Mission Planning

Course Description: Day 1 offers a standard for planning based on the spectrum of “tactical excellence” (accomplishing the mission with minimal costs) and “tactical failure” (missions where the costs exceeded the benefits of accomplishing the mission).  The course also provides a tool for managing time called the “Time-constrained Planning Process” which can be used when officers have between 2 and 48 hours to plan a mission.  Officers are introduced to a tool for managing information called the “Concept of the Operation”.  Students will break up into teams and plan a time-constrained mission over lunch.  A class on giving a military-style mission brief is taught, and students then brief the class the mission they planned based upon that class.  The final class of Day 1 is how to conduct an After-Action Review.  Day 2 provides officers an overview of the Army’s “Deliberate Mission Planning Process” which is a tool for managing time when officers have more than 48 hours to plan a challenging mission like a high-risk arrest or large event.  The course also provides a tool for managing information called the Operations Order.  Officers then work through each step of this deliberate planning process to eventually reach a decision about how they will plan the mission.  This mission is planned at lunch, and a students will fill out a portion of the Operations Order to brief the class their mission after lunch.  The class concludes with a written final exam and then an after-action review of the course.

Prerequisites: Computer with Microsoft Office, internet access

Course Length: 2 Days / 16 Hours