This is the 26th edition of the U.S. Army War College text "How The Army Runs." Every two years we revise this text and strive to incorporate the most updated information on existing DOD, Army and Joint organizations, systems, and processes.

Fulfilling the intent of Congress and the requirements of Section 3062 of Title 10, United States Code (USC), is a formidable task. The Army is a dynamic organization that must constantly change to adapt to changing threats to the Nation's security and to the assignment of new missions that promote our country's interests at home and abroad.

The Army must be capable of accomplishing the full spectrum of missions ranging from domestic disaster relief and homeland security (HLS) through peace keeping and peacemaking to winning our nation's wars.

This requires continual modernization and development across the Army's Doctrine, Organization, Training, Materiel, Leadership and Education, Personnel and Facilities (DOTMLPF) domains.

The military is at a historic moment; it is a time when a confluence of factors are relentlessly driving change. Foremost among these factors is the advent of the Information Age that has empowered rapid, and focused adaptation through the creation of learning organizations penetrating heretofore rigid hierarchies with almost limitless multi-echelon access and connectivity.

This rapidly developing network centric mode of operation is bypassing layered bureaucratic systems and processes and allowing concurrent vertical and horizontal informal communications and access to near real-time task related information.

Simultaneously, the accelerating development of revolutionary technologies with broad military applicability is continually improving precision, detection, range, lethality, navigation, situational awareness, and many more aspects of system and organizational performance.

Finally, the strategic environment is providing the context for driving major changes in our armed forces. This context includes: the emergence of a more complex national security environment with diminishing protection afforded by geographic distances; a deteriorating international security environment caused by weak and failing states; the emergence and diffusion of power to non-state actors; and a global war against terrorism.

These trends and others have caused the nature and location of conflicts to be unpredictable and created a broad spectrum of new threats within dynamic strategic and operational environments. The combination of these influences is forcing a transformation, not only in our new weapons systems and platforms, but also in the organizations, systems and processes used to develop and manage the Army.

Consequently, the very systems that this book describes and explains are undergoing profound changes responding to both external and internal factors. Many of these organizations, systems and processes were undergoing dramatic changes as this text was being written.

Changing large organizations with well-developed cultures embedded in established hierarchical bureaucracies is incredibly difficult. The mere existence of functioning complex organizational systems and embedded processes tends to resist change. The Army's systems and processes outlined herein are no exception.

Within the current unprecedented organizational context, these processes can be more likely to impede than to facilitate change as the Army struggles to incorporate flexible and adaptive processes that will reduce the bureaucracy, inspire creativity and rapidly incorporate technological, cognitive, and organizational innovations. Nevertheless, the Army must continue to "run" even if with systems and processes in need of major revision.

By describing these systems with this text, the US Army War College does not intend to advocate their continued use nor indirectly resist their modification or wholesale reform. Instead, the text is intended to be a reference for educating our leaders so that they may make informed decisions on how these organizations, systems, and processes work; hence how they can and should be changed to better serve our soldiers and our nation.

This book should provide a basis of understanding that empowers continued change and the eventual transformation in "How the Army Runs."

Multiple copies of the 2007-2008 text can be ordered directly from the Department of Command, Leadership, and Management To keep shipping costs down each order must be for a minimum of 25 copies. You may request copies by contacting the DCLM Information Management Officer.

Cost of the 26th edition of "How The Army Runs" will be: $5.00 each for a CD ROM Version.

Payment for additional copies of this CD must be by Military Interdepartment Purchase Request (MIPR) sent to our local Finance Activity. See To Send a MIPR for further information.

Due to the increasing cost for printing, hard copies of this publication will not be offered.

We encourage those practitioners who use this text to help contribute to its continued development and improvement. Please send your recommendations for changes and improvements to the Department of Command, Leadership, and Management; U.S. Army War College, Carlisle Pennsylvania 17013-5240, ATTN: Editor, How The Army Runs.

You may also send an E-mail to the HTAR Editor

Periodic updates to HTAR 2007 can be viewed by clicking on this link or clicking on "Important Updates" on the main menu above.