4-18. An area of interest is that area of concern to the commander, including the area of influence, areas adjacent thereto, and extending into enemy territory (JP 3-0). This area also includes areas occupied by enemy forces who could jeopardize the accomplishment of the mission. An area of interest for stability or DSCA may be much larger than that area associated with the offense and defense. The area of interest always encompasses aspects of the air, cyberspace, and space domains, since capabilities resident in all three enable and affect operations on land.

2-14. An area of interest is that area of concern to the commander, including the area of influence, areas adjacent thereto, and extending into enemy territory (JP 3-0). This area also includes areas occupied by enemy forces who could jeopardize the accomplishment of the mission. Typically, a commander’s area of interest is much larger than that commander’s AO. Depending on the type and scale of an operation, the size of an assigned area of interest varies.

operational control – (DOD) The authority to perform those functions of command over subordinate forces involving organizing and employing commands and forces, assigning tasks, designating objectives, and giving authoritative direction necessary to accomplish the mission. Also called OPCON. (JP 1) Referenced in ADP 5-0, FM 3-0, FM 3-09, FM 4-30, FM 6-0, FM 6-05, ATP 3-04.7, ATP 3-04.64, ATP 3-21.90, ATP 3-53.1, ATP 3-96.1, ATP 4-43.

3-16. Criticality, vulnerability, and recoverability are some of the most significant considerations in determining protection priorities that become the subject of commander guidance and the focus of area security operations. The scheme of protection is based on the mission variables and should include protection priorities by area, unit, activity, or resource.

3-19. The core of a joint special operations task force headquarters, sourced from the Army’s special operations command, is provided by the Ranger Regiment commander and his staff or by a Special Forces Group commander and his staff. The Ranger Regiment is the most appropriate headquarters when the mission of the task force primarily requires direct action; short duration strikes and other small-scale actions conducted as a special operation in hostile, denied, or diplomatically sensitive environments and which employ specialized military capabilities to seize, destroy, capture, exploit, recover, or damage designated targets (JP 3-05). For all other missions the Special Forces Group is the appropriate headquarters.

1-75. U.S. responsibilities are global and Army forces prepare to operate in any environment. Because Army forces face diverse threats and mission requirements, commanders adjust their training priorities based on a likely operational environment. As units prepare for deployment, commanders adapt training priorities and conditions to best address tasks required by actual or anticipated operations. The Army as a whole trains to be flexible enough to operate successfully across the range of military operations. Units train to be agile enough to adapt quickly and shift focus across the competition continuum.

1-50. Cost management transforms accounting data into valuable and accurate cost information that enables the commander’s decision-making process. It collects and links financial (cost) data with non-financial (output and performance) data and presents information in a way directly related to the major mission objectives of the unit or organization. The process is the accurate measurement and thorough understanding of the full cost of a unit/organization’s processes, products and services to support leader’s decision-making and fiscal stewardship, thereby maximizing the effectiveness and efficiency of the organization’s operations.

4-48. Force tailoring is continuous: as new forces rotate into an operational area, forces with excess capabilities return to the supporting combatant and Army Service component commands. Tailoring the force to conduct stability operations may require commanders to assign subordinate units tasks not normally considered to be their primary mission.

4-8. Special operations commanders and subordinate leaders are legally and morally responsible for their decisions and actions. They must work during their targeting planning process to take into consideration the civilian populace, noncombatants, friendly forces, and collateral damage when planning their operations. Special operations planners and leaders all have the legal and moral obligation to challenge a proposed mission if they believe it will violate the Law of War, Rules of Engagement, or the moral principles of the Army Ethic. Together, they must proactively plan and have the foresight to mitigate and reduce the risk of unintended effects, such as excessive collateral damage and negative psychological impacts on the civilian populace and other noncombatants—which create or reinforce instability in the area of operations. Improper planning could lead to severe consequences that adversely affect efforts to gain or maintain legitimacy and impede the attainment of both short-term and long-term goals.

7-2. Army special operations units are responsible for self-recovery in support of their own operations, consistent with organic capabilities and assigned functions and in accordance with the requirements of the supported commander. These units must make recovery planning an inherent part of every mission and include recovery and emergency exfiltration operations. The vast majority of the recovery planning can be facilitated through the unit’s standard operating procedure that is subsequently plugged into the evasion plan of action. Personnel recovery of special operations personnel in a conventional force area of operations may be assisted by the personnel recovery teams organic to Army service component command, corps, or division headquarters and coordinated by the special operations command and control elements in support of those headquarters.

