Mission Planning Flashcards
Planning is
mechanism to exercise control over an operation, as well as control over the outcome of that operation.
Planning
Supports decision making. The plan will allow the MC to choose the best course of action during critical decision points of the operation.
- Planning is problem solving.
What directly influence your teams planning process?
- Time
- Risk
- Uncertainty
The plan should be
developed in a detailed, deliberate, and sequential process. Delivered clear and concise.
Three Levels of Planning:
Strategic- to support national security strategy
Operational- campaigns, major operations, or battles
Tactical- Employment and maneuver of units in combat to fight and win engagements and battels
8 Troop Leading Procedures (TLP)
- Receive the Mission
- Issue Warning Order
- Make a Tentative Plan (7 Step Military Decision Making Process)
a. Receive the Mission
b. Mission Analysis
c. COA Development
d. COA Analysis (War Games)
e. COA Comparison
f. COA Approval
g. Orders Production - Initiate Movement
- Conduct Recon
- Complete the Plan
- Issue the Order
- Supervise and Refine
TLPs are
a dynamic process used by small unit-leaders to analyze a mission, develop a plan, and prepare for an operation
- Enable leaders to maximize planning time - Sequence of the individual TLPs is not rigid (METT-TC)
Receive the Mission
- Occurs in several ways: WARNORD, OPORD, FRAGORD, or anticipate a new mission.
- After receipt leaders perform initial assessment of the situation and allocate time for planning and preparation
- Leaders must develop their unit mission as completely as they can.
- Identify times that planning must be complete, include rehearsals and backwards/reverse planning.
- Leaders use no more than 1/3 of the time for planning and issuing OPORD. The remaining 2/3 are for planning and preparation.
Issue Warning Order:
- As soon as leaders finish initial assessment, they issue the WARNORD, do not wait for more info
- WARNORDS contain as much information as possible
- Issue additional WARNORDS as more information becomes available
Make a Tentative Plan (7 Step Military Decision Making Process)
- This step combines the MDMP steps 2-6 (GRD is primarily concerned with these steps)
- Leaders perform mission analysis following the METT-TC formula
- GRD is structured similarly to a Special Forces Operational Detachment (SFOD) – TLs and ATLs use subordinates to assist with MDMP
Initiate Movement
- Movements may be to an assembly area, battle position, attack position, or new AO
- Done with enough information to do so
Conduct Reconnaissance
- Observe the area of operations prior to the mission (GRD – Site Survey)
- Minimum action necessary is through map reconnaissance
- Subordinates may conduct reconnaissance while the MC/TL completes TLPs
Complete the Plan
- Leaders incorporate the results of reconnaissance into their selected COA to complete the plan
- Includes overlays, refining indirect fire target list, updating the tentative plan due to recon
- GRD uses Concept of the Operation (CONOP) and Deliberate Risk Assessment (DRA)
Issue the Order
- Small unit orders Are normally issued verbally and supplemented by graphics (GRD – Team Brief)
- Follows the standard 5-paragraph OPORD format
- Leaders typically do not issue commanders intent, they reiterate the intent of their higher and next higher commanders
- The ideal location for issuing the order is a point in the area of operations with a view of the objective and other aspects of the terrain*
Supervise and Refine
- This step is parallel with steps 1-7
- Normally, unit SOPs state individual responsibilities and the sequence of preparation activities
- Leaders supervise subordinates and inspect their personnel and equipment
- A crucial component of preparations is rehearsal A brief back is not a rehearsal
a. Practice essential task
b. Identify weaknesses or problems in the plan
c. Coordinate subordinate element actions
d. Improve Soldier understanding of the concept of operations
d. Foster confidence among Soldiers
Military decision-making process (MDMP)
is an iterative planning methodology to understand the situation and mission, develop a course of action, and produce an operation plan order (ADP 5-0)
- Helps leaders apply thoroughness, clarity, sound judgment, logic, and professional knowledge to understand situations.
- MDMP is the current Army method for mission planning.
- A systematic approach to decision making
- MDMP can be as detailed as time permits
MDMP steps
- MDMP is detailed, deliberate, and sequential process that helps minimize the risk of overlooking critical aspects within an operation
- Process which helps minimize the risk of overlooking critical aspects within an operation.
a. Receipt of Mission
Key Outputs:
CMDR’s Initial Guidance,
Initial ALLOCATION OF TIME
b. Mission Analysis (The most important step in MDMP)
- Commanders gather, analyze, and synthesize information to orient themselves on the current conditions of the operational environment
- Commanders and staffs also begin development of evaluation criteria during this step
- Intelligence Preparation of the Battlefield (IPB): is the systematic process of analyzing the mission variables of enemy, terrain, weather, and civil considerations in an area of interest to determine their effect on operations.
Mission Analysis
Key Outputs
Problem Statement, Mission Statement, Initial CMDR's Intent, Initial Planning Guidance, Initial CCIR's, and EEFI's, Updated IPB and running estimates, Assumptions, Evaluation Criteria for COA's
Assumptions
are information that is accepted as true in the absence of facts, but cannot be verified
CCIR
directly influences decision making and dictates the success of military operations
c. COA Development
- A COA is broad potential solution to an identified problem
- The COA development generat4s options for subsequent analysis and comparison that satisfy the commander’s intent and planning guidance
- Don’t “What if….”
- interaction of multiple variables within an operational environment can lead to countless options and outcomes
- Commanders and staffs should focus their efforts around known variables and analyze COAs that provide flexible options to the commander during execution.
- COA must be:
- Reasonable
- Acceptable
- Suitable
- Distinguishable
- Complete
COA DEV Key Outputs
COA Statement Sketches, Revised Planning, Updated Assumptions
COA Analysis (War Game)
- Enables commanders and staffs to identify difficulties or coordination problems as well as probable consequences of planed actions for each COA being considered
- Influences how commanders and staffs understand and problem and may require the planning process to restart
- War-gaming is a disciplined process, with rules and stops that attempt to visualize the flow of the operation, given the force’s strengths and dispositions , enemy’s capabilities, and possible COAs
COA ANALYSIS KEY OUTPUTS
Refined COA’s, Potential Decision Point, War Game Results, Initial Assessment Measures, Updated Assumptions
e. COA Comparison
- Is an objective process to evaluate COAs independently and against set evaluation criteria approved by commander and staff
- Identify strengths and weaknesses of COAs, enable selecting a COA with the highest probability of success and further developing it in an OPLAN or OPORD
COA COMP Key Outputs
Evaluated COAs, Recommended COAs, Updated Running Estimates, Updated Assumptions
f. COA Approval
- Commander selects the best COA to accomplish the mission
- If commander rejects all COAs, staff starts COA development again
- After approval the commander issues the final planning guidance
- Commanders include the risk they are willing to accept in the final planning guidance
- Based on the commander’s decision the final planning guidance, the staff issues a WARNORD to subordinates HQ
COA Approval Key Outputs
CMDRs approved COA and modifications, Refined CMDRs Intent, CCIRs, EEFIKs, Updated Assumptions
Orders Production, Dissemination, and Transition
- The staff prepares the order or plan by turning the selected COA into a clear, concise concept of operations and the required supporting information.
- The final action plan and order development is the approval of the plan or order by the commander
Orders Production key Outputs
Approved OPORD, Subordinates understand the plan or the order
MDMP is
detailed, deliberate, and sequential process that helps minimize the risk of overlooking critical aspects within an operation
Modifying the MDMP
- MDMP can be as detained as time, resources, experience, and the situation permit
- Commanders may alter the steps of MDMP to fit time-constrained circumstances and produce and satisfactory plan
