The Stryker brigade combat team (SBCT) infantry battalion is designed to be a full-spectrum, early-entry combat force. It has utility in all operational environments against all projected future threats. As part of the SBCT, the infantry battalion possesses significant utility for divisions and corps engaged in a major theater war; however, the SBCT is optimized to meet the challenges of smaller-scale contingencies. Given current trends, domestic factors, and the worldwide potential for various forms of conflict, the United States can expect to remain heavily engaged on a global basis. The United States will likely respond to serious threats to its national interests from failed and failing states, from transnational entities, and potentially major military competitors as well as from regional or state-centered threats. The proliferation of information and weapons technologies, coupled with asymmetric application of conventional and nonmilitary capabilities, may enable even regional adversaries to oppose United States interests and military forces effectively. This manual provides the battalion commander and staff with the doctrinal base to ensure the SBCT infantry battalion's versatility across the full spectrum of potential operations. The Stryker brigade combat team infantry battalion optimizes organizational effectiveness while balancing lethality, mobility, and survivability against requirements for rapid strategic deployability. The infantry battalion includes a reconnaissance platoon, imbedded human intelligence (HUMINT), and three robust combined-arms infantry companies. These organic elements ensure the battalion's versatility across the full range of potential requirements, from providing the security necessary to promote stability and conduct operations during peacetime military engagements to conducting offensive and defensive operations in a major-theater war against localized threats.