An Integrated OPORD Technique

Tips on Trimming Crucial Minutes From the Sequential Orders Process

In a time-constrained environment, subordinates often do not have the time to make the necessary links between paragraphs that are required when using the standard sequential method. The standard sequential method requires subordinates to link previously briefed information from paragraphs 1 and 2 to paragraph 3 as it is being briefed and then link information from paragraphs 4 and 5 back to paragraph 3 in order to gain a thorough understanding of the plan. As a result, critical aspects of the OPORD are often overlooked or misunderstood, which results in an unsuccessful mission. Parallel Planning To understand the integrated approach, the company-level leader must understand the military decision-making process outlined in FM 101-5 and the inputs and outputs associated with the process. Understanding this process enables the company leader to recognize opportunities to be proactive in his orders preparation and issuance. For example, in anticipation of anew mission, or after receiving a mission from brigade, the battalion issues a warning order, which generally includes the type of operation, general location, initial timeline, and any movement or reconnaissance to initiate. With this information, the company leader can begin his initial intelligence preparation of the battlefield (IPB), steps 1 and 2 (define battlefield environment and describe battlefield effects), by analyzing the terrain in his expected area of operation, and can begin his initial timeline for the operation. Upon completion of this initial IPB, the leader can issue a warning order, augmented with a sketch, which provides an overview and analysis of the terrain (big picture) using OAKOC (observation and fields of fire, avenues of approach, key terrain, obstacles and movement, and cover and concealment) and the initial timeline. This essentially serves as your terrain information for paragraph 1 of your order. After receipt of the mission the battalion conducts its mission analysis, which yields yet more valuable information. The key outputs of the battalion mission analysis are the battalion restated mission statement, battalion commander’s intent, refined AO, MCOO, projected weather data, BN/TF SITEMP, and updated timeline. With this information, the company commander can continue to refine steps 1 and 2 of his IPB and begin steps 3 and 4, (evaluate the enemy and determine threat courses of action). The company commander can now issue another warning order providing refinements to the terrain, weather data, SITEMP, and sketch of the enemy which the battalion will fight (big picture). This essentially serves as your enemy situation for paragraph 1 of your order.

After mission analysis, the battalion begins to develop courses of action (COA), analyze the courses (wargaming), compare the courses, and ultimately select a COA during COA approval. The key outputs of COA approval useful to the company commander are the refined battalion commander’s intent, and battalion COA statement and sketch which provides the bulk of your friendly forces information necessary for paragraph 1 of the order. Task organization is also generally available after COA approval. With this information, the company commander can issue a third warning order which provides the friendly forces (big picture) information. As you can see, much information is available prior to the issuance of the actual battalion order if you understand the military decision-making process and take advantage of the incremental outputs throughout its process, rather than waiting until the entire battalion order is issued to begin your orders process. Better yet, you will be better prepared to conduct your METT-T analysis as you determine your restated mission statement and make your tentative plan. In addition, your subordinates will come to the company OPORD with a better understanding of the terrain, enemy and friendly big picture.

Visualization Visualization at the company level is a prerequisite for success. Proper visualization is often the determining factor in creating a clear, lasting picture of the terrain, enemy, and friendly actions in the minds of your subordinates. Visualization begins with the first warning order and continues throughout the operation. The key to effective visualization is much like the order itself: keep your visualization products clear, concise and thorough. Although your map is necessary for planning and execution, it often is not the best visualization choice due to its small scale. An enlarged sketch often works well for briefing purposes.

For the armor and mechanized force, a Plexiglas battle board (18" x 24") works well as an all-purpose visualization tool. One side of the board has your operational map and graphics and the other side is used for drawing your sketches. Other techniques to assist in your visualization include butcher paper, chalk sketches on the side of a vehicle, or a terrain model. All these techniques and more are useful, but the battle board sketch map technique has multiple advantages and is extremely versatile for an orders group of 6-8 personnel. As with planning, it is essential that you visualize the terrain and enemy before you can visualize yourself.

Your sketches, therefore, should coincide with your warning orders, as discussed earlier. Your first sketch should include the major aspects of the terrain (big picture), which you will address during your terrain and weather analysis using OAKOC. During your second warning order, when you discuss the enemy situation (big picture), you can create a sketch from the SITEMP right on the terrain which you previously used in your first warning order. Another technique is to sketch the enemy on apiece of acetate and place the acetate over the existing terrain sketch. This is a good time to discuss the enemy the battalion will fight (big picture) to include: overview, disposition, composition, most probable and dangerous COA and applicable forms of contact (visual, direct, indirect, air, obstacles, chemicals, EW). A plus to this technique is that subordinates can now visualize the enemy in relation to the terrain.

