ARRC JOURNAL
TAKEAWAY 4:
LogFAS (ADAMS/EVE/CORSOM)
provides the basic capability to
conduct high-level planning of
movement operations through the
consideration of transportation
nodes and route capacities and
characteristics, as well as through
the establishment of road and
rail transportation networks and
simulated vehicle convoys and
railway trains. The software can
therefore be used to assess obvious
limitations and to identify potential
bottlenecks at the early stages of
the strategic movement planning
process.
Movement planning is a distinct, but
integral, part of the NATO operational
planning process, no matter if it is carried
out at the strategic, operational or tactical
level. The LogFAS M&T software can
produce valuable input to every phase
of the operational planning process, from
initiation to plan review. While the use of
these tools to produce some deliverables
and to support specific processes may
be directed from higher headquarters,
additional planning requirements can
also greatly benefit from the timely and
efficient use of LogFAS M&T software.
Use of LogFAS in NATO
Planning
The following will briefly describe how
and what happens during NATO planning
and the corresponding steps taken in
LogFAS.
Initiation. The development of movement
plans in support of NATO-led operations
is an iterative process and LogFAS can
be used for simulation and analysis in
the commander’s initiating directive. It
is at this stage that the relevant M&T
data feeding these LOGFAS tools, such
as GeoMAN data, need to be updated
from trusted sources to ensure that the
results presented in the initiation and
later phases are as accurate as possible.
Orientation. This is where mission
analysis is conducted and results in one
or potentially many mission analysis
briefs (MAB) to the commander. The
ADAMS and CORSOM functions can be
used to support concept development
and courses of action (COA) for the
commander’s consideration and provide
input on related considerations, such
as on the selection of strategic LOC,
M&T organisations and manning
requirements. The chosen COA will
be further developed into a concept of
operations (CONOP), which the M&T
specialists will be expected to contribute
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ALLIED RAPID REACTION CORPS
to. The CONOP should be supported
by a statement of requirements (SOR),
often referred to as Combined Joint (CJ)
SOR in the NATO context, identifying all
forces required to fulfil the operational
requirements established in the CONOP.
The SOR should ideally identify the
commander’s priorities and timelines in
terms of desired order of arrival (DOA),
commander’s required date (CRD) and
the planned final destination (FD) for the
requested forces or capabilities. While the
SOR should be generated from TOPFAS
by the J5 staff and imported into LogFAS
tools, it can also be produced in ADAMS.
From the SOR, M&T planners utilising
generic forces and assets, so as to
provide a gross feasibility estimate of the
movement concept, could generate an
initial MNDDP using ADAMS. This, then,
would aid in simulating various potential
scenarios. The CORSOM function could
also be run with the MNDDP data for a
similar simulation of the RSOM process.
Plan Development. Through the force
generation process, countries will
offer force contributions against the
requirements listed in the SOR. An Allied
Force List (AFL) will be created listing
all potential forces at the commander’s
disposition to meet its CONOP, potentially
showing gaps in some capabilities and
surpluses in others. Through the iterative
process of plan development, the plan
will firm-up to include only those available
forces deemed required to realise this
plan, as well as all national units planned
to be deployed in support to the offered
capabilities (such as National Support
Elements (NSEs)), to form the Allied
Disposition List (ADL)). The ADL, then,
constitutes an expression of the time-
phased requirements for deploying
contributed forces. It is imperative at this
time that the ADL include all necessary
deployment parameters, such as the
DOA, CRDs, PODs, and FDs, as well
as all forces to be included in the overall
movement plan. The development of
the ADL should take into account, to the
extent possible, time phasing limiting
factors, such as length of LOC, strategic
lift availability and throughput capacities,
amongst others. It must be noted at
this time that the production of an ADL
may occur later in the planning process
when a SOR containing the necessary
movement information, mentioned above
(except for force profiles and holdings), is
produced and where countries are asked
to produce their DDP to match their
planned contribution to such a SOR.
The ADL and the national databases
of forces allow countries and other
contributing organisations to develop
their own DDP for consolidation by the
lead headquarters, normally SHAPE,
for major operations and exercises
into an MNDDP. Through further
bilateral exchanges with countries and
the conduct of movement planning
conferences, the lead movement
coordination
organisation
will
deconflict the MNDDP to best meet the
commander’s operational requirements.
In this phase, LogFAS M&T tools will
assist the JOPG M&T representatives in
developing flexible and robust movement
plans. The plan development phase
will conclude by the production of the
Operation Plan (OPLAN), and the outline
of the MNDDP should be reflected into a
Movement Support Plan (SUPPLAN) as
an appendix to the OPLAN’s Movement
Annex (Annex S).
Plan Execution and Review. The
plan review phase begins as soon as
the OPLAN is written and any part
of its content changes and needs to
be modified. This phase also covers
the execution phase of the operation,
where the plan will need to be updated
regularly to meet the evolving situation.
The MNDDP is converted to an EVE
multinational FEP, providing visibility over
all planned missions over a given period
of time, allowing the overall movement
plan to be adjusted as movements occur.
Similarly, CORSOM will be used to
adjust the initial RSOM plan to meet any
unforeseen obstacle to its realisation,
allowing simulation of the use of alternate
routes or any other changes that would
affect ground transport operations.
TAKEAWAY 5:
The integration of LogFAS M&T
software in NATO operations and
exercises (including computer-
assisted exercises (CAX)) should
not be done in isolation or as
an afterthought; a movement
plan completed in ADAMS that
demonstrates a specific COA
is unrealistic should lead to the
design or choice of a new COA,
rather than to ignore the results of
proper movement planning for the
benefit of completing the rest of the
planning process. The level of effort
and related resources and expertise
required to support the integration
of the proper use of LogFAS M&T
tools should not be underestimated.