Military Engineer Contribution to Operational Art: The Hybrid Threat Environment

Abstract

Abstract : The hybrid threat construct is the future model that the US Army will use to focus their training efforts. Units will develop techniques and capabilities to defeat this model, both at home station and Combat Training Center (CTC) rotations. Although considerable discourse highlights that this is a new way of war, history says otherwise. The hybrid threat concept is not a new form of warfare; history marks multiple examples and variations of this construct. From Napoleon's Peninsular Campaign (1808 to 1814) in Spain to the 2006 Hezbollah-Israeli War, hybrid threats are prevalent on the battlefield. Furthermore, military engineers served with distinction in hybrid threat environments, significantly enhancing a force's capability in a conflict. Military engineers are capable of supporting operations against a hybrid threat, through synchronized and simultaneous actions. The integration of combat, general, and geospatial engineering along with the engineer line of efforts will support operations in this environment. Furthermore, military engineers enable the application of operational art, which supports commanders as they combat hybrid threats to achieve their desired state.