Book excerpt: The U.S. Army War College (USAWC) is proud to present the 28th Edition of How the Army Runs: A Senior Leader Reference Handbook, 2011-2012. Publication of this text at this time, when the Army has been at war for almost a decade, has almost completed restructuring of its operating force, and is addressing the structure of the generating force, as well as completing formidable base closure and restationing actions, gives credence to the enduring truth that in order to be successful the Army must sustain and improve itself while it is fully committed to the Nation's bidding. The systems and processes documented and explained in this work are designed to do just that. This text was prepared under the direction of the faculty of the Department of Command, Leadership, and Management. It is intended to be used in an academic environment during the study of the systems and processes used to develop and sustain trained and ready combat forces to be used by the Combatant Commanders.