1. Joint Operation Planning Process:
METHOD OF INSTRUCTION. This lesson is designed as a faculty-led presentation to familiarize students with Concept Development in contingency planning. Students should comprehend that this is the major decision making time for the Combatant Commander. The processes embedded in this function facilitates that development by insuring the flow of information to all participates. The Combatant Commander and the staff provide the best analysis possible so that decisions made here can be clearly understood during the remainder of the Contingency Planning Process. Approximate time for this lesson is one hour.
It is important to remember that when you are prepping for this lesson. There is a lot of material here and it is the processes that are important. I suggest you focus on staff estimates, wargaming and COA comparison.
At the conclusion of this class the students should recognize a list of tasks, be able to recognize Who, What, When, Where, How and understand the purpose of the staff estimates process, wargaming, and the Combatant Commander’s strategic concept
Joint Forces Staff College
National Defense University

2. Lesson Objectives Describe the purpose of Joint Operational Planning
Name the steps in the Joint Operational Planning Process
Describe inputs and outputs of the Joint Operational Planning Process
LESSON OBJECTIVES (LO) AND SAMPLES OF BEHAVIOR (SB).
LO: COMPREHEND Concept Development in contingency planning process.
SB-A: EXPLAIN the importance of the planning guidance in course of action development.
SB-B: DESCRIBE a staffs’ actions as they prepare for and execute course of action development and wargaming.
SB-C: USE the key terms associated with COA wargaming.
SB-D: COMPLETE a war gaming matrix that relates action, reaction, and counter action for an event/phase that is a part of a course of action.
SB-E: SUMMARIZE the analysis of the COAs.
SB-F: DESCRIBE the results of the staff estimates, the war-gaming, and the comparison of COAs using the Commander’s Estimate process to provide the COAs which will best accomplish the mission and be forwarded for Concept IPR.

3. JOPP Basics Receive and analyze required tasks.
Review and refine threat situation.
Develop and compare alternative courses of action.
Select the best course of action.
Submit and gain concept approval.
Prepare a plan based on approved concept.
Complete the planning document.
During the next series of slides and throughout the remainder of the Joint Planning Orientation Course we will continue to describe and explain these elements of contingency planning.
At the Concept Development step, combatant commanders develop , analyze, and compare viable COAs and develop staff estimates that are coordinated with the Military Departments when applicable. Analysis includes wargaming, operational modeling, and initial feasibility assessments. In this step, IPR(s) will focus largely on the concept of operation, the enemy situation, interagency coordination, multinational involvement (if applicable), and capability requirements.

4. THE JOINT OPERATION PLANNING PROCESS
Step 1:
Initiation
Step 2:
Mission Analysis
Step 3:
Course of Action (COA) Development
Step 4:
COA Analysis and Wargaming
Step 5:
COA Comparison
Step 6:
COA Approval
Step 7:
Plan or Order Development
Strategic Guidance
Common to all joint organizations at any level
Concept Development
Plan Development

5. Mission Analysis Step 2 JP 5.0 Joint Operation Planning Aug 2011
This step has two objectives: first, to give enough initial planning guidance to the supported Combatant Commander’s staff for work to begin on COAs and, second, to communicate planning guidance to the subordinate commanders through a written planning directive or a planning conference. At this point, the most critical first steps in the estimate and planning process are defining and conveying to all the participants the end state and ensuring that it supports national objectives. Defining the end state early in the process is essential to ensure that all the planning participants are working towards a common goal. Ensuring that the end state supports the stated or published national goals is critical to making certain that the planned operation is being conducted in the best interests of the U.S.
JP 5.0 Joint Operation Planning Aug 2011

6. Mission Analysis
From the Broad, General Assigned Task, the CCdr Conducts Mission Analysis by Identifying---
Specified Tasks- Actions He Has Been Tasked to Conduct in Other Documents Such As Defense Agreements, Directives From CJCS, Etc.
Implied Tasks- Actions That Are Deduced From Analysis of the Assigned and Specified Tasks.
Essential Tasks- Actions That Are Absolutely Necessary, Indispensable, or Critical to the Success of a Mission.
Having completed the Initial IPR and validated the Mission and Assumptions, the Combatant Commander’s planning guidance can be very specific – it will contain the results of the Initial IPR and may prescribe exact requirements based on guidance, experience and professional perspective -- or very broad and generic. Sometime more is not better, and for sure very little may set you up for a redo if your product is “not what he was thinking”. You must get his intent: purpose, method, and end state, … to realistically proceed and develop a valid COA that will satisfy both the political and military expectations/end state.
Listed here are the typical topics that you should expect in a Combatant Commanders planning guidance. Often time, the J5 or Chief of Staff (COS) will assist the Combatant Commander drafting this guidance.
Typically, it is formally communicated in a Planning Directive, a written product distributed to the Staff …however, oftentimes it may only be verbal guidance provided by the J5 or COS.

