Deciding what Has to be Done

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This paper deals with the writing of doctrine and focuses on the efforts of General DePuy, the first TRADOC commander, to forge a coherent fighting doctrine for an increasingly complex Army in a time of turmoil. While the author praises DePuy's emphasis on doctrine and doctrinal change, he charges DePuy with creating a document that failed to engender confidence and thus had to be replaced. Nevertheless, DePuy's important manual revealed a new role for doctrine and sparked a doctrinal renaissance int he Army that led directly to today's widely accepted AirLandBattle doctrine. This demonstrates that a well- conceived doctrine is critical to the Army and the nation, describes why doctrine is so difficult to formulate, places doctrine at the center of peacetime professionalism, and admonishes the Army not to become complacent about the contents of its field manuals.