text: The Brigade Combat Team and the Operational Environment
  warfare had a paralytic effect on Western decision-makers—so much so that Russia was
  able to achieve its strategic and political objectives before Western leaders could mount a
  credible response.
  Various
  UNDERSTANDING THE OPERATIONAL ENVIRONMENT
  2-25. Interests are motivations that provide insight to perceived rights, influences, responsibilities, and
  power. Interests influence how populations perceive complexity, physical security, political systems,
  economic influence, tribal and religious identity, self-serving, or a combination of two or more. The BCT
  commander and staff develop an understanding of operational variables—PMESII-PT and mission
  variables—METT-TC through information collection to enhance situational awareness and understanding of
  competing interests. At the tactical level, intelligence operations, reconnaissance, security operations, and
  surveillance are the four-primary means of information collection. The commander and staff can frame a
  problem if they understand competing interests within the area of operations. They seek to understand the
  motivations and recognize that each interest has multiple perspectives. The commander and staff consider
  political interests from multiple perspectives to operate effectively under conditions of complexity and in
  close contact with enemies and populations. Understanding interests assist the commander and staff to
  synchronize information-related capabilities that shape the information environment and to modify behaviors
  to further sustainable objectives.
  2-26. Understanding interests requires analysis of operational variables and mission variables within a
  particular region. Understanding requires an appreciation of the operational environment’s complex,
  humanistic,and political environs within the context of war as a contest of wills. The BCT commander and
  staff must develop an understanding of the local audience’s cultural communication techniques to
  communicate with them effectively. They also must understand that the most important aspect of cultural
  communication is how the population receives the information rather than how the unit transmits the
  information. Determination of valued interests within an area of operations provides options for the BCT to
  establish programs that incentivize cooperation leading to mission accomplishment. Comprehension of
  interests and anticipation of ethical risks allows understanding to implement disincentives that seek to coerce
  and persuade adversaries,enemies,and neutral parties with interest’scounter to the objectives the BCT and
  higher have established. The understanding and acknowledgement of interests help to frame
  information-related capabilities in future operations.
  2-27. Efforts to understand interests begin before deployment (see paragraph 2-141). Country studies,
  analysis of the social demographics, constructs of local, sub-national and national governance, and
  understanding of key personalities and organizations within the BCT’s future area of operations provide
  baseline knowledge to increase situational awareness and identify potential areas of friction before
  deployment. The BCT commander and staff consider operational variables and mission variables within their
  area of operations to gain an understanding of the interests and motivations particular to different groups and
  individuals to enhance situational awareness. Unified action partners and Army special operations forces are
  key resources that the BCT uses to develop situational understanding to shape efforts that lead to a
  sustainable,secure environment. Analysis of these resources allows informed leaders to identify information
  gaps and develop COAs that increase their situational understanding within their area of operations. The
  common operational picture—a display of relevant information within a commander’s area of interest
  tailored to the user’s requirements and based on common data and information shared by more than one
  command (ADP6-0)—is key to achieving and maintaining situational understanding. Although the common
  operational picture (COP) is ideally a single display,it may include more than one display and information
  in other forms,such as graphical representations or written reports.BCTs primarily leverage the Command
  Post of the Future (known as CPOF),or its replacement the Command Post Computing Environment (known
  as CPCE) to establish a digital COP.