7. Types of Forces Assigned Forces Allocated Forces Apportioned Forces
Force Apportionment Guidance for Contingency Planning (3 Bins)
Force Allocation Guidance [to the Global Force Management Board (GFMB)] for operations and shaping activities (5 Tiers of Priorities)
Global Resource Priorities for DOD Components with Global Support roles
Apportioned Forces
Allocated Forces
Global Force Management

8. Course of Action (COA) Development
Step 3
JP 5.0 Joint Operation Planning Aug 2011

9. Elements of a Course of Action
Who -- (what forces) will execute it?
What -- type of action is contemplated?
When -- is it to begin?
Where -- will it take place?
How -- will it be accomplished?
- The only thing new here is the "HOW"-- this is where it must be defined. The "WHY" is in the mission statement.
- In initial efforts, the J-5 (or J3/J5 mix) or an operations planning group (OPG) will prepare tentative COAs. As you can see from the slide, tentative COAs must contain the what and where elements. Other elements will be added as the COA is refined.
- Tentative COAs come from the Combatant Commander or from the staff with the J5 as lead element. That’s a nice way of saying that if no one else provides input (including the Combatant Commander), the J-5 is responsible for putting something out and having the rest of the staff tear it to shreds.
- Service components should be involved in the planning process when possible, and as early as possible. The question then becomes when does the interagency become involved or multinational participants?

10. Course of Action Tests Adequate - does it accomplish mission?
Feasible - use only the resources apportioned?
Acceptable - worth the possible costs?
Distinguishable - meaningfully different?
Complete - does it answer who, what, when, where, how?
FACULTY NOTE: You may want to draw the COA tests out of the seminar in discussion before or instead of showing this PPT. However you do it, if each COA doesn’t meet all of these tests, it’s not a COA (and they will have to devise another)
Here are five criteria against which each COA must be analyzed.
This is a small list of how you might be able to show variety
Use of Reserves
Task Organization
Designation of Main Effort
Scheme of Maneuver
Timing and phasing
Direct vs. Indirect
Simultaneity and Depth

11. Course of Action Analysis & Wargaming
Step 4
Considerations for the staff in preparing courses of action
Before a staff can begin focusing on the development of a COA, they must first assemble the tools essential to COA development. Here’s a good list of critical products that the staff … all sections should have…and equally share a vision of mission and intent.
The Sun Tzu notion of know yourself and know the enemy, and you will enjoy a thousand victories is at the heart of COA development. Faulty baseline information here will corrupt all products that you design in the COA development process.
During mission analysis, step 1 of plan development, should have quantified most of these products. It is imperative that you take the time and formally document each of these items ..for you will frequently reference back to them as you further refine your COAs.
Knowing the enemy is more than just a J2 mission; there must be a shared vision of who this force is, its goals and objectives, where it is vulnerable, and what can lead to culmination.
Knowing yourself …this becomes extremely complicated once the mission includes coalition forces … for each of these factors, there’s also a separate national set of data for each country participating.
JP 5.0 Joint Operation Planning Aug 2011

12. Staff Estimates STAFF ESTIMATES PERSONNEL INTELLIGENCE OPERATIONS
1 Mission
2. The situation and courses of action
3. Analysis of opposing courses of action
4. Comparison of own courses of action
5. Decision
The Combatant Commander’s entire staff is deeply involved in the contingency planning effort. The plans’ cell normally coordinates the overall process of long-range planning, prepares the initial planning guidance and coordinates the staff estimates. The J-5 is the process owner, therefore they are not depicted above.
The intelligence estimate serves as a foundation for each of the other estimates. In combat related operations, it provides them an overview of possible enemy actions that must be countered by their COAs. The format of the intelligence estimate is unique and includes a joint capabilities statement on the enemy's ability to coordinate actions between its military forces and operate in a joint manner. The operations estimate is also unique. Comparison between the operations estimate and the commander's estimate should be noted during this class but any detailed discussions should be delayed until the commander's estimate lesson. The remaining staff estimates all have a similar format.
The logistics estimate is important as it provides a great deal of the input on the feasibility of each COA. Each of the functions within logistics should be analyzed for feasibility. A great deal of analysis needs to be completed by the logisticians. (NOTE: this step may increase in relevance as IT capabilities and databases allow staffs to do a more through analysis of options. Realize that in today’s environment in which forces are no longer static as they were during the Cold War, planners have to be more thorough in their staff estimates prior to the Concept IPR. Personnel, Force, Support and Transportation feasibility is now the validity check for any COA))
STAFF ESTIMATES
J-6 ESTIMATE
J-1 ESTIMATE
J-2 ESTIMATE
J-3 ESTIMATE
J-4 ESTIMATE
PERSONNEL
INTELLIGENCE
OPERATIONS
LOGISTICS C4
Supporting Cmds
Components

