Over the past 12 years of persistent conflict the application of the fundamentals of reconnaissance and security has slowly and progressively waned. Our execution of combined arms maneuver and wide area security has evolved, yet in order to defeat an adaptive enemy we have modified our training, our doctrine, and the way we fight to meet our enemy face to face. While our combined arms forces remain highly effective at identifying and defeating insurgent networks we are less capable of defeating traditional and emerging threats. History teaches that the application of fundamentals increases agility and maximizes flexibility. We must return to the basics and to systems of training, education and doctrine that reflect a balanced approach to war fighting and develops an Army capable of fighting and wining the Nation's wars in any arena.

As we train to defeat future threats and attempt to predict the modern complex operating environment, the fundamentals of reconnaissance and security will remain the base of our training and execution of combined arms maneuver and wide area security. Reviewing multiple after action reviews from recent decision action training rotations at our Combat Training Centers, we determined that our formations do not fully understand how to apply the fundamentals of reconnaissance and security throughout the operations process. We believe this deficiency is a result of a lack of education, training, and experience. In order to reintroduce our Soldiers to these fundamentals we must begin with an information campaign to increase awareness.