STEP 3 – Course of action development

Question 1

Step 3 – COA Development

Answer 1

Input = 
•Approved Mission Statement
•Specified and Implied Task
•IPB Products
•CDR’s Intent and Initial Planning Guidance
•Assumptions
•COA Evaluation Criteria

Output = 
•COA Statements and Sketches
•Tentative Task Org
•Broad Concept of Operations
•Revised Planning Guidance
•Updated Assumptions

Question 2

COA Screening Criteria

Answer 2

•Suitable: The COA can accomplish the mission within the commander’s intent and planning guidance.
•Feasible: The COA can accomplish the mission within the established time, space, and resource limitations.
•Acceptable: The COA must balance cost and risk with the advantage gained.
•Distinguishable: Each COA must differ significantly from others.
•Complete: A COA must incorporate (80%sol wrks):
–How the decisive operation leads to mission accomplishment
–How shaping operations create and preserve conditions for success
–How sustaining operations enable shaping and decisive operations
–Task to be performed and conditions to be achieved

Question 3

COA Development -

The eight steps of COA development are:

Answer 3

1. Assess Relative Combat Power
2. Generate Options
3. Array Initial Forces
4. Develop a Broad Concept
5. Assign Headquarters
6. Prepare COA Statements and Sketches
7. Conduct a Course of Action Briefing.
8. Select or Modify COA for Continued Analysis

NOTE: A good COA positions the force for sequels and provides flexibility to meet unforeseen events during execution. It also gives subordinates the maximum latitude for initiative.

Question 4

COA Development Step 1: Assess Relative Combat Power

Answer 4

Def: Combat power is the total means of destructive, constructive, and information capabilities that a military unit/formation can apply at a given time.
(See WWFs)
•To assess relative combat power, planners initially make a rough estimate of force ratios of maneuver units two levels down.
•Planners then compare friendly strengths against enemy weaknesses, and vice versa, for each element of combat power.

Question 5

COA Development Step 2: Generate Options

Answer 5

• Based on the commanders guidance and results from step 1.
• Staff begins with an identified decisive operation from commanders guidance.
• Shaping operations considered by staff to create or preserve conditions for decisive operation.
• Sustaining operations necessary to create or maintain combat power are considered for each option.
• Essential tasks for each decisive, shaping, and sustaining operation determined while generating options.
• Each COA created weighed against screening criteria for elimination.

Question 6

COA Development Step 3: Array Initial Forces

Answer 6

•Determining the forces necessary to accomplish the mission and to provide the basis for scheme of maneuver, planners consider:

Friendly Mission Position Friendly: Enemy
Delay 1:6
Defend Prepared or fortified 1:3
Defend Hasty 1:2.5
Attack Prepared or fortified 3:1
Attack Hasty 2.5.1
Counterattack Flank 1:1

Question 7

COA Development Step 4: Develop a Broad Concept

Answer 7

• The “how” arrayed forces will accomplish the mission within commander’s intent.
• Summarizes contribution of all warfighting functions (WFF).
• Staff develops a broad concept for each COA. In both narrative and graphic forms.
• Concepts should present an overall combined arms idea that will accomplish the mission.
• Planners select control measures, including graphics, to control subordinate units.
• Lines of operations & lines of effort. (Mvmnt vs. PEMESII-PT)

Question 8

COA Development Step 5: Assign a Headquarters

Answer 8

•Review task organization for EW augmentation and support requirements

Question 9

COA Development Task 6: Prepare COA Statements and Sketches (noted as “most important piece”)

Answer 9

•COA Statement
–Portrays how a unit will accomplish the mission
–Brief expression of how the combined arms concept will be conducted
•COA Sketch
–Graphic depiction of the maneuver and movement aspects of the concept, including positioning of forces

NOTE: Together, the statement and sketch cover the who (generic task organization), what (tasks), when, where, why (purpose), for each subordinate unit.

Question 10

COA Development Step 7: COA Briefing

Answer 10

•An updated IPB
•Possible enemy COAs (event templates)
•The approved problem statement and mission statement
•The commander’s and higher commanders’ intent
•COA statements and sketches
•The rationale for each COA, including—
–Considerations that might affect enemy COAs
–Critical events for each COA
–Deductions resulting from the relative combat power analysis
–The reason units are arrayed as shown on the sketch
–The reason the staff used the selected control measures
–The impact on civilians
–Updated facts and assumptions
–Refined COA evaluation criteria

Question 11

COA Development Step 8: Select or Modify COA for Continued Analysis

Answer 11

• The Commander selects or modifies those COA’s for continued analysis.
• The Commander issues planning guidance.

•If all COA’s are rejected, the staff begins again!

• The commander may create a new COA by incorporating elements of one or more COAs developed by the staff.
• The staff must incorporate those modifications and ensure all staff members understand the changed COA.

Question 12

COA Development : EW Tasks

Answer 12

•The EWO contribution to COA development:
–Determine friendly EW capabilities available (organic and non-organic capabilities for planning)
–Determine possible friendly and enemy EW operations to include their vulnerabilities
–Assist in the development of initial COA options:
•Identify COAs that may be feasible based on functional experience.
•Provide options to modify a COA to enable accomplishing a requirement within the EW area of expertise.
•Identify information (relating to EW options) that may impact other functional areas and sharing that information immediately.
•Identify the EW related tasks required to support the COA options.
–Determine forces required for mission accomplishment:
•Determine the EW tasks that support each COA and how to perform those tasked based on available forces and capabilities (including STO capabilities).
•Provide input and support to proposed deception options.
•Ensure the EW options provided in support of all possible COAs meet the established screening criteria.
–Identify EW supporting tasks and their purpose in supporting any decisive, shaping, and sustaining operations as each COA is developed. These EW tasks should include those:
•Focused on defeating the enemy.
•Required to protect friendly force operations.

Question 13

COA Development : EW Products

Answer 13

•At the conclusion of COA development, the EWO should have the following products and information:
–List of EW objectives and desired effects related to the EW tasks
–List of EW capabilities required to accomplish the stated EW tasks for each COA
–Information and Intelligence Requirements for performing the EW tasks in support of each COA
–Updated EW running estimate

ALWAYS consider the COAs from the EA, ES and EP perspective, AND list out spec / implied tasks by Phase.