Military Review English Edition November-December 2013 | Page 61

P L A N N I N G D E C I S I V E O P E R AT I O N S
General Staff College (CGSC). Depending on how
long ago the leader attended these courses, his or her
doctrinal knowledge may be outdated. This article
defines what current doctrine requires for production
of effective mission orders, while focusing on what
Holder argued in 1990 was the most important part
of the order: the commander’s intent and the concept
of operation.
To address this growing concern, we have to start
with a common understanding of how our Army
fights. Unified land operations are executed through
decisive action by means of the Army’s core competencies and guided by mission command. Army
Doctrine Publication (ADP) 3-0 defines unified land
operations as the ability to—
“seize, retain, and exploit the initiative to gain
and maintain a position of relative advantage
in sustained land operations through simultaneous offensive, defensive, and stability
operations in order to prevent or deter conflict, prevail in war, and create the conditions
for favorable conflict resolution.”1
Unified land operations are executed through
decisive action.

Decisive Action

Decisive action is the “continuous, simultaneous
combination of offensive, defensive, and stability or defense support of civil authorities tasks.”2
When conducting operations outside of the United
States and its territories, the Army simultaneously
combines three elements—offense, defense, and
stability. Within the United States and its territories,
decisive action combines the elements of defense
support of civil authorities and, as required, offense
and defense to support homeland security. Decisive
action is conducted by means of the Army’s core
competencies.3

Army’s Core Competencies

The Army has two core competencies: combined arms maneuver and wide area security.
Combined arms maneuver is “the application of
the elements of combat power in unified action
to defeat enemy ground forces; to seize, occupy,
and defend land areas; and to achieve physical,
temporal, and psychological advantages over the
enemy to seize and exploit the initiative.”4 Wide
area security is “the application of the elements
MILITARY REVIEW

• November-December2013

of combat power in unified action to protect
populations, forces, infrastructure, and activities;
to deny the enemy positions of advantage; and to
consolidate gains to retain the initiative.”5
These two core competencies provide a focus
and construct for understanding how Army forces
use combined arms to achieve success. As an
Army, we are guided by mission command.

Mission Command

Army Doctrine Reference Publication (ADRP)
6-0, Mission Command, defines “philosophy”
as “the exercise of authority and direction by
the commander using mission orders. It enables
disciplined initiative within the commander’s
intent to empower agile and adaptive leaders in
the conduct of unified land operations.”6
To exercise authority and direction using
mission orders, leaders must understand what
a doctrinally correct mission order looks like.
Holder stated, “Because tight centralized control
of operations isn’t possible or desirable . . . all
regimental leaders must train their juniors to do
the right things and then trust them to act independently . . . Leaders must teach and practice
mission orders.” To do this, we must understand
and utilize the Army operations process.

Operations Process

For many, Field Manuel (FM) 5-0, The Operations Process, Appendix E, “Army Operation Plan
and Order Format” was the starting point for doctrinally correct order writing. Since the release of
ADRP 5-0 in May of 2012, that appendix is now
gone. Leaders and staff officers now must consult
Army Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (ATTP)
5-0.1, Commander and Staff Officer Guide, Chapter 12, “Plans and Orders.” Luckily for those who
committed Appendix E to memory, Chapter 12 is
very similar. Although this document is the current
doctrinal guide, it will soon be outdated with the
release of Field Manuel (FM) 6-0, Commander and
Staff Organizations and Operations, which, as of
15 May 2013, was in signature draft development.
After its eventual publication, FM 6-0 will be the
one-stop location for commanders and staffs to
reference doctrinally correct orders formats.
Army Doctrine Reference Publication 5-0
states that the “unit’s task organization, mission
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