Operations in the next 10 years
“So if that is the context of the debate, where do I, and my fellow Generals, want the Army to go over the next ten years? Critically, the start point of this journey is firmly rooted in the present. We will not be setting our aspirations for 2018 in a far flung technological age or in an ill defined strategic context. In a break from traditional defence planning, we would like to see planning go from today as the start point and work forward.”
Learning from Current Operations
“This may seem slightly at odds with current practice, but we must be flexible enough to take account of shifting current operations and to veer

and haul our capabilities and resources accordingly. We must get away from blue skies thinking and from programmes that take a generation to introduce current pressures do not give us that luxury.”
Cannot solve by Technology Alone
“Our operations in Afghanistan and Iraq have clearly demonstrated that even with integrated technology and systems, the mass and footprint given by numbers are an essential element of the future Army in other words we cannot get any smaller and I would argue strongly that we need to be bigger and to fully integrate our Regular and Territorial manpower focussed on most likely tasks.”

Focus on People
“…at the heart of that Army are the fighting people and their families which make up our overall capability. And, in all our discussion about concepts and structures, we must never lose sight of the fact that the constant between all types of warfare is that it is a brutal human activity. No amount of technology or capability will change that factor and it
must be at the forefront of our minds when we conduct our defence planning. We need the right number of people Regular and Territorial who are motivated, supported, rewarded and recognised for the key work they do.”
In summary, the “Plan, Design, Enable” approach to Land Force design can be focused on soldiers' needs and provide an evolutionary capability insertion process that is suitable to meet General Dannatt's and the British Army's vision on how they want the British Army to meet current and future operations that support national policy. The focus on the soldier as shown in the Land Force model is

key to his evolution. It is through the understanding and interpretation of dependencies of organisation, people, networks and systems that allows government to make key decisions on suitable solutions that meet the required PCTR criteria. Alignment to the deployment cycle is also critical because of the need to learn from contact with the enemy in a hostile environment and then to insert these lessons learnt quickly into the acquisition and programme decision making process. The current acquisition process focuses on developing the technical aspects of network and systems but not always in conjunction with evolving tactics and their required human decision processes. The processes outlined in this “Plan, Design, Enable” approach might help to provide a more coherent integration solution. The enemy is learning quickly and is adapting new technologies. One must allow the Land Force to stay adaptable, flexible and unpredictable through effective design that focuses on enabling and not inhibiting human qualities on the battlefield.