FM 1, The Army, is The Army’s capstone doctrinal manual prepared under the direction of the Chief of Staff, Army. It tells us who we are, what we do, and how we do it. It points the way to the future and establishes doctrine for employing land power in support of the national security strategy and the national military strategy. It also delineates The Army’s purpose, roles, and functions as established by the Constitution; the Congress in Title 10, USC; and the Department of Defense Directive 5100.1. FM 1 is the Chief of Staff, Army’s guidance to The Army.
FM 1’s audience is broad. It includes the National Command Authorities; Congress; Office of the Secretary of Defense; joint staff; combatant commanders; other services; officers, noncommissioned officers, and Soldiers of The Army; and Department of the Army civilians.
The Army provides combatant commanders with trained and ready forces capable of decisive action across the range of military operations and spectrum of conflict. Therefore, Army doctrine must support and be consistent with joint doctrine to ensure the full integration of Army land power capabilities into both joint and multinational military operations. FM 1 connects Army doctrine to joint doctrine as expressed in the relevant joint doctrinal publications, especially Joint Publication 1, Joint Warfare of the Armed Forces of the United States, and Joint Publication 3-0, Doctrine for Joint Operations. FM 1 also links the national security strategy and the national military strategy with The Army’s operational doctrine in FM 3-0, Operations (formerly FM 100-5); The Army’s training doctrine in FM 7-0 Training (formerly FM 25-100); The Army’s leadership doctrine in FM 6-22, Leadership (formerly FM 22-100); and The Army’s logistics doctrine in FM 4-0, Combat Service Support (formerly FM 100-10).
FM 1 refers to the United States Army in two ways. First, "the Army" refers to the history of the United States Army—the Army that has rendered magnificent service to the American people during war and peace. Second, "The Army" refers to the United States Army of today, one that looks to the future. All members of The Army—active and reserve component Soldiers, civilians, family members, retirees, and veterans—celebrate The Army’s unity of purpose and bring to it their commitment to serve the Nation.
The Army Team is more than just the Soldiers who wear the uniform and the civilians who support them. The Army Team includes the family members of our Soldiers and civilians, as well as our veterans and retirees. In the last 30 years, the number of married Soldiers has risen dramatically, making family readiness an increasingly important consideration in all aspects of Army life. The Army’s veterans are Americans who have served their country with honor and have made invaluable contributions to The Army and the Nation. Though they no longer wear the uniform, many still serve in supporting capacities. All have made sacrifices, but The Army is committed to improving the well-being of the service to a level commensurate with the society it serves. For many, soldiering continues to be an affair of the heart.