1. Background.
a. The Army uses lists of functions and tasks as a starting point for evaluating and developing
doctrine, training, organizations, leader development, and materiel. Thee lists describe the combat
activities performed by Army soldiers, systems, or units. As a result, these lists provide a basis for
establishing the performance standards necessary for the successful execution of Army missions or
operations. While many such lists have been prepared to support specific analysis efforts, no common
framework of combat functions and generic tasks have been established in TRADOC, or the Army, to
aid these efforts.
b. The Blueprint of the Battlefield was designed for use in combat development studies. It is
applicable to studies and analyses of battles and engagements, campaigns and major operations, and
strategic plans and objectives. Since the Blueprint provides standard definitions for functions, it can
also be used to assist in the development of doctrine and training.
c. The Blueprint represents those functions performed by the Army at various echelons. The
Blueprint is intended to apply to military operations across the operational continuum consisting of
peacetime competition, conflict, and war; however, it does not apply to military actions short of war,
although many activities related to military actions short of war are contained in the Blueprint. The
Blueprint is generic; its component functions and genetic tasks apply across branches and proponents
and it is applicable for all types of missions and under any set of conditions on the battlefield. It is the
TRADOC standard for battlefield function and generic tactical task specification, nomenclature, and
2. Organization.
a. The functional structure of the Blueprint breaks down the operating systems into more
specific functions, subfunctions, and generic tasks. These functions specify what the force does on the
battlefield rather than how the force does it or when. Table 2-1 lists the seven BOS:
b. Description of the seven BOS:
(1) Maneuver. The maneuver BOS is the employment of forces through movement and
direct fires in combination with fire support to achieve a position of advantage against the enemy. The
Maneuver BOS includes indirect fire systems such as small arms, tanks, and attack helicopter fires. It
does not include indirect fires that make up the fire support BOS.
(2) Fire Support. The fire support BOS uses target acquisition data, indirect fire weapons,
and armed aircraft (less attack helicopters) against ground targets in support of maneuver forces. The
fire support BOS includes artillery, mortar, other nonline-of-sight fires, naval gunfire, close air support,
and electronic counter measures.
2-2
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