Download the full release here: No.26-1155, Forging Lethality: Key BCT Fires Observations From JMRC (Apr 26) [PDF - 522 KB]
Introduction
The 2018 National Defense Strategy marked a significant turning point for the U.S. Army, signaling a strategic pivot from two decades of counter-insurgency operations. This new focus on large scale combat operations (LSCO) against peer adversaries like Russia and China necessitates a fundamental redefinition of lethality by Army leaders. As a result, the military has intensified its preparation for a more complex, multi-domain battlefield, with a current emphasis on the far East and Homeland Defense. At the conclusion of a recent rotation at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center (JMRC), General Christopher Donahue, commander of U.S. Army Europe and Africa (USAREUR-AF), emphasized this point to a room of brigade leaders and observer, coach, trainers (OCTs).
While Army Field Manual (FM) 3-0, Operations, provides the doctrinal starting point with its concept of destroying the enemy from a position of advantage, observations from training environments like JMRC reveal a more focused, two-part mission for the Fires community. This mission involves shaping the deep fight to protect friendly forces while simultaneously massing overwhelming firepower to ensure maneuver units are victorious in close-quarters combat. This evolution in thinking reflects lessons learned from recent conflicts, such as the war in Ukraine, where the battlefield has demonstrated the devastating impact of integrated air defense systems, long-range precision fires, and the pervasive use of unmanned aircraft systems.
The ability to degrade these enemy systems is now seen as a prerequisite for successful combined arms maneuver. Consequently, the Fires community's role has become increasingly critical in achieving the "reconnaissance-strike battle" concept, where the duel between opposing reconnaissance-strike complexes often determines the outcome. This tactical reality demands that Fires not only support the immediate needs of maneuver forces but also proactively shape the entire battlespace to create windows of opportunity for decisive action.
For the Fires warfighting function, success at JMRC demands a dual competency: mastering doctrine and adapting with initiative. Observations show this begins with a disciplined operations process that forges synchronization through Military Decision Making Process (MDMP), rehearsals, and battle rhythm execution. From this foundation, effective units build a coherent battlefield framework, leveraging their targeting process to define brigade and battalion responsibilities and avoid devolving into a chaotic "fires knife fight." Yet, even with this planning, a critical gap remains. Despite the influx of new unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), brigades still struggle to sense throughout the depth of their Area of Operations (AO); to close this gap, organizations must task-organize joint fire support specialists and push them forward with the right authorities and capabilities. By analyzing these observations, this paper will provide actionable recommendations across the Doctrine, Organization, Training, Materiel, Leadership and Education, Personnel, Facilities and Policy (DOTMLPF-P) framework to enhance the lethality of the Fires enterprise.
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