text: Understanding an Operational Environment
  allows for coordinated large-scale attacks even by dispersed organizations. (For additional information on
  the information environment, see FM 3-13.)
  INFRASTRUCTURE
  2-37. The infrastructure variable is composed of the facilities (buildings and equipment), personnel, and
  services needed for the functioning of a community or society. Societies have different infrastructure needs.
  For example, the expectation for hours of available electricity vary widely. Counterinsurgents try to access
  infrastructure needs to meet the expectation of the user, not their own expectations.
  2-38. Infrastructure is also interrelated with other variables. For example, the development of a highway
  system will affect the ability of people to move and interact with others. Creating a society in which
  humans can easily move based on economic needs or simple desires greatly increases the variety of groups
  a person will meet. These interactions and new relationships can change how a person views the world and
  change that person’s values. A communications system, such as a cellular network, can have the same
  effect. These systems allow for communications outside of one’s areas and allow the transmission of new
  ideas and concepts.
  2-39. Commanders and staffs conducting counterinsurgency operations must consider the relationship
  between infrastructure and the economic variable. An effective infrastructure can allow for the easy
  movement of people, goods, and ideas. Many businesses require infrastructure. While it is true that a local
  population may not expect 24 hours of electricity a day, a manufacturing plant may require it. Moreover,
  infrastructure such as schools can increase the human capital in an area and drive economic growth.
  2-40. Infrastructure also has an effect on the military variable. Host-nation forces can use a good
  transportation system, but so can an insurgency. A road system provides a means of transportation for
  everyone, not simply the population and government. Moreover, infrastructure may be important for the
  population and the government’s role in maintaining civil control and security. An attack on the
  infrastructure may undermine the government’s legitimacy in an area. However, the opposite is also true.
  An attack on infrastructure may also undermine the insurgency if the population places blame on the
  insurgency and turns towards to government.
  PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT
  2-41. The physical environment includes the geography and man-made structures, as well as the climate
  and weather, in an area of operations. The physical environment affects the tactics and operations of both
  insurgents and counterinsurgents. Extreme conditions, such as in nations in higher elevations, can make
  insurgent movements difficult in the winter. The movement and the tactics of any military force will be
  affected by the physical environment of its area of operations. A physical environment will influence
  insurgency sanctuaries, the ability of an insurgency to hide resources, and the ability of an insurgency to
  mass forces. Understanding a physical environment is essential to understanding an insurgency. (See
  chapter 4 for further discussion on how a physical environment relates to an insurgency.)
  2-42. A physical environment also relates to the other variables. A mountainous, landlocked country will
  have a difficult time building the infrastructure needed for large-scale international trade. Moreover, if the
  physical environment precludes the ability to easily produce an excess of food, it is difficult to divert much
  labor to other enterprises. This can hamper the development of a highly specialized economy. An increase
  in food production will often predate a major increase in industrial production.
  TIME
  2-43. Time describes the timing and duration of activities, events, or conditions within an operational
  environment, as well as how various actors in an operational environment perceive the timing and duration.
  Time also has an interrelated relationship with other variables. For example, a multinational coalition may
  see its efforts in a counterinsurgency as limited by national objectives or by the public pressure. In other
  words, outside parties can always leave a counterinsurgency. On the other hand, for the host nation, the
  insurgents and the population in the struggle are less constrained by time than a multinational coalition. An