MCPP Flashcards
Types of Planning
force
planning and operational planning
Planning
art and science of envisioning a
desired future and laying out effective ways of bringing it about.
Process
Processes require inputs where situations may change • A process is flexible and has the ability to adjust depending on the situation • Planners should be comfortable with deviations to the planning process
Procedure
Procedures are routine and require few critical thinking skills • Procedures are a very clear and specific way to accomplish a task • Vehicle inspections are an example of a procedure conducting with the use of a checklist
force planning
planning associated with the creation and
maintenance of military capabilities. It supports the preparations for war,
such as the necessary planning to recruit, organize, train, educate, and equip
the military force.
types of operational planning
plans and combat orders
types of combat orders
operational (OPLAN or OPORD), fragmentary, warning
coupling
Coupling in general is a relative term referring to how closely two or more
actions in a plan interact
3 tenants of MCPP
top-down planning, single-battle concept, integrated planning
top-down planning
commander driving the planning process
from start to finish
single-battle concept
viewing everything both inside and outside
the area of operations as having an effect on one another. recognizes the interrelationship among dispersed units, both friendly and
adversary
areas considered in single-battle concept
Area of operations
Area of influence
Area of interest
AO
physical boundary which allows the commander to accomplish an assigned task. inherently 2D. Contiguous or non-contiguous.
Area of influence
area which the commander can affect through
maneuver, fires, and other actions. This area is usually geographically
defined on the limits of the commander’s organic weapon systems.
Area of interest
area of operations and the area of influence
but can extend far beyond the reach of the commander and well outside his
battlespace.
Integrated planning
disciplined approach to planning
through coordinated actions with all primary and subordinate units involved.
3 levels of planning
Conceptual, Functional, Detailed
Conceptual Planning
‘highest’ level of planning. Its
purpose is to establish aims, objectives, and intentions and broad schemes
Operational Art
the action
that links tactical actions to strategic purposes. It governs the deployment of
forces and the arrangement of operations to achieve objectives.
functional planning
operates between conceptual and detailed planning and involves elements of both. This level of planning is focused on developing
and designing supporting plans for discrete functional activities
Detailed Planning
lowest level of planning where the
subordinate planners must translate the broad concepts from conceptual
planning to executable tasks
Six steps of MCPP
- Problem framing
- Course of action development
- Course of action Wargaming
- Course of action comparison and decision
- Orders development
- Transition
PMESII
Political, Military, Economic, Social, Information,
and Infrastructure
Elements of Problem Framing
• Commander’s orientation (formerly known as the commander’s battlespace area evaluation (CBAE)) • Commander’s initial intent • Commander’s guidance • Task analysis
Commander’s Orientation
commander’s initial understanding of the
environment and the problem as presented to him.
Commander’s Initial Intent
his or her personal expression of the purpose
of the operation. Per the current doctrine, it is simply the purpose and endstate. future state should look like as it applies to the enemy, friendly forces, and the
environment
Commander’s Initial Guidance
It includes his initial thoughts on the
environment and his initial understanding of the problem. It should include
both friendly and enemy centers of gravity
Task Analysis
Task analysis is the process of breaking tasks down into specified, implied, and
essential tasks
Essential Task
Essential tasks can be either specified or implied in that they define
mission success and apply to the force as a whole. They must be successfully
completed to accomplish the mission. The mission statement will primarily
come from essential tasks.
Ongoing
Activities
- Intelligence preparation of the battlefield (IPB) product refinement
- Center of gravity (COG) analysis
- Red cell activities
- Green cell activities
- Refinement of staff estimates
- Battlespace refinement
- Resource shortfall identification
- Commander’s critical information requirements (CCIR) review/update
- Requests for information (RFIs)
COG Analysis
The staff conducts a COG analysis based on the understanding gained
through design and task analysis to identify or refine adversary and friendly
COGs and to determine which friendly and adversary weaknesses may
become critical vulnerabilities
Critical Vulnerability
some aspect of the
COG that is, or can be made, vulnerable to attack
Red Cell
assists the commander in assessing courses of action (COAs)
against a thinking enemy
Green Cell
considers the population to promote a better understanding of the
environment and the problem. It provides for the independent will of the
population, as well as provide considerations for non-DoD entities, such as
non-governmental organizations (NGOs)
CCIRs include
friendly
force information requirements and priority intelligence requirements
Problem Framing Brief
Situation update to include the area of operations, areas of interest and
influence, and the status of friendly forces
• Updated IPB products
• Higher’s mission and commander’s intent if possible.
• Task analysis (specified, implied, and essential tasks)
• Assumptions and limitations
• Resource short-falls
• COG analysis
• RFIs
• CCIRs
• Proposed mission statement (for the commander to approve)
• Warning order
Commander’s COA Guidance
Following the problem framing brief, the commander should articulate his
concept in a clear and concise expression of what he intends to accomplish
and how he plans to do it utilizing the available resources.
Decisive actions
those actions the commander deems necessary for
mission success.
Shaping Actions
These are actions which set conditions for decisive actions
Sustaining Actions
These actions are directed at friendly forces and are continuous. Planning is
an example of a sustaining action because it is necessary to occur throughout
an operation. Logistical support can also be considered a sustaining action
for the ground combat element.
COA DEV
develop
several options for the commander based on the guidance and discussion from problem framing
5 elements of a COA
FACDS Feasible Acceptable Complete Distinguishable Suitable
Suitable
Does the COA accomplish the purpose and tasks?
Does it comply with the commander’s guidance?
Feasible
Does the COA accomplish the mission within the
available time, space, and resources?
Acceptable
Is the COA proportional and worth the cost in
personnel, equipment, materiel, time involved, or
position?
