4-1. The Army creates doctrine for the conduct of operations that accounts for the Army’s view of the nature of war. We use taxonomies (the classification of things or concepts) to organize thoughts about the conduct of operations. They provide a conceptual framework to help Soldiers understand an operational environment; to organize and guide thinking about operations; to visualize how to move from the current state to the desired end state; to derive the tasks, missions, and other responsibilities assigned to units; and to assess both plans and the execution of operations. They are aids for thinking about and conducting operations. The terms of Army doctrine should facilitate, not constrain, that thinking.