THE ARMY’S CORE COMPETENCIES

In October 2011, the United States Army published doctrine espousing its newest core competencies: Combined Arms Maneuver (CAM) and Wide Area Security (WAS). The use of these terms is neither academic nor arbitrary as they are required by US Code Title 10, Department of Defense Directives, defense acquisitions, and joint doctrine. The currently espoused Army core competencies are not based on business theory and therefore fail to provide the same value that businesses realize. Improperly identifying core competencies places the Army at risk of expending precious resources and time towards the wrong assets and strategies. Placing core competencies in Army operations doctrine only exacerbates the poor adaptation of business theory. The Army’s difficulty in identifying core competencies indicates the need for developing the theory that includes definitions and methods of identification. If the Army can correctly identify its core competencies, it can better manage capabilities in a resource constrained environment and design strategies and approaches that capitalize on organizational strengths.