During your third warning order, when you discuss the friendly situation (big picture), you can sketch the friendly forces right over the terrain and enemy sketch or use another piece of acetate to visualize the friendly forces scheme of maneuver (big picture). Another technique is to create unit markers (Post-its) to assist in visualizing the scheme of maneuver without cluttering the other sketches. This is a good time to discuss the battalion mission, battalion commander’s intent and battalion concept of the operation (friendly big picture). As you brief the battalion concept, to include task and purpose for each subordinate element, you can naturally include the task and purpose of adjacent and supporting units. This friendly visualization in relation to the terrain and enemy will assist in developing a clear mental picture of the operation in the minds of your subordinates. You have just briefed and visualized paragraph 1 of your order through a series of warning orders using the back of your battle board. When necessary you can turn the battle board over to refer to your map and graphics for clarity, but keep in mind how difficult it is to read a 1:50 map with graphics, even from a short distance.

Although a commander can begin to create a tentative plan after he receives the battalion COA sketch and statement, he requires additional guidance, or the completed order itself, to complete paragraphs 2 through 5. Upon completion of your mission analysis, issue another warning order to provide your subordinates with the company’s restated mission and your intent to facilitate their parallel planning.

The execution paragraph consumes the majority of the commander’s time during planning and preparation of an order. Using the parallel planning process discussed earlier pays big dividends during the development and preparation of paragraph 3, because you already have an understanding of the terrain, enemy, and friendly big picture and can concentrate on developing the company fight. Now it’s time to get down to the details required for company level operations (little picture).

Once you have developed your concept, determine critical events that require detailed explanation and create phases associated with the critical events. This next step is the most critical element of preparing and issuing an integrated combat order. Create a series of sketches for each phase of the operation. When creating the sketches for the company fight (little picture), use the similar approach discussed earlier, which began with a terrain sketch, followed by an enemy sketch, then a friendly sketch. It is recommended that you erase the (big picture) sketches from the back of your battle board and divide your battle board into quarters. Each quarter should be sufficient to visualize key elements for each phase of the operation. If you have more than four phases, you can use apiece of laminated butcher paper. Each sketch should be self-sufficient and assist in visualizing the terrain, enemy, and friendly actions. Begin by sketching key aspects of the terrain, for each specific phase, which you determine will assist in the visualizing the terrain’s effects (little picture). Again, use OAKOC as it applies to verbally reinforce the sketch. After visualizing the terrain, sketch the enemy over the terrain or sketch the enemy on apiece of acetate which can be placed over the terrain sketch. This is a good time to discuss the enemy the company will fight (little picture) to include: disposition, composition, most probable and dangerous COA and applicable forms of contact (visual, direct, indirect, air, obstacles, chemicals, EW). A plus to this technique is that subordinates can now visualize the enemy in relation to the terrain. Next, sketch company actions and graphics (friendly little picture) over the terrain and enemy sketch. If it appears that the sketch is too busy, remember you can use Post-its to visualize friendly or enemy forces. This is a good time to discuss the company mission, your intent and the concept of the operation (friendly little picture). You can refer to each sketch as you give an overview of the various elements of each phase. As you brief the company concept, highlight any decisive points throughout the operation, identify main and supporting efforts, and include the task and purpose for each subordinate element. This friendly visualization in relation to the terrain and enemy will assist in developing a clear mental picture of the company fight in the minds of your subordinates. For each phase use the following integrated format to assist you in visualizing how the fight will unfold. The bottom line is, if it’s important enough to discuss, have it on the sketch, and if important enough to have on the sketch, reinforce it verbally.

1) Terrain (Little picture, “CO/TM” OAKOC) * Big picture “TF” OAKOC covered in W. O. #1

2) Enemy (Little picture disposition, MPCOA/MDCOA, “Forms of Contact” for enemy CO/TM is fighting) * Overview, composition and enemy TF is fighting was covered in W. O. #2

3) Maneuver (Little picture, CO/TM concept, decisive point, ME/SEs, T/P for each platoon) * Big picture friendly forces missions and TF concept covered in W. O. #3

4) Fires (EFSTs)

5) Recon and surveillance (Locations, T/P)

6) Engineer (Locations, POE/POS, T/P)

7) Air Defense (Locations, POP, T/P)

8) Service Support (Locations, 35 MMD or FFAMMS)

9) Command & Signal (Locations, Cdr’s, TOC, CP, visual and pyrotechnic signals, code words) Use the same format for each sketch, and after the last sketch, you can complete essential elements of paragraphs which did not complement the visualization process. Such elements include various parts of coordinating instructions, succession of command, etc.