2-108. In developing the concept of operations, commanders and staffs ensure their concepts nest with that of their higher headquarters. Nested concepts is a planning technique to achieve unity of purpose whereby each succeeding echelon’s concept of operations is aligned by purpose with the higher echelons’ concept of operations. An effective concept of operations describes how the forces will support a mission of the higher headquarters and how the actions of subordinate units fit together to accomplish a mission.

9-51. In addition to nominating CCIRs to the commander, the staff also identifies and nominates essential elements of friendly information (EEFIs). An EEFI establishes an element of information to protect rather than one to collect. EEFIs identify those elements of friendly force information that, if compromised, would jeopardize mission success. Although EEFIs are not CCIRs, they have the same priority as CCIRs and require approval by the commander. Like CCIRs, EEFIs change as an operation progresses.

1-70. Organizational leaders regularly and personally interact with their subordinates. They make time to verify that reports and briefings match their own perceptions of the organization's progress toward mission accomplishment. Organizational leaders use personal observation and visits by designated personnel to assess how well subordinates understand the commander's intent and to determine if they need to reinforce or reassess the organization's priorities.

4-28. For stability operations, commanders identify the decisive points (including events and conditions) that most directly influence the end state conditions. Effective decisive points enable commanders to seize, retain, or exploit the initiative. Controlling them is essential to mission accomplishment. Ceding control of a decisive point may exhaust friendly momentum, force early culmination, or expose a force to undue risk. Decisive points shape the design of operations. They help commanders select clearly decisive, attainable objectives that directly contribute to establishing the end state.

4-49. Task-organizing is the act of designing a force, support staff, or sustainment package of specific size and composition to meet a unique task or mission (ADP 3-0). Characteristics commanders and staffs examine when task-organizing a military force include, but are not limited to, training, experience, equipage, sustainability, operational environment, enemy threat, and mobility. For Army forces, it includes allocating available assets to subordinate commanders and establishing their command and support relationships. Task-organizing occurs within a previously tailored force package as commanders organize groups of units for specific stability operations. Task organization must be considered when assigning a unit a follow and support mission, which includes execution of stability operations. Task-organizing continues as commanders reorganize units for subsequent missions. The ability of Army forces to task-organize gives them extraordinary agility. It lets operational and tactical commanders configure their units to best use available resources. It also allows Army forces to rapidly match unit capabilities to priorities.

9-32. The staff analyzes the higher headquarters’ order and the higher commander’s guidance to determine their specified and implied tasks. In the context of operations, a task is a clearly defined and measurable activity accomplished by Soldiers, units, and organizations that may support or be supported by other tasks. The “what” of a mission statement is always a task. From the list of specified and implied tasks, the staff determines essential tasks for inclusion in the recommended mission statement.

3-79. While conducting offensive operations, commanders place special emphasis on protection tasks related to survivability and detention operations. All units are responsible for improving their positions, regardless of role or location. Survivability is a quality or capability of military forces which permits them to avoid or withstand hostile actions or environmental conditions while retaining the ability to fulfill their primary mission (ATP 3-37.34). Survivability operations consist of four tasks which enhance the ability to avoid or withstand hostile actions by altering the physical environment: constructing fighting positions, constructing protective positions, hardening facilities, and employing camouflage and concealment. (See ATP 3-37.34 for additional information on survivability.)

1-23. CP survivability is vital to mission success. CPs often gain survivability at the price of effectiveness. When concentrated, the enemy can easily acquire and target most CPs. However, when elements of a CP disperse, they often have difficulty maintaining a coordinated staff effort. When developing command post SOPs and organizing headquarters into CPs for operations, commanders use dispersion, size, redundancy, and mobility to increase survivability.

1-16. The institutional force ensures the readiness of all Army forces. The institutional force consists of Army organizations whose primary mission is to generate, prepare, and sustain operating forces of the Army. Therefore, the institutional force remains under the command of the Department of the Army. The training base provides military skills and a professional education to every Soldier—as well as to members of the other Services and multinational partners. The institutional force is also the Army’s principal interface with the commercial sector. Our national industrial base provides equipment and sustainment for the Army managed by the various headquarters of the institutional force. Army installations are power projection platforms that train forces and serve as departure points. Once operating forces deploy, the institutional force provides the sustainment that Soldiers need for their missions and specified support provided by the Army to the other Services. The institutional force focuses on departmental (Title 10, USC) tasks including—

6-51. A unit normally transitions to the defense after it completes the deployment process, completes its offensive actions, or is in an assembly area. The unit commander issues a warning order stating the mission and identifying any special considerations. The headquarters staff conducts detailed planning while the rest of the unit completes its current mission. The staff coordinates for the pre-positioning of ammunition and barrier material in a secure area near subordinate unit defensive positions before starting the operation.