Distinguishable
Does the COA differ significantly from the other
COAs?
Complete
Does the COA include all tasks to be accomplished?
Does it address the entire mission?
Establishing an initial COA
- Establish a battlefield framework
- Array initial forces
- Assign purpose then task
- Task organization
- Integrate
- Determine control measures
- Consider enemy
Establishing battlefield framework
breaking down the battlespaces into manageable aspects
-organize the battlespace spatially by dividing the AO into deep, close, and
rear areas as well as examining the spatial requirements for conducting
sustaining, shaping, and decisive actions
- assigning appropriate tasks along capabilities by identifying the
main effort, supporting efforts, reserve, and security
COA Refinement Products
- COA graphic and narrative
- task organization
- synchronization matrix
- supporting concepts
Commander’s Wargaming Guidance
This should be the final step of COA Dev. Here, the commander gives
his guidance, expectations, and what criteria he plans on using when
evaluating different COAs.
Examples of COA evaluation criteria
Casualties • Exploitation of enemy strengths/weaknesses against friendly strengths and weakness • Effectiveness of the destruction of the COG through the adversaries critical vulnerability • Effect of information operations • Concentration of combat power • Speed, surprise, and boldness • Mass and dispersion • Risk • Weighing the main effort
COA Wargame
The purpose of wargaming is to improve the plan. It examines and refines the
options in light of the enemy’s capabilities, potential action, and potential
reactions. I
Types of wargames
Formal and informal
Important aspects of an effective wargame
-Running estimates
• Event templates
• Recording method
• Both friendly and enemy COA’s to be wargamed
4 wargame methods
- Belt method
- Avenue-in-depth method
- Box method
- Sequence of essential tasks
Belt Method
conducted when events are expected to occur almost simultaneously. It is best utilized when the area of operations is broken down
into well-defined cross-compartments or when the enemy is deployed in
clearly defined echelons.
Avenue in depth
focuses on one avenue of approach at one time. It begins
with the main effort. This method is best for offensive operations or when
terrain inhibits mutual support.
Box method
focuses on a specific or critical area on the battlefield, like a raid
site, an objective, or a landing
Sequence of essential tasks
highlights the initial shaping actions necessary to establish a
sustainment capability and to engage enemy units in the deep battle area
5 steps of Orders Development
- Refine staff estimates and IPB products
- Preparation of the order or plan
- Orders reconciliation
- Orders crosswalk
- Commander’s approval of the plan
Orders Reconciliation
internal process during which the staff conducts a
detailed review of the entire order. The purpose of reconciliation is to
ensure the basic order and all the annexes, appendices, and other attachments
are complete and in agreement.
Orders Crosswalk
external process in which the staff compares its order
with the orders of higher, adjacent, and subordinate commanders to achieve
unity of effort and ensure the superior commander’s intent is met. Similarly,
confirmation briefs and rehearsal of concept (ROC)
Transition
-Conducts the internal transition drill or brief
• Conducts a confirmation brief
• Assists the commander in the execution of the ROC drill
• May provide a transition representative to the current operations section
Composition of OPT
-OPT Leader • Assistant OPT leaders/facilitators • Information Manager • Recorder(s) • Future Ops / Future Plans clerks (C2PC operation, slide prep, general admin) • Principal staff plans officers
OPT
task-organized planning element
that supports the commander and his staff’s decision-making process.
Through its diverse composition, the OPT promotes an integrated planning
effort that brings together the commander, his subordinate commanders, staff
officers, and those subject matter experts necessary to develop comprehensive
plans or orders
OPT considerations
-Time management (timeline/milestones/battle rhythm)
• Information management (ttps/best practices/information flow/info storage)
• Workspace preparation
-Briefing guidance
IPB Process
-Defining the operational environment
• Describing the effects on operations
• Evaluating the adversary
• Determining the adversary’s COAs
5 most important templates
- Modified combined obstacle overlay (MCOO)
- Adversary template
- Situation template
- Event template and matrix
- Decision support template and matrix
MCOO
The modified combined obstacle overlay (MCOO) is a graphic of the
battlespace’s effects on military operations
Adversary Template
models based on postulated adversary doctrine. They
illustrate the disposition and activity of adversary forces conducting a
particular operation arrayed on ideal terrain. Adversary templates depict the
adversary’s nominal organization, frontages, depths, boundaries, and control
measures for combat
Situation Template
adversary template that has been modified to depict
adversary dispositions based on the effects of the battlespace and the pursuit
of a particular COA. This template accounts for the adversary’s current
situation with respect to the terrain, training and experience levels, logistic
status, losses, and dispositions. Normally, the situation template depicts
adversary units two levels down and critical points in the COA
Event Temp
derived from the situation template and depicts the
named areas of interest (NAIs); areas where activity—or lack of activity—will
indicate which COA the adversary has adopted. Event templates contain time
phase lines that depict movement of forces and the expected flow of the
operation. Movement rates depend on the terrain (MCOO) and the adversary
COA (DRAW-D [defend, reinforce, attack, withdraw, delay]). The event
template (shown below) is the IPB starting point for COA wargaming.
Event Matrix
depicts the types of activity expected in each NAI, when the
NAI is expected to be active, and any additional information to aid in
collection planning.
Decision Support Template
emplate is normally developed during COA
wargaming. It is derived from adversary, situational, and event templates. The
decision support template depicts decision points, time phase lines associated
with movement of adversary and friendly forces, the flow of the operation,
and other information required to execute a specific friendly COA
Decisions Support Matrix
provides a recap of
expected events, decision points, and planned friendly actions in a narrative
form. It shows where and when a decision must be made if a specific action is
to take place. It ties decision points to NAIs, TAIs, CCIRs, collection assets,
and potential friendly response options.
