Fm 5-0 Operations

Front 1

What is an Operational Environment?

Back 1

An operational environment is a composite of the conditions, circumstances, and influences that affect the
employment of capabilities and bear on the decisions of the commander (JP 3-0). An operational
environment includes physical areas (air, land, maritime, and space domains) and cyberspace. It also
includes the information that shapes conditions in those areas as well as enemy, adversary, friendly, and
neutral aspects relevant to operations.

Front 2

Describe Full Spectrum Operations

Back 2

1-11. The Army’s operational concept is full spectrum operations: Army forces combine offensive,
defensive, and stability or civil support operations simultaneously as part of an interdependent joint force to
seize, retain, and exploit the initiative, accepting prudent risk to create opportunities to achieve decisive
results. They employ synchronized action—lethal and nonlethal—proportional to the mission and informed
by a thorough understanding of all variables of the operational environment.