AirLand Battle

AirLand Battle was a United States Army and Air Force doctrine for coordinating deep, close, and rear operations against Warsaw Pact forces. It became the Army’s operational doctrine in 1982.

Deep operations: Military operations directed against enemy forces, command systems, and resources beyond the immediate forward battle. AirLand Battle used deep operations to delay and disrupt Warsaw Pact forces before they reached the front.
Active Defense: A 1976 U.S. Army doctrine focused on defeating a Warsaw Pact attack through concentrated defensive fires. AirLand Battle followed Active Defense and placed greater emphasis on attacking beyond the forward line.
United States Army: The land warfare service of the United States Armed Forces. The Army adopted AirLand Battle as its operational doctrine in 1982.
AirLand Battle doctrine (1986): The 1986 revision of U.S. Army operations doctrine that refined AirLand Battle principles. This revision clarified the doctrine’s mature formulation and its emphasis on initiative and agility.
Close operations: Military operations against enemy forces in direct contact or close enough to affect the current battle. These operations engaged the opposing forces at the main area of contact.
Field Manual 100-5: The U.S. Army’s capstone operations manual, revised periodically to define doctrine. Its 1982 edition formally established AirLand Battle as Army doctrine.
United States Air Force: The air warfare service of the United States Armed Forces. AirLand Battle depended on air power to strike targets beyond the ground force’s immediate front.
Unified land operations: A U.S. Army operational concept integrating offensive, defensive, and stability tasks across time and space. Later Army doctrine retained the idea that simultaneous actions across depth shape battlefield outcomes.
Rear operations: Military activity that sustains forces and protects command, logistics, and infrastructure behind the forward battle. The doctrine treated rear-area security and support as part of the same operational problem.
Don Starry: A U.S. Army general who led the Training and Doctrine Command from 1977 to 1981. Starry helped develop the operational concepts that shaped AirLand Battle.

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