Download the full document here: No. 25-1017, Planning in a Time Constrained Environment [PDF - 2.6 MB]

Foreword

The Army provides leaders at all levels training in deliberate planning during their professional military education (PME) courses. However, rarely do these courses train Lieutenants and noncommissioned officers (NCOs) on how to plan under significant time constraints. Short planning periods during institutional training – between four and eight hours – do not replicate the stresses of planning in one to two hours in response to a higher headquarters fragmentary order (FRAGORD) while sleep deprived and lacking a complete understanding of the enemy situation. This paper provides an approach to the troop leading procedures (TLP) process, both before and during execution, that can guide leaders through a rapid planning process. It is not a replacement for the TLP process, but an approach to its application.

Preparation – Getting Left of the Bang

Planning coherent company and platoon operations quickly is challenging. Units and leaders must prepare for rapid planning by understanding roles and responsibilities. Before operations begin, during individual and collective unit training, units and leaders must establish detailed standard operating procedures (SOPs), conduct thorough intelligence preparation of the operational environment (IPOE), and prepare their personal and organizational products.

Standard Operating Procedures

Effective SOPs are critical. To plan quickly, units must thoroughly understand and train on their SOPs. Company and platoon SOPs must include the information necessary to enable subordinate leaders to support the rapid planning process while leaders engage in planning tasks. SOPs must include the following:

  • Unit specific battle drills or “plays” Platoons and companies must understand how their organization fights and what their own and their adjacent elements’ actions are during crucial periods of the operation. What does 1st Platoon do if 2nd Platoon makes contact? How does the company control crossing danger areas, intervisibility lines, or canalizing terrain? Understanding these actions streamlines the orders process by reducing the amount of information relayed and allows leaders to direct subordinate rehearsal actions while planning. This allows the platoon leader or commander to simply direct the rehearsal of actions like actions on contact, medical evacuation, and defile drills and trust that all subordinate leaders understand and can execute sufficiently to conduct unsupervised rehearsals. Using simple plays allows companies and platoons to maneuver according to a pre-rehearsed plan, accounting for external factors like terrain and enemy situation. These plays can also outline the necessary rehearsals. For example, upon receiving a FRAGORD, the commander can inform subordinate leaders that the company will be conducting a movement to contact, using their two-up, one-back scheme. This information provides the initial plan for platoon leaders, and because it is in the company tactical SOP (TACSOP), directs three rehearsals for each platoon to execute during preparation.
  • Unit Basic Loads (UBLs) Soldiers and leaders must know their required unit and individual loads. In a compressed planning timeline, this allows subordinate leaders to quickly understand their current logistics status, identify critical shortages, and address those shortages before they impact the operations timeline. Furthermore, individual Soldiers must understand how the type of operation changes the UBL. What changes does the B-Team Rifleman from 1st Squad make to their load if the mission changes from an ambush to a hasty defense? How does one communicate these requirements to the team and squad leaders? Understanding this information allows subordinates to assist in the planning process by quickly providing updated information which may impact operational planning.
  • Load Plans SOPs must cover vehicle and Soldier load plans in detail. Detailed load plans assist subordinate leaders in preparing for mission execution in several ways. First, they speed the pre-combat check (PCC) and pre-combat inspection (PCI) process by having a well-defined and clearly understood location for all equipment. Second, this process helps inform updated logistics status report (LOGSTAT) by removing the need to look in multiple places for an item. Finally, following load plans provide more time for rehearsals and increase their value by allowing Soldiers to rehearse with all equipment in its proper place.

Conduct Detailed IPOE

Intelligence preparation for the operational environment (IPOE) is crucial for planning. Units and leaders that take the time to understand the effects of the operational environment on friendly and enemy maneuver will increase their effectiveness and decrease the amount of time necessary for rapid planning. Consider the following:

  • The operational environment is larger than your area of operations. Many leaders conduct focused IPOE in their area of operations (AO) during their TLP process, however they fail to account for terrain effects or enemy outside of their AO. Failing to account for these effects leads to issues while executing the deliberately planned operation by not accounting for what can impact the friendly unit from outside of their AO. When conducting rapid planning, understanding the terrain and enemy in the unit’s area of interest is critical to rapidly adjusting plans or rapidly planning new operations. Developing an understanding of all terrain and enemy that can impact the units maneuver or that the unit may encounter decreases the amount of time required to reassess the IPOE in time constrained environments.
  • Electro-magnetic and Electronic Warfare Systems. Leaders must understand how electronic warfare (EW) systems and their effect on the electro-magnetic spectrum (EMS) impact their units. By including EW systems and EMS requirements into IPOE, leaders can better understand how those systems will impact their operations. Leaders need to understand areas that have increased risk of adverse enemy effects like FM jamming, GPS denial, or other EW effects. Similarly, understanding areas that are permissive to using communication and other systems on the EMS will allow leaders to better understand where to place critical communications capabilities or conduct necessary communications over digital or FM systems.
  • Plan Reconnaissance. While conducting IPOE leaders must identify triggers for conducting reconnaissance and reconnaissance objectives, typically named areas of interest (NAI), that will impact their operations. At the company and platoon levels, commanders and leaders do not typically have NAIs, but they can identify areas where they will need to gain increased situational awareness or information during the operation. This can include significant intervisibility lines, masking terrain, areas suspected to be difficult to traverse, and, of course, suspected enemy locations. Planning the areas to reconnoiter, the triggers, and the assets used to gather information saves time during planning and allows leaders to direct unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) operators to conduct this reconnaissance during planning or when triggers are met during operations.

