Tenets Of Unified Land Operations

Adapting the consideration of the factors resulting in the loss of the Roman army to practical terms provides a template for commanders to use when planning future operations. These lessons fall under several aspects of current United States Army Unified Land Operations doctrine, namely the Tenets of Unified Land Operations (ULO), Warfighting Functions, and Mutual Support.
The first tenet of ULO is flexibility. Hannibal’s on the spot decision to establish a hasty ambush demonstrates the importance of allowing leaders the ability to utilize creative thinking and adapt to changing conditions or enemy actions. This flexibility can provide initiative that can weigh heavily in the results of a skirmish, battle, campaign, or war. The importance
Prior to the battle, Hannibal established a decoy encampment to lure in the Roman army. This act demonstrates a component of Mission Command: Conduct military deception. The ability to understand the enemy force’s decision making process and Warfighting Functions allows a commander to setup a scenario that would appear reasonable to the enemy commander. This deception should be realistic enough that the enemy commander believes in the deception because it falls in line with their understanding of the friendly commander’s capabilities, doctrine, and behavior. Hannibal’s ability to maneuver and employ direct fires displays precedence for Movement and Maneuver Warfighting Function. Having a greater number of forces nor having a superiorly equipped force equate to a guaranteed victory. A commander must understand the best method for maneuver elements into contact with enemy forces and those troops must be trained, willing, and able to effectively engage the enemy in combat. Furthermore, as displayed by the Roman army, the proper implementation of reconnaissance and surveillance assets is critical to providing a commander with immediate information that is critical to their decision making process. While the use of scouts would have provided Consul Gaius-Flaminius warning of Hannibal’s ambush, the use of the Intelligence Warfighting Function would have provided specific information that answered his intelligence requirements. Commanders must establish a method for identifying intelligence gaps and support the means to complete their analytical picture of the battlefield, their enemies, and additional factors that influence the outcome of an