The Army's Role in Overcoming Anti-Access and Area Denial Challenges

Abstract : The U.S. military has become increasingly concerned about the challenges it could face in gaining access to an operational area. Given their global responsibilities, the U.S. Armed Forces must be prepared to deploy to a wide range of locations that include almost any type of terrain and confront adversaries that span the threat spectrum from very poorly armed bands to peer-level foes. Research indicates that, in most situations, anti-access challenges require a joint solution in which the capabilities of the different services can be brought to bear based on the threat and the mission. This study examined the nature of those future challenges and the Army's role as part of a larger joint or combined force. Anti-access (A2) challenges prevent or degrade the ability to enter an operational area. These challenges can be geographic, military, or diplomatic. Area denial (AD) refers to threats to forces within the operational area. As they relate to U.S. ground forces (the Army and Marine Corps), AD threats are characterized by the opponent's ability to obstruct the actions of U.S. forces once they have deployed. The purpose of the study was to examine the evolving anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) challenges that the U.S. military in general -- and the Army in particular -- would face in the 2012-2020 time frame. The research effort involved developing a variety of plausible scenarios in which joint and Army forces could be employed. Threats range from low- to high-intensity situations that would present a variety of challenges to the Army and the other services. These scenarios were used as the basis for Concept Options Group (COG) exercises (i.e., war games). These exercises led to important insights regarding A2/AD threats to U.S. forces, as well as how those threats might be countered. This report will be followed by a restricted-distribution document that explains in detail the scenarios and the specific issues that were identified by each of the COGs.