The complexity of today’s operational environment (OE) requires Army leaders to see through
multiple lenses. Ambiguous, nontraditional adversaries seek new means to destroy, disrupt, or just
outwait us. Events in Operation Iraqi Freedom and in Afghanistan have unmistakably confirmed the OE’s dynamic nature. Every day our adversaries rapidly adapt, requiring us to reassess how they think about themselves, their environment, and us.
In addition to continuous reappraisal of the operational environment, the Army should examine
its processes, structures, and practices. Because adversaries adapt to invalidate our techniques, we
must guard against core competencies becoming core rigidities. For example, a previously successful
enemy course-of-action template might prove inappropriate for a dynamic adversary or for one we do not understand well. Templates remain useful, but we must acknowledge their limitations.
Seeing Red: Creating a Red-Team Capability for the Blue Force
