Military Review English Edition September-October 2013 | Page 23

Defeating Future Hybrid Threats
The Greatest Challenge to the Army Profession of 2020 and Beyond
Maj. John R. Davis Jr., U.S. Army “
I would like to thank my research paper advisor at Air Command and Staff College, Dr. Sterling Pavelec, who continually empowered me to push the cutting edge and challenge conventional thinking when writing this article.

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Maj. John R. Davis Jr., U.S. Army, is currently a student at the School of Advanced Military Studies, Fort Leavenworth, Kan. He holds a B.S. from Hampton University, an M.S. from Missouri University of Science and Technology, and an M.M.A.S. from Air Command and Staff College, Air University. He most recently served as a small group leader at the Engineer Captains Career Course, U.S. Army Engineer School. His other previous assignments include three combat deployments to Iraq as a platoon leader, company executive officer, and MultiRole Bridge Company Commander.

PHOTO: U.S. soldiers leave their defensive fighting positions while preparing for an attack during a full-spectrum operations exercise at Fort Polk, La., 23 October 2010. The exercise trained the soldiers to defeat a hybrid threat comprised of insurgents and organized military forces. (DOD, D. Myles Cullen, U.S. Army)

E ARE AT a similar warfare inflection point; one that eclipses the introduction of nuclear weapons, the introduction of the air domain and the airplane, and the transition from battleship to aircraft carrier.”1 Gen. Martin Dempsey’s statement captures the current moment in time with respect to changes in warfare facing the U.S. Army. Similar warfare inflection points in the transition to the air and nuclear domains produced lasting changes to the art of warfighting. New debates about warfare focus on how the evolution of the space and cyberspace domains will influence future conflict. Most defense analysts agree that the nature of the future security environment will be multi-polar (regionally focused) with inherent diversity and complexity. The future environment will present formidable challenges to the U.S. Army. One challenge resides in how to identify, understand, and combat the future threat. Defeating a hybrid threat, consisting of regular, irregular, and criminal elements synergistically working for a common end state, poses the greatest threat to the Army Profession of 2020 and beyond. Future hybrid warfare will test the military expertise, trust, and honorable service of the U.S. Army Profession. Furthermore, this form of warfare will evolve into a struggle to quickly learn, adapt, and out-think a changing hybrid threat. The current Army Profession will endure. The crucible of combat, ground out in the jungles, deserts, mountains, and rolling plains of past battlefields, has forged the Army Profession that exists today. The near future security dilemma will be a continually e ?????????????????Q?????????????????????????????????A????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????=??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????Q??????????????????????????????????????????A???????????????????????????????????????Q????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????(??()5%1%QId?IY%\????M???????=?????????((