Preparing Personal and Organizational Products

Units and leaders must develop their fighting tools during training. Developing personal products like map boards, reference products, and “cheat sheets” prior to execution enables leaders to test and refine their products. Understanding what you need to assist you in planning and operations, as well as refining their use, removes mental friction while planning quickly. Organizationally, developing products, overlays and other reference and planning tools during training allows leaders to practice and become comfortable using them. Below are some personal products that leaders should consider developing for themselves and their organizations.

Personal Products

  • Map Boards Developing your personal map board or other navigational aids in training allows leaders to refine their employment and ensure they meet individual operational needs. Considerations like waterproofing, foldability, and eliminating excess noise are key considerations for platoon leaders in light infantry units. Alternately, larger map boards that cover more area and provide surfaces for writing are better for armored formations, but platoon leaders must always make sure their map board will fit through the Tank Commander’s hatch (or have a plan for when it doesn’t). Also consider what other information to keep with the map; include essential information like callsigns, radio frequencies, and fire support data.
  • Planning Products Leaders must develop and refine their personal planning products they intend to use in operations. The U.S. Army Armor School publishes an operations order (OPORD) template in their Tank Platoon SOP which provides an easy-to-use format for OPORD development. Leaders must find which products support their preferences and requirements and then must practice using them. It is important to note that personal planning products must be complete, i.e., leave in all parts of an OPORD in your template so that you do not forget to do something. This way, if you omit a part of the planning process, at least it is a deliberate decision.
  • Planning Resources Leaders must learn through training iterations what information they must have readily available to assist in planning. A leader’s position, formation type, equipment and mission requirements will drive what planning resources an individual will most rely on, and leaders can refine this with time and experience. Examples of resources may include risk estimate distances, artillery planning factors, or fuel planning factors. Having this information readily accessible reduces planning time and keeps leaders from relying on memory when fatigued.
  • Planning Roles Units must refine individual roles associated with planning in time constrained environments. Individuals must understand their unique responsibilities in hasty planning for it to be effective. Incorporating unit leaders into planning with specific priorities distributes the individual workload, incorporates alternate perspectives, and speeds the planning process.

Organizational Products

Units create products to use and distribute to their subordinate elements to assist in planning and provide direction. Commanders codify which documents they produce and the standards for structuring these documents in unit SOPs. Units should consider products that:

  • Provide quick and easy terrain reference. Doctrine requires that higher headquarters provide operational graphics to their subordinate elements. However, they should also provide a framework for quick terrain association or reference. Using either a Terrain Index Reference System (TIRS) or a Grid Index Reference System (GIRS) provides all unit members with a quick reference to key terrain or other critical points within the AO. This allows for operations in areas which may not have detailed graphic control measures and, when organized properly, allows users to quickly orient themselves to the referenced location from their label alone. See ATP 3-20.15, Tank Platoon and the Scout Leader’s Course SOP for a detailed TIRS discussion.
  • Offer flexibility. Fighting products should provide necessary information without being overly restrictive.
  • Prioritize simplicity. Products should be easy to understand and quickly referenced. Effective integration of planning tools and processes hinges on deliberate, recurring training. Simply establishing a TACSOP is insufficient; its value is realized only through consistent application and refinement during realistic training scenarios. Prioritizing familiarization with chosen systems—from individual planning products to unit-level processes—reduces cognitive load during time-critical missions. Ultimately, units do not achieve proficiency in these tools through last-minute implementation, but through sustained practice that allows for iterative improvement and confident execution in both training and operational environments.

Executing Planning in a Time Constrained Environment

This section details the execution of abbreviated TLPs for planning using the techniques discussed above. Leaders should only use these techniques and timelines when necessary and they should not take the place of detailed planning and rehearsals when time is available. To the extent possible, leaders must adhere to the one-third to two-thirds rule to allow subordinate units the maximum amount of time available to prepare and conduct planning, having only a few hours until missing execution is not an excuse. The intent of this method is to maximize planning when there is limited time available.

In this example, we will focus on the actions of CPT Decker, Commander of B Company “Blitz”, a Mechanized Infantry Company. CPT Decker and Blitz company have three hours until SP, thus CPT Decker has one hour to complete his plan.

Conclusion

Successful rapid planning requires consistent training and repetition. Leaders must prepare their organizations and themselves in the processes, functions, and equipment they require to execute effective planning. Commanders should incorporate these methods early into individual and collective training, both tactical and administrative, and refine throughout the training progression through after-action reviews and honest discussions about successes and failures. Commanders and leaders at all echelons can incorporate these practices into routine tasks, from maintenance to individual training events.

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Recommended Further Reading

Planning and Troop Leading Procedures – CSM Fredrick Heard

Troop leading procedures for the forward support company commander – CPT Russell J. Baker.

3x5 Company Orders on 2nd BN 5th Marines

3x5 Platoon Orders on 2nd BN 5th Marines

Orders shorthand on 2nd BN 5th Marines