[LINK] The U.S. Army Operational Environment 2024-2034: Large-Scale Combat Operations

[Stephen Loosley]

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The U.S. Army Operational Environment 2024-2034: 
Large-Scale Combat Operations

TRADOC G2  07/31/2024   
Distribution A: Approved for public release, distribution is unlimited.
https://g2webcontent.z2.web.core.usgovcloudapi.net/OEE/Story%20Posts/TRADOCG2_2024JUL30_OE_2024_2035_Lg_Scale_Comb_anonymous.pdf


This TRADOC G2 Document is responsible for defining, describing, and delivering the Operational Environment (OE) to the U.S. Army. 
Since the last assessment in 2021, global conditions have evolved significantly, necessitating a reassessment of the OE. 
The result is "The Operational Environment 2024-2034: Large-Scale Combat Operations (LSCO)," which focuses on the conditions and implications of modern LSCO that the U.S. Army will have to face in the next 10 years. 
The objective is to inform the Army about aspects of LSCO and their impact on operations, thereby supporting Army Senior Leaders’ decision making and the U.S. Army’s planning and execution of training so the Army can successfully execute its contributions to national security objectives.
View or Download the Document: https://g2webcontent.z2.web.core.usgovcloudapi.net/OEE/Story%20Posts/TRADOCG2_2024JUL30_OE_2024_2035_Lg_Scale_Comb_anonymous.pdf

TRADOC G-2 3 
Foreword: The U.S. Army is facing new and increasingly perilous challenges compared to only a few years ago because of arapidly modernizing pacing threat and an acute threat engaged in protracted large-scale combat operations on NATO’sdoorstep. 
During two decades of counterinsurgency and counterterrorism, these traditional adversaries have watchedas our Forces faced violent extremist organizations that had limited objectives and resources and used improvisedweapons and tactics. 
Now, many of these threats have receded while our traditional adversaries with substantialdefense budgets and global ambitions have reasserted themselves. They studied us as we executed operations andare using those lessons in their defense and strategic planning. 
To achieve victory in the Operational Environmentof the 21st century, the U.S. Army must know these enemies like it knew the Soviets in the 20th century. 
China, the pacing threat, is building defense systems to attain its global ambitions. It has the largest military in theworld by personnel and the ability to execute a whole-of-nation approach to conflict that can quickly galvanize itsindustrial base. 
China’s modernization process has seen rapid technological transformation toward its vision of“informationized” and “intelligentized” warfare. It is also advancing an ambitious professional military educationsystem with the aim of building a strong NCO corps. 
Meanwhile, Russia, the acute threat, has been mired in an invasion of Ukraine since 2022. While not seeing the successit had hoped for initially, Russia is gaining combat experience in large-scale combat operations and proving thatsimply outlasting an enemy is a potentially valid military option. The war in Ukraine has shown that the next fightwill prominently feature information warfare and focus on multidomain effects. Fires will be the center of gravity,making protection a priority and maneuver difficult. 
In its mission to describe the Operational Environment, the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command must distill allits observations and research into insights that the Army can apply. 
That is what this document endeavors to do, but itis only a first step. The information contained herein should be transmitted to, and understood by, U.S. Army Soldiersof every rank and at every echelon. 
Our Soldiers—our people—are our greatest strength and we must do everythingwe can to strengthen the profession of warfighting. 
Competence as an Army professional starts with understandingthe threat, but it does not end there. 
Every Leader has the obligation of being a continuous and self-reflective learneroutside of traditional professional military education and training. 

By Gary M. Brito Commanding General, U.S. ArmyTraining and Doctrine Command 
"To achieve victory, we must know the enemy. Knowingthe enemy starts with the Operational Environment"
Victory starts here! ...

TRADOC G2  Conclusion
To prepare for reemergent LSCO scenarios, the U.S. Army requires an understanding of the conditions that are most likely to drive it as well as their impact on operations. The OE of 2024-2034 is likely to be characterized by 12 key conditions that will shape LSCO and have wide-ranging implications for the Army. 
Understanding the complexity of these conditions and implications will drive Army decisions on doctrine, Soldier training, and Leader development to succeed in multidomain warfare.
The Army can expect that LSCO will be characterized by multidomain threats on an increasingly transparent and lethal battlefield across multiple theaters. 
Our adversaries will capitalize on the democratization of technology and advances in robotic and cyber systems to confront the U.S. Army in every domain—land, air, sea, space, and cyberspace. 
Areas the Army once considered safe or guaranteed—including the Homeland, logistics, air superiority, sea control, and theater access—will no longer be able to be taken for granted. The Army will need to fight over extended distances to provide protection, time, and resources to sustain LSCO.
The increasing role of information, unmanned systems, and potential WMD employment will add to the complexity of armed conflict. 
U.S. adversaries will continually challenge the U.S. Army’s ability to gain and maintain information advantage on and off the battlefield. Uncrewed systems that are increasingly inexpensive and widely available will provide adversaries with an array of capabilities, from ISR targeting to supporting urban and subterranean operations.
To achieve victory, the U.S. Army must know the enemy. Knowing the enemy starts with the OE. 
Our pacing threat, China, seeks to transform from a force focused on territorial defense to an intelligentized, joint-capable, modern military able defeat the U.S. Joint Force in LSCO. 
The PLA is doing this through military modernization across every part of the U.S. military’s DOTMLPF-P framework. 
The acute threat, Russia, sees the United States and NATO as its enduring enemy, especially given the West’s response to the conflict in Ukraine and the expansion of NATO along Russia’s periphery. 
To contend with this perceived threat, and based on lessons learned in Ukraine, Russia will maintain its focus on a fires-centric, massed force able to conduct a prolonged, attritional LSCO, featuring informationwarfare for which it believes Western democracies are ill-suited. 
Persistent threats from regional actors and violent extremist organizations will continue to add complexity to Army operations, challenging our strengths and exploiting our vulnerabilities when and where they can. 
To remain ready for a range of operational missions, including LSCO, our Soldiers and Leaders will need to be ready to think and rapidly adapt to changing conditions to maintain overmatch.
This OE sets the basic conditions to maintain readiness, train and operate against all types of enemies, andachieve victory on the battlefield.

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