6-124. Ultimately, the mission of BCTs located within the MBA is to defeat the enemy attack or to destroy the attacking enemy force. These BCTs perform many different tasks—defending, delaying, attacking, or performing in an economy of force role—to accomplish this mission. BCTs plan to conduct forward and rearward passages of lines. They normally plan to avoid being bypassed by enemy forces during combat operations unless it fits within the corps or division commander’s intent.

8-40. As part of area security, the consolidation of gains force may have to identify and destroy remaining pockets of enemy forces. Search and attack is a technique for conducting a movement to contact that shares many of the characteristics of an area security mission (FM 3-90-1). Commanders conduct a search and attack for one or more of the following purposes:

7-11. Staff briefings inform the commander and staff of the current situation in order to coordinate and synchronize efforts within the unit. The individual convening the staff briefing sets the briefing agenda. Each staff element presents relevant information from its functional area. Staff briefings facilitate information exchange, announce decisions, issue directives, or provide guidance. The staff briefing format may include characteristics of the information briefing, decision briefing, and mission briefing. (See figure 7-1 [on page 7-1] and figure 7-2 for briefing formats.)

3-9. A key element of control is direction. To direct means to communicate information related to a decision that initiates and governs actions of subordinate and supporting units. Commanders, through their command and control system, direct subordinates by establishing objectives, assigning tasks, and providing instruction on how forces will cooperate to accomplish the mission.

1-1. A warfighting function is a group of tasks and systems united by a common purpose that commanders use to accomplish missions and training objectives (ADP 3-0). Warfighting functions are the physical means that tactical commanders use to execute operations and accomplish missions assigned by higher level commanders. The purpose of warfighting functions is to provide an intellectual organization for common critical capabilities available to commanders and staffs at all echelons and levels of warfare. Commanders integrate and synchronize these capabilities with other warfighting functions to achieve objectives and accomplish the mission.

3-18. A joint special operations task force consists of special operations forces from multiple Services. Several of these task forces may be conducting operations in a joint operational area or within the component commander’s area of responsibility. The task force may provide command and control over several subordinate elements including a joint special operations air component and subordinate task forces. The commander can arrange his subordinate forces functionally, by mission, or by assigned area of operation. Operational art, operational design, and the planning process help commanders determine the best arrangement of their forces. Regardless of the special operations Service element that forms the core of a joint special operations task force headquarters or commands the task force, each Service providing forces retains administrative control of their forces. The senior officer in the theater exercises this control. When the representatives are outside the joint special operations task force, Service liaisons within the headquarters commandant element facilitate administrative control and support.

2-210. Information collection begins immediately following receipt of mission. Units must be prepared to fight for intelligence against a range of threats, enemy formations, and unknowns. These challenges include integrated air defense systems (IADSs) and long range fires, counter reconnaissance, cyberspace and EW operations, deception operations, and camouflage. It may be necessary for commanders to allocate maneuver, fires, and other capabilities to conduct combat operations to enable information collection.

16-25. Facilitators review the unit’s mission before the after action review. The mission’s objectives form the after action review’s focus and the basis for observations. Facilitators review current doctrine, technical information, and applicable unit standard operating procedures to ensure they have the tools needed to properly guide discussion of unit and individual performance. Facilitators read and understand all warning orders (WARNORDs), OPORDs, and FRAGORDs issued before and during execution to understand what the commander wanted to happen. The detailed knowledge that facilitators display as a result of these reviews gives added credibility to their comments.

4-11. Troop leading procedures is a dynamic process used by small-unit leaders to analyze a mission, develop a plan, and prepare for an operation. Heavily weighted in favor of familiar problems and short planning periods, troop leading procedures are typically employed by organizations without staffs at the company level and below. Leaders use troop leading procedures to solve tactical problems when working alone or with a small group. For example, a company commander may use the executive officer, first sergeant, fire support officer, supply sergeant, and communications sergeant to help during troop leading procedures. (See ADP 5-0 for more information on troop leading procedures.)

1-52. An order is a communication—verbal, written, or signaled—that conveys instructions from superiors to subordinates. The five-paragraph format (situation, mission, execution, sustainment, and command and signal) is the standard for issuing Army orders. Army commanders issue orders to give guidance, assign tasks, allocate resources, and delegate authority.

