This manual, Army Doctrine Publication ADP 3-37 Protection December 2018, provides guidance on protection and the protection warfighting function. It establishes the protection principles for commanders and staffs who are responsible for planning and executing protection in support of unified land operations. The synchronization and integration of protection tasks enable commanders to safeguard bases, secure routes, and protect forces. The principal audience for ADP 3-37 is commanders and staffs. Commanders and staffs of Army headquarters serving as joint task force or multinational headquarters should also refer to applicable joint or multinational doctrine concerning the range of military operations and joint or multinational forces. In addition, trainers and educators throughout the Army will use this manual as a doctrinal reference for protection. This manual builds on the collective knowledge and wisdom gained through recent operations, numerous lessons learned, and doctrine revisions throughout the Army. It is rooted in time-tested principles and fundamentals, while accommodating new technologies and organizational changes. The following are brief chapter summaries and changes to ADP 3-37: • Chapter 1 defines and examines the role of protection and establishes protection as a warfighting function. This chapter also identifies the primary tasks of protection with changes to the previous primary protection tasks. • Chapter 2 expands on the discussion of the 12 primary tasks of the protection warfighting function. The protection warfighting function enables freedom of action by preserving combat power through the integration of protection capabilities. This chapter also includes additional protection tasks that commanders and staffs should consider integrating throughout their protection plans. • Chapter 3 describes how planning is the first step toward effective protection. Through planning, commanders and staffs identify what the command must accomplish, when and where it must be done and, most importantly, why it must be accomplished—the purpose for the operation. • Chapter 4 discusses how protection during preparation activities is a continuous and enduring activity. During preparation activities, the protection focus is on deterring enemy or adversary actions that would affect combat power and on how the integration of protection tasks safeguards friendly forces, civilians, and infrastructure. • Chapter 5 discusses how the execution of protection is continuous and must occur throughout all operations to shape, operations to prevent, large-scale ground combat operations, and operations to consolidate gains, with a focus on deterring and preventing the enemy, adversaries, or hazards from actions that affect the force. Effective execution is aided by seizing the initiative through action and accepting prudent risk to exploit opportunities to gain positions of relative advantage.
