9-74. The higher commander’s intent provides the basis for unity of effort throughout the force. Each commander’s intent nests within the higher commander’s intent. The commander’s intent explains the broader purpose of the operation beyond that of the mission statement. This explanation allows subordinate commanders and Soldiers to gain insight into what is expected of them, what constraints apply, and most importantly, why the mission is being conducted.

4-58. Every TECHINT mission supports tactical through strategic requirements by the timely collection and processing of materiel and information, follow-on analysis and resulting production of intelligence, and dissemination to a wide range of consumers. Commanders rely on TECHINT to provide them with tactical and technological advantages to successfully synchronize and execute operations. TECHINT combines information to identify specific individuals, groups, and nation-states, matching them to events, places, devices, weapons, equipment, or contraband that associates their involvement in hostile or criminal activity.

7-153. Bypass criteria should be clearly stated, and it depends on the mission variables. For example, an ABCT or SBCT commander in an open desert environment may direct that no mounted enemy force larger than a platoon can be bypassed and that all other forces will be cleared from the brigade axis of advance. Any force that bypasses an enemy unit must maintain contact with it until that force can hand that contact off to another friendly element, usually a force assigned a follow and support mission.

2-100. Unity of command is one of the principles of war and the preferred method for achieving unity of effort. Commanders always adhere to unity of command when task-organizing Army forces. Under unity of command, every mission falls within the authority and responsibility of a single, responsible commander. Unity of command requires that two commanders may not exercise the same command relationship over the same force at any one time.

priority of fires – The commander’s guidance to his staff, subordinate commanders, fire support planners, and supporting agencies to organize and employ fire support in accordance with the relative importance of the unit’s mission. (FM 3-09) See also fire support.

3-11. Sustainment planning begins with the operational commander’s intent and concept of operations. This single, unifying idea provides direction for the entire operation. Based on a specific idea of how to accomplish the mission, commanders refine the concept of operations during planning. They adjust it throughout the operation as subordinates develop the situation or conditions change.

4-1. Execution is the act of putting a plan into action by applying combat power to accomplish the mission and adjusting operations based on changes in the situation. In execution, commanders, staffs, and subordinate commanders focus their efforts on translating decisions into actions. They direct action to apply combat power at decisive points and times to achieve objectives and accomplish missions. Inherent in execution is deciding whether to execute planned actions (such as phases, branches, and sequels) or to modify the plan based on unforeseen opportunities or threats.

4-47. In addition, commanders at every level should keep in mind the human aspects of the transition to civilian organizations and account for it in their assessments. When military units are near the end of a disaster response mission, they need to coordinate the transition with their civilian counterparts. State National Guard forces may supplant federal military forces as communities begin to recover; this is likely in incidents involving immediate response authority (see paragraph 4-28). Federal forces that arrived immediately at an incident site may be relieved by National Guard forces as the latter reach the scene. In other cases, federal forces may receive a mission assignment to replace state National Guard units so state forces can enforce public order while federal troops support humanitarian efforts. The transition between federal forces and state National Guard forces is planned and coordinated through the joint field office, between the federal coordinating officer, defense coordinating officer, and state coordinating officer.

2-72. Reconstitution is those actions, including regeneration and reorganization, commanders plan and implement to restore units to a desired level of combat effectiveness commensurate with mission requirements and available resources (JP 3-02). Whereas reorganization is possible at the tactical level, regeneration requires support from higher echelons. Reconstitution is a total process and is not solely a sustainment operation. Commanders perform reconstitution when one or more subordinate units become combat ineffective, or when a commander can raise the combat effectiveness of a subordinate unit by shifting available resources. Reconstitution may include—

9-56. As more information becomes available, the commander and staff refine their initial plan for the use of available time. They compare the time needed to accomplish tasks to the higher headquarters’ timeline to ensure mission accomplishment is possible in the allotted time. They compare the timeline to the assumed enemy timeline with how they anticipate conditions will unfold. From this, they determine windows of opportunity for exploitation, times when the unit will be at risk for enemy activity, or when action to arrest deterioration in the local civilian population may be required.

