Army Operational Framework: Organizing the Force for Battlefield Success

This paper describes the Army’s Operational Framework and how its proper use and understanding can improve the commander and staff’s ability to organize assigned forces and apply combat power at decisive points on the battlefield. Using newly published doctrine in Army Doctrine Publication 3-0, Operations, and observations from Warfighter Exercises, this article will: 1) Provide examples of effective use of the operational framework to organize the battlefield. 2) Describe the role of the operational framework within the operations structure. 3) Familiarize the reader with the operational framework, its components, and the importance of assigning and managing subordinate unit areas of operations.