Field Manual FM 3-13 Information Operations December 2016

Book excerpt: Field Manual FM 3-13 Information Operations December 2016 Over the past two decades, Army information operations (IO) has gone through a number of doctrinal evolutions, explained, in part, by the rapidly changing nature of information, its flow, processing, dissemination, impact and, in particular, its military employment. At the same time, a decade and a half of persistent conflict and global engagement have taught us a lot about the nature of the information environment, especially that in any given area of operations, this environment runs the gamut from the most technologically-advanced to the least. Army units employ IO to create effects in and through the information environment that provide commanders a decisive advantage over adversaries, threats, and enemies in order to defeat the opponent's will. Simultaneously, Army units engage with and influence other relevant foreign audiences to gain their support for friendly objectives. Commanders' IO contributes directly to tactical and operational success and supports objectives at the strategic level. This latest version of FM 3-13 returns to the joint definition of IO, although it clarifies that land forces must do more than affect threat decision making if they are to accomplish their mission. They must also protect their own decision making and the information that feeds it; align their actions, messages and images; and engage and influence relevant targets and audiences in the area of operations. While the term inform and influence activities has been rescinded, many of the principles espoused in the last version of FM 3-13 carry forward, especially the synchronization of information-related capabilities (IRCs). IRCs are those capabilities that generate effects in and through the information environment, but these effects are almost always accomplished in combination with other information-related capabilities. Only through their effective synchronization can commanders gain a decisive advantage over adversaries, threats, and enemies in the information environment. While capabilities such as military information support operations, combat camera, military deception, operations security and cyberspace operations are readily considered information-related, commanders consider any capability an IRC that is employed to create effects and operationally-desirable conditions within a dimension of the information environment.