text: Chapter 4
  OPLANs for large-scale combat operations. Forward deployed BCTs assess and improve protection
  measures against adversary capabilities and promote interoperability with host-nation tactical units. While
  most of a rotational brigade’s training occurs in the continental United States and does not involve partner-
  nation forces, brigades anticipate and plan how to integrate with host-nation forces. Familiarity with agreed-
  to coalition or bilateral interoperability standards helps increase alliance or coalition capability and minimizes
  the time necessary for learning during execution. (See FM 3-96 for information on BCTs and FM 3-16 for
  information about multinational operations.)
  CONSOLIDATING GAINS DURING COMPETITION
  4-97. Army forces continuously consolidate gains to maintain an operational environment that is
  advantageous to U.S. strategic interests. Experience proves that what Army forces do during competition
  helps ensure stability and reduces the potential for manmade crises or armed conflict throughout a region,
  even in locations where no previous combat has occurred. Examples of consolidating gains during
  competition range from transportation system improvements (including port, airfield, and rail lines of
  communications), increasing theater supply stocks, intelligence cooperation, and providing Army medical
  personnel to support a combatant command’s humanitarian and civic assistance activities. Army forces
  contributing to humanitarian relief efforts with allies and partners help cement existing international
  relationships or set conditions for new ones in other places.
  4-98. Army forces consolidate gains most effectively by maintaining a persistent or permanent presence in
  a theater of operations. This presence enables the cultivation of relationships on a predictable and reliable
  basis and provides Army forces a high degree of regular access to allies and partners. The enduring results
  of these activities help ambassadors, country teams, and JFCs gain a greater degree of influence with allies
  and partners as they pursue mutually beneficial objectives. In addition to this increased influence, Army
  consolidating gains activities contribute to joint efforts to support deterrence.
  4-99. Consolidation of gains during competition following armed conflict or crisis is significantly different
  than during steady-state competition. In areas that have not seen recent armed conflict or a disruptive crisis,
  Army forces consolidate gains by reinforcing the success of steady-state competition activities. They do this
  by following through on what was begun earlier in consistent ways that provide predictability to allies and
  partners. In most cases, these activities will be indistinguishable from other competition activities designed
  to build partner capabilities and improve other advantages relative to threat forces.
  4-100. Consolidating gains following armed conflict requires significant operations that, if not properly
  conducted, could result in a return to crisis or conflict. These efforts include information collection and
  intelligence analysis to understand threats, their support from the population, and what options are available
  to defeat them. Consolidating gains also includes stability tasks related to providing security, food, water,
  shelter, and medical treatment to the population. When appropriate, Army forces then work to restore or
  rebuild civil institutions and to transition security and stability tasks to those institutions. (See FM 3-07 and
  FM 3-57 for additional details on stability operations and governance.)
  4-101. When immediate concerns are addressed after a crisis or armed conflict, the theater army and
  supporting forces focus most of their efforts on theater strategic consolidation of gains. They work with the
  theater’s other components, the combatant command, interagency partners (primarily the Department of
  State), partner nations, and other unified action partners to develop and achieve long-term objectives. In
  general, these consolidation of gains activities are less intense and occur over longer periods of time. Army
  forces build on the success of past conflicts by conducting targeted engagements with unified action partners.
  Examples of this include routine engagements with Republic of Korea, Japanese, and NATO forces by
  forward-positioned and rotational units. (See ATP 3-93 for a detailed overview of routine theater army
  activities to consolidate gains during competition.)
  4-102. Peace operations are a means of consolidating gains. Peace operations are multiagency and
  multinational crisis response and limited contingency operations involving all instruments of national power
  with military missions to contain conflict, redress the peace, and shape the environment to support
  reconciliation and rebuilding and facilitate the transition to legitimate governance (JP 3-07.3). They usually
  occur under agreements brokered through organizations like the United Nations or through regional bodies
  like the African Union. (See JP 3-07.3 and ATP 3-07.31 for additional details on peace operations.)