13. Course of Action Comparison
Step 5
FACULTY NOTE: You may want to draw the COA tests out of the seminar in discussion before or instead of showing this PPT. However you do it, if each COA doesn’t meet all of these tests, it’s not a COA (and they will have to devise another)
Here are five criteria against which each COA must be analyzed.
This is a small list of how you might be able to show variety
Use of Reserves
Task Organization
Designation of Main Effort
Scheme of Maneuver
Timing and phasing
Direct vs. Indirect
Simultaneity and Depth
JP 5.0 Joint Operation Planning Aug 2011

14. Comparing COAs 6 3 Advantages Disadvantages COA 1 COA 2 COA 1 COA 2
Bullets or narrative
Bullets or narrative
COA COA 2
Criteria Weight Rating Product Rating Product
Attack COGs
Flexibility 3 6

15. Course of Action Approval
Step 6
FACULTY NOTE: You may want to draw the COA tests out of the seminar in discussion before or instead of showing this PPT. However you do it, if each COA doesn’t meet all of these tests, it’s not a COA (and they will have to devise another)
Here are five criteria against which each COA must be analyzed.
This is a small list of how you might be able to show variety
Use of Reserves
Task Organization
Designation of Main Effort
Scheme of Maneuver
Timing and phasing
Direct vs. Indirect
Simultaneity and Depth
JP 5.0 Joint Operation Planning Aug 2011

16. Plan or Order Development
Step 7
Flesh and Publish
FACULTY NOTE: You may want to draw the COA tests out of the seminar in discussion before or instead of showing this PPT. However you do it, if each COA doesn’t meet all of these tests, it’s not a COA (and they will have to devise another)
Here are five criteria against which each COA must be analyzed.
This is a small list of how you might be able to show variety
Use of Reserves
Task Organization
Designation of Main Effort
Scheme of Maneuver
Timing and phasing
Direct vs. Indirect
Simultaneity and Depth
JP 5.0 Joint Operation Planning Aug 2011

17. What options did CENTCOM provide the SECDEF and POTUS for invading Iraq?
PBS Frontline: Rumsfeld's War
VIDEO

18. Crisis Action Planning

19. Crisis Action Planning Process
Execution
Situational Awareness
Planning Order
Warning Order
Combatant
Command
CoCom HQ
Pres
SecDef
CJCS
Major
Crisis
Crisis Assessment
Cdr’s Estimate
Alert Order
Situation Development
COA
Development
OPORD
Plan
Execute Order
Conduct
Operation
Deployment Order
Selected COA
This slide is used as an introduction to the process that takes place between the CCDR and the Pres/SecDef/CJCS during a crisis. It may be the basis for the whole lecture. The following slides may be hidden or used as back-ups if you are not comfortable with the process.
The 3 “Operational Activities” are highlighted in CAP (Situational Awareness, Planning, and Execution).

20. What is a crisis?
“An incident or situation involving a threat to the United States, its territories, citizens, military forces, and possessions or vital interests that develops rapidly and creates a condition of such diplomatic, economic, political, or military importance that commitment of US military forces and resources is contemplated to achieve national objectives.”
- JOPES Vol. I, Sep 2006
JFSC / JCWS

21. THE JOINT OPERATION PLANNING PROCESS
Same Analytical Process for Both CAP and Contingency Planning
Step 1:
Initiation
Step 2:
Mission Analysis
Step 3:
Course of Action (COA) Development
Step 4:
COA Analysis and Wargaming
Step 5:
COA Comparison
Step 6:
COA Approval
Step 7:
Plan or Order Development
JIPOE
Strategic Guidance
*Warning order
Concept Development
Plan Development
*Planning / Alert Order
*CAP Specific

22. An Example of Crisis Action Planning

23. Joint Operation Planning Products
COMMANDER’S ESTIMATE
BASE PLAN
CONCEPT PLAN (CONPLAN)
OPERATION PLAN (OPLAN)
WARNING ORDER
PLANNING ORDER
ALERT ORDER
OPERATION ORDER
EXECUTE ORDER
FRAGMENTARY ORDER
DEPLOYMENT ORDER
Planning Detail
Level 1: COAs outlined
Level 2: CONOPS w/o annexes
Level 3: shortened OPLAN
Level 4: full detailed plan