to a specific geographic region in support of the geographic combatant commanders (GCC) land force mission requirements. This focused regional alignment of capability to operational requirements provides a much needed and readily usable source of cultural awareness and builds capability for Army units to operate in a complex environment with an emphasis on the human domain.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 01, 2015
- Accession Number
- ADA618268
Entities
People
- Gregory M. Smith
- Tarn D. Warren
Organizations
- United States Army War College