text: Operations During Armed Conflict
  PHYSICAL ADVANTAGES
  6-25. Friendly forces require physical advantages to defeat enemy forces and occupy land areas, exert control
  over lines of communications, and protect the physical infrastructure used to attain information and human
  advantages. Throughout armed conflict, leaders seek physical advantages that include—
  (cid:122) Position.
  (cid:122) Range.
  (cid:122) Speed of movement.
  (cid:122) Technologically superior capabilities.
  (cid:122) Terrain and weather.
  6-26. Positional advantage occurs when one force’s location facilitates its ability to exploit an enemy
  weakness. For example, a force positioned to attack the flank of an enemy defense oriented in a different
  direction is an advantage because it causes enemy forces to reposition and negates some of the benefits of a
  prepared defense. Gaining this advantage typically requires maneuver and involves assuming risk to a
  formation or in another part of the assigned area.
  6-27. Friendly forces may enjoy a range advantage, particularly when employing joint capabilities. Superior
  range can enable the delivery of effects for which an enemy force has no immediate answer. Range advantage
  can also apply to distances friendly forces can move relative to enemy forces, particularly when friendly
  forces can do so quickly.
  6-28. A higher speed of movement relative to enemy forces creates an advantage when leaders exploit it to
  move faster than enemy forces can effectively react or reposition. Speed of movement enables most other
  physical advantages—when employed with judgment. Speed mitigates risk and affords protection when units
  are closing with enemy forces while in range of enemy fires capabilities. The faster a unit closes with the
  enemy, the shorter the exposure. However, focusing on speed without applying judgment can cause units to
  blunder into enemy engagement areas and suffer heavy losses.
  6-29. Leaders exploit technological advantages while directing course of action development and schemes
  of maneuver. New technological advantages do not always have to be new pieces of equipment. Using old
  technology or combining Army and joint capabilities in new and novel ways is often effective in gaining
  advantages.
  6-30. Terrain and weather often provide advantages, especially in terms of mobility and countermobility.
  Leaders use high-speed avenues of approach to increase the speed of movement. They use severely restrictive
  terrain to reduce the mobility of enemy armored formations. In the offense, leaders use terrain to conceal
  their movement. In the defense, they use reverse slopes to provide cover and concealment. In the offense or
  defense, rain helps infantry reduce the noise of dismounted movement through wooded areas. Limited
  visibility periods help conceal battle positions and friendly movements from enemy reconnaissance efforts.
  INFORMATION ADVANTAGES
  6-31. Information advantages invariably overlap with and emanate from physical and human advantages. To
  gain an information advantage, units first require a physical or human advantage. Army forces create and
  exploit information advantages by acting through the physical and human dimensions of an operational
  environment. Leaders combine information advantages with other advantages to understand the situation,
  decide, and act faster than enemy forces. Examples of information advantages during armed conflict
  include—
  (cid:122) The ability to access enemy C2 systems to disrupt, degrade, or exploit enemy information.
  (cid:122) Opportunities created by deception operations to achieve surprise and thwart enemy targeting.
  (cid:122) The ability to mask electromagnetic signatures.
  (cid:122) The ability to integrate and synchronize friendly forces in denied or degraded environments
  through use of redundant communications.
  (cid:122) The ability to rapidly share information with domestic and international audiences to counter
  enemy malign narratives.