Army doctrine provides a frame of reference and cultural perspective for understanding warfare. It also allows commanders and staffs to sort the important from the insignificant.
The army publication ADP 1-01 Doctrine Primer introduces the reader to the structure and language of army doctrine. It explains the basic principles that make up the doctrine and defines terms critical to understanding other works. Whether you are looking to buy or sell back this book, look up the best buyback prices on BookScouter, which compares 30+ top buyback vendors.
Army doctrine is the body of professional knowledge that outlines how to conduct operations and train for them. It consists of doctrine publications, field manuals, and technical manuals. Army doctrine publications contain the fundamental principles that guide operating forces and elements of the institutional force to achieve their national objectives.
While doctrine cannot account for every unforeseen circumstance, it provides the force with a set of tools that can be applied to any situation. These tools are based on time-tested approaches to the conduct of war that result from lessons learned in world wars and other operational experience by Army forces, other services, and multinational partners.
Unlike policy, which lays out broad guidelines for the force to follow, doctrine describes specific tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs). TTPs are non-prescriptive methods or ways that the force can use to perform missions, functions, or tasks. They are based on the force’s evolving knowledge and experience and support fundamental principles in doctrine publications.
Understanding Army Doctrine
Doctrine is a central idea that defines an army’s overall philosophy, but that should also be flexible enough to change with circumstances. It is, in essence, common sense action adapted to the environment.
The first step toward understanding doctrine is to get familiar with its structure. ADP 1-01 is a great place to start. It is just over forty-four pages long and can be read in a few hours. It explains the basic structure of the doctrinal canon. It will also give you a foundation for reading further Army publications.
As a part of the Army’s modernization efforts, Training and Doctrine Command launched a publishing blitz in 2020 to equip junior leaders across warfighting disciplines with new, tailored guidance for their units. This includes new Army doctrine publications like ADPs and Field Manuals, but it also includes a number of ATPs that provide specific guidance for commanders and Soldiers at the lowest tactical levels.
The Army reorganized and restructured its doctrine publication system to make this information easier to digest. Known as Doctrine 2015, this reformatted the structure of doctrinal literature by grouping overarching doctrine into Army doctrine publications (known as ADPs), parsing details into field manuals and Army techniques publications. This established a clear hierarchy establishing which publications take precedence over others when conflict arises between them. These changes helped streamline the amount of material available, making it more manageable for junior leaders.