3-21. Special Forces battalions and Ranger battalions may form the core of the headquarters and operational elements of a special operations task force. A special operations task force may be subordinate to a joint special operations task force, under the operational control of the theater special operations command, or any command relationship structure that best enables their mission. There may be multiple special operations task forces in a theater operating under differing command and control structures conducting missions supporting military engagement through major operations. While these task forces are not joint headquarters, they may have a variety of capabilities attached to them to enable operations or to liaise with other units. Army special operations capabilities that may be included in the task force include Psychological Operations units, Civil Affairs units, special operations aviation units, and communications, intelligence, and sustainment units from the special operations sustainment brigade. These capabilities may also include U.S. or partner nation conventional or special operations forces and interagency elements ranging from individuals to teams. The commander augments his staff with appropriate special staff officers and liaison officers taken from attached and supporting assets to integrate and synchronize all activities.

7-249. Control measures for an encirclement are similar to those of other offensive tasks, especially an envelopment, but with a few additional considerations. If the commander uses both an inner and an outer encircling arm, the commander must establish a boundary between them. The commander places the boundary so that each element has enough space to accomplish the mission. The inner force requires enough space to fight a defensive battle to prevent the encircled force from breaking out. The outer force requires adequate terrain and depth to its AO to defeat any attempt to relieve the encircled force.

3-9. The intelligence process leverages all sources of information and expertise, including the intelligence community and nonintelligence entities, to provide situational awareness to the commander and staff. The intelligence warfighting function uses the intelligence process as a management tool to ensure the right information gets to the right users at the right time in a useable format without inundating users. Just as the activities of the operations process overlap and recur as the mission demands, so do the steps of the intelligence process.

4-82. If the JFC establishes a joint security area within the JOA, the ARFOR normally determines its structure and its controlling headquarters. The options for the joint security area depend on the threat and the mission variables, particularly the forces available. If the threat to the joint security area is low to moderate, the theater army commander may tailor the ARFOR with a unit specifically task-organized to control the joint security area. If the threat to theater bases, base camps, and lines of communications is unknown, the theater army may tailor the ARFOR with additional maneuver units to control that joint security area. If hostile conditions exist, the theater army may assign the mission to an Army division with BCTs and one or more maneuver enhancement brigades. (See JP 3-10 for more information.)

3-40. An attacking force’s principal advantage is the initiative. Having the initiative allows commanders to select the time, place, and methods used by attacking forces. An attacking commander has the opportunity to develop a plan and concentrate the capabilities of subordinate forces in a specific manner, time, and location that is most disadvantageous to an enemy force. Commanders focus on attacking the right combination of targets to accomplish the mission at the least cost. They create exploitable opportunities through rapid, violently executed, and unpredictable attacks that minimize an enemy force’s ability to respond.

1-17. Maintenance is all actions taken to retain materiel in a serviceable condition or to restore it to serviceability. The Army utilizes a tiered, two-level maintenance system composed of field and sustainment maintenance. Command teams, maintenance personnel and planners must have a complete understanding of two-level maintenance fundamentals in order to properly plan and execute their mission. Maintenance is necessary for endurance and performed at the tactical through strategic levels of war. See ATP 4-33 for more information.

1-64. The battle rhythm changes during execution as operations progress. For example, early in the operation a commander may require a daily plans update briefing. As the situation changes, the commander may only require a plans update every three days. Some factors that help determine a unit’s battle rhythm include the staff’s proficiency, higher headquarters’ battle rhythm, and current mission. In developing the unit’s battle rhythm, the chief COS (XO) considers—

7-149. Information collection may be more rapid in a movement to contact than in a zone reconnaissance because the emphasis is on making contact with the enemy. However, increasing the speed of the information collection effort may result in increased risk. If the mission requires it, the corps or division commander can task subordinate BCTs and CABs or the cavalry squadrons in those subordinate BCTs to further develop the situation during actions on contact. (See FM 3-90-1 for a discussion of actions on contact.)

5-23. BCTs and subordinate echelons concentrate on performing offensive and defensive tasks and necessary tactical enabling tasks. During large-scale combat operations they perform only those minimal essential stability tasks necessary to comply with the laws of land warfare. They do not conduct operationally significant consolidate gains activities unless assigned that mission in a consolidation area. BCT commanders orchestrate rapid maneuver to operate inside an enemy’s decision cycle and create an increasing cascade of hard choices for the enemy commander.

7-76. The G-2 assists the G-3 in synchronizing the capabilities of joint, multinational, and national assets into the collection effort. The G-2 recommends specific reconnaissance tasks for corps or division controlled reconnaissance forces, realizing the commander may task these forces to conduct a security or attack mission. A focused approach in allocating collection assets maximizes the capability of the limited number of assets available to the corps or division.