Army Doctrine Publication (ADP) 3-37 and its related Army Doctrine Reference Publication (ADRP) provide guidance to commanders, staff, leaders, and Soldiers. Protection is an enduring activity that supports prompt and sustained operations across multiple domains. Protection preserves combat power, population, partners, essential equipment, resources, and critical infrastructure from threats and hazards. It is synchronized and integrated throughout the operation process.
The Army Publication ADP 3-37 is a no-fee, interactive website containing the latest military technology and information. It is a must-read for Army personnel of all ranks and echelons. The site has links to a wealth of information, including the Department of Defense (DoD) homepage. The narrated introductory videos are a treat. The mainstays are free, and the content is easily accessible through a simple online registration process. ADP 3-37 is one of many publications that make up the Department of Defense (DoD) library. Unlike the Department of Energy (DOE), which publishes an annual list of scientific and medical breakthroughs, the DOD is not in the habit of announcing every new achievement, award, or award-winning device.
What is Army Doctrine ADP 3-37?
Army Doctrine Publication 3-37 is a Department of the Army publication that provides guidance on the protection warfighting function and establishes the guiding principles for commanders and staff responsible for planning and executing protection in support of unified land operations. The protection warfighting function enables commanders to preserve combat power, populations, partners, essential equipment, resources, and critical infrastructure by integrating protection capabilities within operations. In addition to being a reference manual, ADP 3-37 is the foundation for training and Army education system curricula. It also serves as a base doctrine for a conceptual framework the Department of the Army uses to develop other doctrine publications related to unified land operations.
Protection is the preservation of the effectiveness and survivability of mission-related military and nonmilitary personnel, equipment, facilities, information, and infrastructure deployed or located within or outside the boundaries of a given operational area. It is the primary function of all Army commanders to protect their forces. It is a key component of the Army’s overall defense strategy. The protection warfighting function synchronizes and integrates the many protection tasks to enable commanders to safeguard bases, secure routes, and protect forces. It is primarily reinforced through the operation process, mission command (ADP 6-0), the Army Operations Process, and unified land operations.
The protection definition is now aligned with Joint Publication 3-0, which defines it as the “preservation of the effectiveness and survivability of mission-related personnel, equipment, facilities, information, and equipment deployed or located within or outside the boundaries of an operational area.” This change will help to simplify how the Army applies the definition in its unified land operations doctrine. Protection is the preservation of mission-related military and nonmilitary personnel, equipment, facilities, information, and infrastructure deployed or located within or outside a given operational area.
Protective functions support the warfighting function (ADP 3-0) and unified land operations (ADP 5-0). Commanders, staffs, leaders, and Soldiers execute protection through the operations process. The ADP 3-37 protection principles are designed to provide a framework for protecting the forces, systems, and assets critical to the commander’s mission objectives. These principles serve as an important reference for protecting the force in all situations and to ensure that the appropriate protective systems are in place.
Full Dimensional Comprehensive Integrated Layered Redundant Enduring
The Principles of Protection describe the full utilization of complementary and reinforcing protection tasks and systems available to commanders in order to preserve the force and its resources during operation. The Principles of Protection also establish a basis for developing schemes of protection and allocating resources. Integrated means that all protection activities are interrelated and integrated to preserve combat power, populations, partners, essential equipment, resources, and critical infrastructure in every phase of an operation. It also indicates that protection efforts must continue throughout the operation to maintain the objective.
Redundancy signifies that a secondary protection effort is resourced to ensure that specific systems, efforts, and capabilities critical to the overall protection effort have a backup system, capability, or other means to ensure their availability in the event of an incident or failure. This can be in the form of a second airborne fire control crew, a backup power generation system, or another patrol distribution pattern. Final protective fire – A line of fire selected to impede enemy movement across defensive lines or areas by interlocking fire from all available weapons and obstacles. This field of fire is usually a prearranged barrier of fire that is immediately available to a commander who needs it to check an enemy assault.
The ADP 3-37 protection principles are implemented by military professionals throughout the Army, including through training. They are also reinforced through mission command, the Army Operations Process (ADP 6-0), and unified land operations (ADP 3-0).
Army Doctrine 3-37 Protection
Army Doctrine Publication (ADP) 3-37, Protection and the Protection Warfighting Function, provides guidance on the protection and the protection warfighting function for commanders and staff responsible for planning and executing protection in support of unified land operations. The doctrine in ADP 3-37 corresponds with the Army operations doctrine introduced in ADP 3-0 and is intended for the principal audience of commanders, staff, and leaders.
ADP 3-37 replaces the FM definition of protection with Joint Publication 3-0, which defines the protection function as “the preservation of the effectiveness and survivability of the mission-related military and nonmilitary forces, equipment, facilities, information, and infrastructure in and within a given operational area.” This change enables the inclusion of other tasks and systems that contribute to preserving combat power. These include Air and Missile Defense coordination, personnel recovery, information protection, antiterrorism, and operational area security.
During an operation, the protection function is synchronized with the other combat power functions to ensure that forces are preserved and protected as directed by commanders and can perform their missions. Commanders consider the most likely threats and hazards and decide which personnel, physical assets, and information to protect. They then set priorities for each phase of an operation. In the preparation phase, commanders assess the conditions of terrain, weather, and intelligence, as well as risk to specific personnel and vehicles. They set safety and security limits on vehicle and equipment operations or conduct hazard assessment and mitigation actions in accordance with protective posture guidance.
When integrated and synchronized, the protection function provides commanders with the framework they need to preserve force combat power by integrating and reinforcing reinforcement and complementary capabilities. It also identifies and prevents or mitigates threats and hazards to populations, partners, essential equipment, resources, and critical infrastructure and preserves the joint force’s ability to accomplish mission objectives.