MAJ David C. Callahan is a Distinguished Military Graduate of the University of Northern Colorado. As a lieutenant, he served as tank platoon leader in the Gulf War, support platoon leader, and battalion S4 in 4-70 AR. As a captain, he commanded D Company, 2d ACR, and D Troop, 1st Battalion, 509th IN (Airborne), Joint Readiness Training Center, Fort Polk, La. Additionally, he served with the Cobra Team as a task force analyst, and Scorpion Team as a company/team trainer at the National Training Center, Fort Irwin, Calif. Following his assignment at the NTC, he served as a SGI for the Armor Captains Career Course. He is a graduate of AOBC, AOAC, and Cavalry Leader’s Course, and holds a MA in business administration in aviation from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University. He is currently assisting in development of AOB 2000. The experience another tank commander, Staff Sergeant Scott Wright, remembered vividly was the landing of the C-17 with his tank and crew on board. When the aircraft wheels touched down and the brakes were applied, the tank seemed to strain to the point of breaking free, but it didn’t. SSG Wright also considered the mud a considerable adversary, but he wasn’t willing to put it in the category of the worst weather and environment he’d experienced. That memory was reserved for soldiering in one of Fort Drum’s worst winters. Albanian mud couldn’t compete with that and just as it came, one day it dried up and was gone. Maintaining morale is always an important subject, especially if it is yours. SFC Sumner reflected on the duty aspect of morale. “Guarding an airfield, so to speak, isn’t the most exciting mission a tank unit can perform. But considering that, morale is good.” As SPC Housey said, a key ingredient in keeping morale up was the buddy system, watching out for each other, as teams, crews, and platoons. He also appreciated the improvements he had seen in camp life. During the deployment phase, the Task Force Hawk commanding general told his commanders and staff, “Right now, conditions suck, but they won’t suck for long.” The troops see the camp grow; daily improvements were apparent. Up to this point, I had been enjoying the company of really great tankers, but I also wanted to visit with some of the troops who were keeping the Mounted Force operating, so I moved on to the tank company’s support slice. It was comforting to find the company combat trains, tucked in with the tank company team. It was what Armor doctrine tells you to expect: a maintenance team, log pack, and medics tucked in with the battalion task force. Our troops at Rinas Airfield are definitely at the tip of the spear, and they have to be self-sufficient because there is little in the way of host nation support, which occurs more in spirit and security cooperation than in substance. This is no surprise, considering the economic challenges Albania faces even under normal conditions. Add to that the burden placed on the nation by thousands of Kosovar refugees now in the country.

Organizational and crew maintenance was humming. In a choice spot where gravel was worth its weight in gold, and true hard stand was something used for fixed wing aircraft and maintenance on a very few lucky “helos,” I found the company maintenance team, led by Staff Sergeant Michael Hughes, who gave me sound advice on how to conduct maintenance in truly austere conditions. Step one happens before you depart home station, he said. “Double check your PLL (prescribed load list), review your equipment list. Determine your anticipated demands and requisition those items based on the anticipated demand.” SSG Hughes noted he had a lot of help from battalion maintenance. When you are the only American tank company in the country, it is good to come with the right tools.

The senior medic, SGT Raymond Wyrwas, said keeping troops healthy was obviously important to him, and that stressing personal hygiene was keeping his troops healthy, but allergies caused the most irritation. I had never heard of “whooping cough dust,” but I had had first hand experience with it here. Thanks to SGT Wyrwas I now knew I had succumbed to Albanian “whooping cough dust.” Something had to replace the mud, he said. That something was dust. The medics doubled up to serve in many other ways. The next time I saw them, they were running the ground traffic control point at the southern runway threshold of the Rinas-Tirana runway. Two days later, SGT Wyrwas was running the company command post and monitoring the eastern half of Task Force Hawk’s perimeter security. He was tied in with the 2d Brigade Combat Team command post and things were clicking. For any visitor walking the perimeter and talking with troops, it is easy to recognize the importance of the missions of this deployed tank company and its task force scouts. Professionalism abounded. A good place to close out the visit was with First Sergeant Stephen Lamb. He credited smooth operations in part to the “smart book” his company had developed to prepare for the deployment. Considerable time and effort went into this book, which guided the company leadership through the process of certification and preparation. Documentation covered training, maintenance, family support, finance, billeting, personnel property, privately owned vehicles. The list went on, covering every possible contingency. The first sergeant related how the company had prepared by conducting tactical training and gunnery, performed maintenance, internalized rules of engagement, and discussed base camp operations. I quickly concluded I would be seeing a great deal more of him as I captured lessons learned from a veteran unit, used to deploying.