4-5. Execution is the act of putting a plan into action by applying combat power to accomplish the mission and adjusting operations based on changes in the situation (ADP 5-0). Commanders and staffs use situational understanding to assess progress and make execution and adjustment decisions. In execution, commanders and staffs focus their efforts on translating decisions into actions. They apply combat power to seize, retain, and exploit the initiative to gain and maintain a position of relative advantage. This is the essence of unified land operations.

1-45. Army doctrine addresses decisive action as described in ADP 3-0. Army commanders at all echelons may combine different types of operations simultaneously and sequentially to accomplish missions. For each mission, the joint force commander and Army component commander determine the emphasis Army forces place on each type of operation. Missions in any environment require Army special operations forces to be prepared to conduct any combination of offensive, defensive, stability, or defense support of civil authorities tasks.

9-26. Since no amount of subsequent planning can solve an insufficiently understood problem, mission analysis is the most important step in the MDMP. This understanding of the situation and the problem allows commanders to visualize and describe how the operation may unfold in their initial commander’s intent and planning guidance. During mission analysis, the commander and staff perform the process actions and produce the outputs shown in figure 9-3.

9-65. The COS (XO) or operations officer prepares a proposed mission statement for the unit based on the mission analysis. The commander receives and approves the unit’s mission statement normally during the mission analysis brief. A mission statement is a short sentence or paragraph that describes the organization’s essential task(s), purpose, and action containing the elements of who, what, when, where, and why (JP 5-0). The five elements of a mission statement answer these questions:

3-68. Federal forces are attached or under operational or tactical control to the federal military joint task force. The joint task force commander further task organizes subordinate units based on mission assignments, normally specifying operational control by the gaining headquarters. Administrative control remains with the original providing component headquarters, subject to modification by the Secretary of the Army.

4-215. The Secretary of Defense approves SRUF, and the supported combatant commander incorporates them into plans and orders for various DSCA missions. The SRUF also apply to federal military forces performing a homeland defense mission on land within U.S. territory. They apply to federal military forces, civilians, and contractors performing law enforcement and security duties at all federal military installations (and while conducting official DOD security functions away from federal military installations), unless otherwise modified by the Secretary of Defense. This includes protection of critical U.S. infrastructure both on and off federal military installations, federal military support during a civil disturbance, and federal military cooperation with federal, state, and local civilian law enforcement agencies.

2-108. Noncommissioned officers enforce standards and discipline and develop their subordinates as they build teams. They are trained to operate under mission orders and decide for themselves how best to achieve their commander’s intent. With information available to all levels of command and increasing dispersion on the battlefield, noncommissioned officers must be comfortable in exercising initiative to make decisions and act.

4-19. In applying operational art during stability, commanders and their staffs use intellectual tools to help them understand an operational environment as well as visualize and describe their operational approach. An operational approach is a broad description of the mission, operational concepts, tasks, and actions required to accomplish the mission (JP 5-0). The elements of operational art are essential to identifying tasks and objectives that tie stability missions to achieving the desired end state. They help refine and focus the concept of operations forming the basis for developing a detailed plan or order. During execution, commanders and staffs consider the elements of operational art as they assess the situation. They adjust current and future operations and plans as the operation unfolds.

1-57. While staffs maintain formal running estimates, the commander’s estimate is a mental process directly tied to the commander’s visualization. Commanders integrate personal knowledge of the situation, analysis of the mission variables, assessments by subordinate commanders and other organizations, and relevant details gained from running estimates.

2-69. The financial management center is a modular and tailorable operational financial management unit. Its mission is inextricably linked to the theater army G-8, but it is assigned to a theater sustainment command. The financial management center supports the Army Service component command, theater sustainment command, and the expeditionary sustainment command by providing cash management, internal control measures, accounting, automation, and technical guidance for financial management companies and financial management detachments. To provide adequate theater and national-provider responsiveness and support, the financial management center maintains oversight of all financial management operations and placement of all operational and tactical financial management units in theater. The financial management center provides technical coordination of all theater finance operations and collected advice to the theater army G-8 and the theater sustainment command commander on all aspects of theater finance operations.