ATP-4-90 Brigade Support Battalion Download
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Mission Command 18 June 2020 ATP 4-90 2-5 C2: Are command and support relationships established and understood? Does the plan have effective communications established? Movement and maneuver: How does the BCT scheme of maneuver impact distribution? Are planned distribution routes clear of obstacles, mines, IEDs? Does the BCT have priority of movement on the main supply route (MSR)? Intelligence: Does current enemy activity limit access to routes or areas? Fires: Does the BCT fires plan limit sustainment by making routes or areas impassable? Protection: Does enemy presence require additional protection on convoys? Do base protection requirements limit sustainment support? Sustainment: Do BSB units have required operational readiness and logistics capability to execute missions? The BSB commander drives the operations process and is the most important participant. The BSB staff performs essential functions of the process but the commander drives the process through understanding, visualizing, describing, leading, and assessing operations. The commander, with the assistance of the staff, analyzes the OE in terms of the operational and mission variables. Operational variables consist of political, military, economic, social, information, infrastructure, physical environment, and time. Mission variables consist of mission, enemy, terrain and weather, troops and support available, time available, and civil considerations. How these variables interact in a specific situation, domain (land, maritime, air, space, or cyberspace), area of operations, or area of interest describes a commander's OE, but it does not limit it. Commanders, applying understanding of operational variables in relation to the mission variables, must visualize the OE, describe their intent, and direct staff and subordinates through plans and orders to execute the mission. Additional information on the operations process is found in ADP 6-0. Plan Planning helps commanders create and communicate a common vision of how to execute sustainment between their staff and subordinate commanders. Planning results in an operational approach and orders that synchronize the action of the BSB in time, space, and purpose to achieve BCT objectives and accomplish the BCT missions. BSB planning is both a continuous and a cyclical part of the operations process. While planning may start an iteration of the operations process, planning does not stop with the production of an order. During preparation and execution, the plan is continuously refined as the situation changes. Through continual assessment, subordinates and others provide feedback as to what is working, what is not working, and how the unit can do things better. BSB commanders issue plans and orders to subordinates to communicate their understanding of the situation and their visualization of an operation. The measure of a good plan is not whether execution transpires as planned, but whether the plan facilitates effective action to achieve the desired end state in the face of unforeseen events. Good plans and orders foster initiative. Planning helps leaders: Understand and develop solutions to problems. An operational problem is the issue or set of issues that impede commanders from achieving their desired end state. Anticipate events and adapt to changing circumstances. Planning keeps the force oriented on future objectives despite the requirements of current operations. Task-organize the force and prioritize efforts. The staff's role is to help commanders understand situations, make and implement decisions, control operations, and assess progress. FM 6-0, Commander and Staff Organization and Operations, includes key components of a plan or order as well as descriptions and formats for mission orders and appropriate appendixes. Planning Considerations by Warfighting Function Throughout operations, the BSB commander, subordinate commanders, and the BSB staff face various problems, requiring distinct and creative solutions. Planning provides an informed forecast of how future events may unfold. Planning is thinking critically and creatively; it entails identifying and evaluating potential