This publication is the Army's capstone manual for fire support. It embodies
the doctrinal tenets for the employment of fire support in the AirLand
Battle. It establishes a basis for understanding fire support as an essential
element of combat power.
The aim of this publication is to establish the principles of fire support and to describe the fire support system in terms of its major components, functions, and required products. The scope of this publication is broad in its focus in order to deal with the fire support system as a complete entity. It gives equal treatment to all of the diverse assets that are designated as fire support resources. The theme of this publication is that the successful delivery of fire depends on the synchronization of all forms of fire support assets with the maneuver, engineer, logistics, electronic warfare (EW), air defense artillery (ADA), and intelligence plans for one purpose. This is to place the correct type and volume of fire at the right time and on the right target to ensure the success of the force commander's battle plan.
This publication provides the foundation for the development of subordinate fire support doctrine, force design, materiel acquisition, professional education, and individual and unit training. As the manual of fire support principles, it is designed to be used in conjunction with three other fire support publications. These manuals, which are to be published, are:
- FM 6-20-30, Fire Support in Corps and Division Operations.
- FM 6-20-40, Fire Support in Brigade Operations (Heavy).
- FM 6-20-50, Fire Support in Brigade Operations (Light).
These three publications will demonstrate how the principles of fire support contained in this publication will be applied and practiced at the various levels of command. For this reason, they are referred to as fire support "techniques" manuals.
This publication, as the capstone manual, establishes for the artilleryman the basic principles of fire support. It should be used by commanders who must employ fire support within the context of the entire battle plan. The three fire support techniques manuals go into further detail to explain specific duties for those individuals who actually work within the fire support system. However, this distinction is not meant to be an exclusive one. This capstone manual should be studied by those members of the combined arms team or other services who are responsible for the delivery of fires in support of ground combat operations.
The reader will find no radical doctrinal changes in this publication. The underlying principles of supporting the maneuver arms with fire and giving depth to the battle have origins which are rooted deep in the universal military experience. These principles are constant, and they will apply to future operations just as they apply to the present. Emerging technology and future missions and capabilities may change the methods of employing fire support as well as the degree by which fire support is balanced with maneuver. However, the basic premise for why we provide fire support will remain unchanged.
The new format of presenting fire support doctrine in a series of four manuals, as opposed to the single FM 6-20, does constitute a major modification in the packaging of fire support doctrine. This change is another significant step in the evolution of fire support doctrine which began in 1977 when FM 6-20 was changed from Field Artillery Tactics and Techniques to Fire Support for Combined Arms Operations.
The source document for FM 6-20 continues to be FM 100-5, Operations. This publication states that fire support includes mortars, field artillery, naval gunfire, Army aviation, and air-delivered weapons. It describes field artillery as the principal means of fire support available to the commander, and it charges the field artillery to integrate all available fire support into the commander's plan for the battle. FM 100-5 no longer refers to fire support as a single battlefield functional area. It now speaks of fire support in terms of several major functional areas. Among them are:
- Conventional, nuclear, and chemical fires.
- Tactical air operations.
- Joint suppression of enemy air defenses (J-SEAD).
These functional areas still comprise one separate fire support function. For this reason, commanders at both operational and tactical levels of warfare are responsible for ensuring that these functional areas become melded into a synchronized fire support effort. This is the ultimate challenge of fire support. FM 6-20 helps commanders and their fire support coordinators (FSCOORDs) meet this challenge by providing a clear and concise picture of fire support and why it must work as a unified system. This capstone manual lays the groundwork for determining why the many assets that make up the fire support system must function in harmony in producing fire support.
This publication, in addition to the adjunct techniques manuals of the FM 6-20 series, should be used with the following publications:
The proponent of this publication is HQ TRADOC. Submit changes for improving this publication on DA Form 2028 (Recommended Changes to Publications and Blank Forms) and forward it directly to:
Commandant
US Army Field Artillery School
ATTN: ATSF-DD
Fort Sill, Oklahoma 73503-5600
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