ATP-3-09-90 Division Artillery Operations and Fire Support Download
Page 50 of 102
Chapter 2 2-24 ATP 3-09.90 TEST THE FEASIBILITY OF THE PLAN As courses of action are developed, the fire support planning team must apply doctrinal or validated planning factors (such as munitions effects tables) and determine whether time, space and ammunition required for execution will enable the commander's desired effects from fires to be created. Validated planning factors are preferred, because they reflect the current training status of the units involved. The results of COA analysis are a refined scheme of fires and associated products for each COA. During war gaming, the fire support planning team refines fires requirements, related essential elements of friendly information, and HPTs for each COA and synchronize these items with their results or effects on the G-3 synchronization matrix. This matrix provides the basis for fires input to the OPORD paragraph 3e or Annex D (FIRES) Paragraph 3a (Scheme of Fires) of the division OPLAN or OPORD. At this point in the process, the fire support planning team begins to refine the fires paragraphs to the OPLAN or OPORD by further developing specific tasks for fires to create the desired lethal and nonlethal effects. The fire support planning team may also elect to produce the Annex D, (FIRES). This annex may be necessary to expand on the information contained in subparagraph 3e (Scheme of Fires) of the OPORD. If the information in subparagraph 3e (Scheme of Fires) is deemed adequate, then a separate fires annex is not published. GATHER THE TOOLS The tools needed for an effective war game are the draft fires outputs from COA development. The fire support planning team must finish COA development as completely as possible before starting COA analysis. The war-game step of the MDMP provides the final detail and refinement, validates capabilities, and helps synchronize the fires warfighting function with the other warfighting functions. The purpose of the war game is to analyze a COA, not to create one. The war gaming process provides an opportunity for the fire support planning team to finalize the scheme of fires: Finalize targeting decisions. Visualize and synchronize fires with maneuver against enemy courses of action. Test the scheme of fires. Modify the scheme of fires as necessary. The war game brings all the members of the targeting working group together to finalize the decisions of the decide function of targeting. For each COA the fire support planning team collects and makes available the fires running estimate, fires portion of event templates and target value analysis results. For CAS (see JP 3-09.3), important tools that must be gathered include: ATO and special instructions information. Decisionmaking matrices. Briefing cards and CAS briefs (for example, 9-line briefings). Standard conventional load listings. Aircraft and weapons capabilities information. LIST ALL FRIENDLY FORCES The fire support planning team considers all fires assets that can be committed to the operation (the friendly list will likely be the same for all courses of action) paying special attention to command and support relationships and constraints. LIST ASSUMPTIONS The fire support planning team validates fires relevant facts and assumptions. 12 October 2017