9-69. The mission analysis briefing informs the commander of the results of the staff’s analysis of the situation. It helps the commander understand, visualize, and describe the operation. Throughout the mission analysis briefing, the commander, staff, and other partners discuss the various facts and assumptions about the situation. Staff officers present a summary of their running estimates from their specific functional area and how their findings impact or are impacted by other areas. This helps the commander and staff as a whole to focus on the interrelationships among the mission variables and to develop a deeper understanding of the situation. The commander issues guidance to the staff for continued planning based on situational understanding gained from the mission analysis briefing.

9-15. Commanders initiate the MDMP upon receipt or in anticipation of a mission. This step alerts all participants of the pending planning requirements, enabling them to determine the amount of time available for planning and preparation and decide on a planning approach, including guidance on using Army design methodology and how to abbreviate the MDMP, if required. When commanders identify a new mission, commanders and staffs perform the actions and produce the expected key outputs. (See figure 9-2.)

bypass – A tactical mission task in which the commander directs the unit to maneuver around an obstacle, position, or enemy force to maintain the momentum of the operation while deliberately avoiding combat with an enemy force. (FM 3-90-1) See also tactical mission task.

clear – A tactical mission task that requires the commander to remove all enemy forces and eliminate organized resistance within an assigned area. (FM 3-90-1) See also reduce, tactical mission task.

contain – A tactical mission task that requires the commander to stop, hold, or surround enemy forces or to cause them to center their activity on a given front and prevent them from withdrawing any part of their forces for use elsewhere. (FM 3-90-1)

retain – A tactical mission task in which the commander ensures that a terrain feature controlled by a friendly force remains free of enemy occupation or use. (FM 3-90-1) See also tactical mission task.

attack by fire – A tactical mission task in which a commander uses direct fires, supported by indirect fires, to engage an enemy force without closing with the enemy to destroy, suppress, fix, or deceive that enemy. (FM 3-90-1)

3-1. Within command and control, control is the regulation of forces and warfighting functions to accomplish the mission in accordance with the commander’s intent. Commanders exercise control to direct and adjust operations as conditions dictate. Unlike aspects of command, which remain relatively similar among echelons, control functions increase in complexity at each higher echelon. Control extends over the entire force and may include control of the airspace over an area of operations below the coordinating altitude. (See FM 3-52 for more discussion of airspace control).

disrupt – 1. A tactical mission task in which a commander integrates direct and indirect fires, terrain, and obstacles to upset an enemy’s formation or tempo, interrupt the enemy’s timetable, or cause enemy forces to commit prematurely or attack in piecemeal fashion. 2. An obstacle effect that focuses fire planning and obstacle effort to cause the enemy to break up its formation and tempo, interrupt its timetable, commit breaching assets prematurely, and attack in a piecemeal effort. (FM 3-90-1)

9-25. The MDMP continues with an assessment of the situation called mission analysis. Commanders (supported by their staffs and informed by subordinate and adjacent commanders and by other partners) gather, analyze, and synthesize information to orient themselves on the current conditions of the operational environment. The commander and staff conduct mission analysis to better understand the situation and problem, and identify what the command must accomplish, when and where it must be done, and most importantly why—the purpose of the operation.

1-85. Control is the regulation of forces and warfighting functions to accomplish the mission in accordance with the commander’s intent. Commanders exercise control over all forces in their area of operations, aided by their command and control system. Staffs aid the commander in exercising control by supporting the commander’s decision making; assisting subordinate commanders, staffs and units; and keeping units and organizations outside the headquarters informed.

4-42. The command and control considerations for the offense discussed in paragraphs 3-42 through 3-55 also apply to the defense. The commander’s intent and mission determine the concept of operations, scheme of maneuver, and allocation of available resources and priorities.

15-18. Commanders and staffs integrate and develop an assessment plan within the military decisionmaking process (MDMP). As the commander and staff begin mission analysis, they also need to determine how to measure progress towards the operation’s end state.

3-65. Movement formations allow a unit to move on a battlefield in a posture suited to the commander’s intent and mission. A unit may employ a series of movement formations during the course of an attack; each has its advantages and disadvantages. Subordinate units within a movement formation can also employ their own movement formations, consistent with their particular situation. To determine the appropriate formation, commanders consider the advantages and disadvantages of each formation in the areas of command, control, maintenance, firepower orientation, ability to mass fires, and flexibility. All movement formations use one or more of the three movement techniques: traveling, traveling overwatch, and bounding overwatch. (See FM 3-90-1 for a description of the movement techniques.)

canalize – (Army) A tactical mission task in which the commander restricts enemy movement to a narrow zone by exploiting terrain coupled with the use of obstacles, fires, or friendly maneuver. (FM 3-90-1) See also tactical mission task.

control – 1. The regulation of forces and warfighting functions to accomplish the mission in accordance with the commander’s intent. (ADP 6-0) 2. A tactical mission task that requires the commander to maintain physical influence over a specified area to prevent its use by an enemy or to create conditions necessary for successful friendly operations. (FM 3-90-1) 3. An action taken to eliminate a hazard or reduce its risk. (ATP 5-19)

3-42. Commanders, assisted by their staffs, integrate numerous processes and activities within their headquarters and across the force as they exercise command and control. A commander’s intent and mission, in the context of the mission variables, determine the concept of operations. The concept of operations expands on the commander’s intent by describing how the commander wants the force to accomplish the mission. It states the principal tasks required, the responsible subordinate units, and the ways principal tasks complement one another. (See ADP 6-0 for a discussion of command and control.)

3-115. A transition occurs when a commander makes the assessment that units must change their focus from one element of decisive action to another. A commander halts offensive operations only when attacking units reach the echelon’s LOA, achieve victory and the end of hostilities, reach a culminating point, or receive a change in mission from a higher echelon commander.

1-38. Commanders cannot be successful without a willingness to act under conditions of uncertainty, which demands balancing risks with taking advantage of opportunities. No amount of intelligence can eliminate all uncertainties and inherent risks of tactical operations. Commanders will never have absolute situational understanding. A lack of information must not paralyze the decision-making process. The more information a commander collects concerning the mission variables, the better that commander is able to make informed decisions. Less information means that a commander has a greater risk of making a poor decision for a specific situation. Knowing when there is enough information to make a decision within the higher commander’s intent and constraints is part of the art of tactics and is a critical skill for all leaders.

2-36. The theater army normally receives one military police (MP) command when more than one MP brigade is required. The MP command reinforces and augments tactical-level MP efforts and develops theater detention areas or dislocated civilian operations bases. The commander of the MP command also serves as the commander of detainee operations. The MP brigade is one of the Army’s functional brigades. It can command up to five mission-tailored MP battalions; integrate capabilities from all three MP disciplines (police operations, detention operations, and security and mobility support); and integrate police intelligence operations. It can also command other non-MP units (focused on performing area support, detention, or dislocated civilian tasks) and synchronize MP support across multiple organizations that control an AO in support of stability tasks. A functional MP brigade is not designed to control terrain; significant augmentation and task organization would be required to assign an MP brigade an AO.