This Means War Defending MDO
Mar 18, 2026
Colonel (retired) Richard "Rich" Creed, retired Army colonel and longtime doctrine author, discusses the evolution of multi-domain operations from 2018 to FM 3-0 (2025). He compares U.S. and NATO concepts, explains why doctrine offers guiding handrails rather than playbooks, and unpacks command, control and the five threat-informed approaches shaping modern operational thinking.
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MDO Is An Army Operational Concept
- MDO is the U.S. Army's operational concept that shapes doctrine across the competition continuum.
- Colonel (Retired) Rich Creed says it evolved from AirLand Battle and focuses on roles below and above armed conflict, not a break from the past.
Doctrine Distills Concept Into What The Army Can Execute
- FM 3-0 turned the 2018 MDO concept into executable doctrine for the Army while other services kept complementary concepts.
- Creed explains doctrine excludes strategic political decisions like basing and instead focuses on what the Army can execute.
NATO Wrote A Different MDO Without Army Input
- NATO developed its own MDO-style concept without consulting Fort Leavenworth, creating different definitions and logic.
- Creed recounts finding NATO's parallel work in 2023 and the confusion it caused between alliance-level and land-force doctrine.
