FORT MONROE, Va: The 2009 Army Capstone Concept, last updated in 2005, is now available in its final version online.
Led by Brig. Gen. H.R. McMaster, director of the Army Capabilities Integration Center’s Concepts Development and Experimentation Directorate, the Capstone Concept discusses the conditions of today’s battlefield and how the Army will address them.
“The Capstone Concept aims to define the problem of future armed conflict and describes how the Army will function in the future,” said McMaster.
Called “Operational Adaptability: Operating under conditions of uncertainty and complexity in an era of persistent conflict 2016-2028,” the Army Capstone Concept takes a long-term look at challenges and methods of addressing them.
“What you will find is a broader definition of situational understanding. We tended to believe that it could be delivered on a computer screen, but now we understand that [it] involves knowledge of history, knowledge of culture, and being able to forge positive relationships with indigenous populations,” he said.
Written with the input from joint, inter-agency, intergovernmental and multinational partners, the Army Capstone Concept also integrates the need for a total government approach to seeking success in combat zones.
The Capstone Concept was the first Army document to be crowd-sourced while in draft form. In September, the document was posted to the Small Wars Journal’s discussion board and participants were welcome to read, comment and contribute to the draft before it was submitted for final approval.
You can download a PDF version of the document here.
