text: FM 7-100.1________________________________________________________________________________
  ENEMY, THREAT, AND OPFOR
  Before going further into the COE, the contemporary OPFOR, and the intended
  uses of this manual, it may be useful to define some key terms and the distinc-
  tions among them. It is important to distinguish among the terms enemy, threat,
  and OPFOR and to use them correctly.
  ENEMY
  From the U.S. perspective, an enemy is an individual, group of individuals (or-
  ganized or not organized), paramilitary or military force, national entity, or na-
  tional alliance that is in opposition to the United States, its allies, or multina-
  tional partners. In other words, the enemy is whoever is actually opposing the
  United States in a particular conflict.3 Thus, this term is synonymous with ad-
  versary or opponent.
  THREAT
  A potential adversary is sometimes designated as a threat. In this sense, the
  Army defines threat as “any specific foreign nation or organization with inten-
  tions and military capabilities that suggest it could become an adversary or chal-
  lenge the national security interests of the United States or its allies.” Once hos-
  tilities actually begin, the threat becomes the enemy.
  OPPOSING FORCE
  An Opposing Force (OPFOR) is a training tool that should allow the U.S. Army to
  train against a challenging and plausible sparring partner that represents the
  wide range of possible opponents the Army could face in actual conflict. It en-
  ables training of all arms of the Army and prepares the Army for potential
  combat operations.4
  During the road to war leading up to events in a training scenario, the OPFOR
  may play the role of a “threat” (potential enemy) that is on the verge of becoming
  an enemy. However, the actual training event usually deals with a state of hos-
  tilities. Thus, once hostilities begin in the training event, the OPFOR acts as the
  “enemy” of the U.S. force in the training environment.5
  During the Cold War period, the Army employed OPFORs based on specific real-
  world threats. However, the Army needs a different type of OPFOR to meet its
  training requirements for the COE.
  3
  This definition of enemy is from the U.S. point of view. After this Introduction, the chapters of this manual address
  their topics from the OPFOR point of view. So, friendly refers to the OPFOR and its allies, and enemy refers to the
  enemy of the OPFOR, which may be an opponent within its own country or region or an extraregional opponent
  (normally the United States or a U.S.-led coalition).
  4
  Although the OPFOR is primarily a training tool, it may be used for other purposes. For example, some combat de-
  velopment activities that do not require simulation of a specific real-world potential adversary may use an OPFOR to
  portray the “threat” or “enemy.”
  5
  From the OPFOR point of view, its leadership plans and develops forces and methods to deal with one or more
  threats to its own interests, goals, or survival.