The next time I saw 1SG Lamb, he had moved the company team to the extreme east side of the Task Force Hawk assem-

The battalion task force scouts return to Camp Reichert after a security mission, augmenting the infantry guarding an artillery unit set up on a nearby mountaintop.

from Page 9 bly area. The company area looked good, the tank crews had vigilantly settled into their security and observation posts, the ready reaction force had rapidly worked up and beat its three-minute requirement to roll from a cold start. It was now time to find battalion task force scouts, who had just returned from a security mission. The platoon had outposted a Task Force Hawk artillery unit in the northern part of Albania, supplementing infantry-provided security to the mountain-top force. Just two and a half hours before I showed up to meet with these scouts, the platoon had been rolling in the gates of Camp Riechert, the task force assembly area.

Staff Sergeant Stanley Johnson had been in Albania about a month, having transferred from Fort Knox, where he had attended the Scout Leader Proficiency Course. He couldn’t say enough about the course and its instructors. Everything the course covered he had executed here in Albania, short of calling for indirect fire.

PFC Geoffrey Gleitz spoke with quiet pride as he listed the tasks his section and platoon had performed: route reconnaissance on all of the roads, in all directions fanning out from the task force assembly area, innumerable route and bridge classifications, many without support, some with attached engineers. SFC Alfonso Hankerson, the scout platoon sergeant, was on his third deployment to the Balkans. His platoon had come out of Bosnia five months earlier and had conducted training at an intense pace until their deployment to Tirana in early April. I asked SFC Hankerson what he would remember about duty with Task Force Hawk. Hs spoke about how well the platoon had been prepared for the deployment, without knowing it was coming. He had good seasoned soldiers, that was evident. Even the new arrivals from 5-15 Cavalry, 1st Armor Training Brigade had come ready to be trained to the next level. The platoon was humming.

I closed out my scout platoon visit with 1LT Todd Retchless, the platoon leader, who told me he was impressed with the flexibility and versatility of his 19 Deltas. He reported his soldiers had run non-stop, despite many mission changes, many given short notice. The battalion’s intense training plan had paid off. Notified during an external evaluation that Albania would be their next destination, he reflected on the confidence the platoon felt in their final preparation and had proven during execution.

I was also lucky to catch a former commander of Charlie Company, Captain Ken Harvey. He had taken Charlie Company to Bosnia the year before, and had turned the company over to Steve Lutsky in July 1998. CPT Harvey was now commander of HHC, 1-6 Infantry. Yes, he is an Armor officer. He compared duty in Bosnia to Albania. Both included operations that revolved around base camps, and relied on Brown and Root contractors for many services, such as laundry and food service. Task Force Hawk was going through some of the same growing pains the IFOR (NATO Implementation Force) had experienced in the early stages of that operation. The similarities made it easy to fall in on this mission. As I was completing this article, Charlie Company conducted a change of command. The Army process goes on, even in Albania. CPT Lutskey was returning to Baumholder to assume command of HHC, 1-35 Armor. CPT Marshall Miles was assuming command. Charlie Company received a change in mission and assumed control of securing the east half of TF Hawk’s assembly area. Three days later, as his company prepared for anew operation, CPT Miles shared his feelings about being apart of Task Force Hawk. He saw the assignment as an opportunity to show the world that Armor’s utility exceeded many expectations. He was proud of the company and making sure his soldiers understood that when the Army leadership or press spoke of tanks in Albania they were referring to Charlie Company. CPT Miles noted that being on the tip of the spear you had to be ready to point in several directions and shift rapidly when called on. As we spoke, the company was preparing for potentially its second deployment by C-17 tactical airlift. Armor was closing out the twentieth century by conducting airlifts to participate in real world operations. Up to now this capability had only been tested, demonstrated, verified. It was a good note to close out my interviews. I don’t know what will happen next. Things are fluid as I write this. I can’t tell you where Charlie Company will end up or what missions the scouts will have. You will know that by the time this article is published. I do know I’ve been privileged to be here and see members of the Armor force on anew frontier, preparing for a number of contingencies and executing missions in rapid order. That has been a real reward. My primary duty has been to capture lessons Task Force Hawk’s Headquarters is learning. I’ll bring those observations back to the Armor Center for review and potential application to the Strike Force concept. You can find members of the Mounted Combat Arm of Decision serving just about anywhere challenges arise and soldiers are deployed. Just like the rest of the troops in Task Force Hawk, soldiers forged with the thunderbolt are adaptive, innovative, and successful. I am once again reminded that excellence is as close as your motor pool, or in distant places like Tirana, Albania. They are ready to employ stealth, mobility, firepower, shock effect and mounted protection to accomplish the mission.

LTC Peter W. Rose II is assigned to the U. S. Army Armor Center in the Directorate of Force Development, currently attached to HQ, Task Force Hawk, Tirana, Albania.

At left, the rugged terrain in the Albanian mountains near Tirana. Above, the Co. C, 1-35 Armor command post at the airfield’s west side.