5-2. As a nation, the United States wages war by employing all instruments of national power—diplomatic, informational, military, and economic. The President employs the Armed Forces of the United States to achieve national strategic objectives. The nature and scope of some missions may require joint forces to conduct large-scale combat operations to achieve national strategic objectives or protect national interests. Such combat typically occurs within the framework of a major operation or a campaign.

4-124. The primary consolidation of gains activities during operations to prevent are those taken to ensure that Army planning accounts for tasks that enable the consolidation of gains. This planning should include considering follow-on forces specifically task-organized to consolidate gains. Planning for the early and effective consolidation of gains enables the achievement of lasting favorable outcomes. The manner in which units execute missions, particularly how positively they interact with local populations and host-nation forces, significantly influences the perceptions of those affected by friendly operations. Early deploying units possess the capability to conduct security and stability tasks as needed. How units are organized and prepared for offensive, defensive, or stability tasks simplifies or complicates future security and stability outcomes.

8-21. Leaders should recognize the existence of subcultures such as law enforcement, special operations forces, and medical and branch-specific communities. Consequently, leaders involved in conducting operations need to understand how members of these specialized units train and work. Often, specialized units approach missions from a different perspective and sometimes use unconventional methods to accomplish them. These functional subcultures can be useful as a means to exchange knowledge and provide solutions when the Army needs answers from subject matter experts.

1-60. The President may, without a request for assistance from a governor, unilaterally issue an emergency declaration and send federal assets, including federal military forces, to an area or facility over which the federal government exercises exclusive or primary responsibility by virtue of the Constitution or a federal statute. This may include federal missions, personnel, equipment, and property.

5-16. At the most basic level, every Soldier assigned a task maintains a formal or informal checklist to track task completion. The status of those tasks and subtasks are MOPs. Similarly, operations consist of a series of collective tasks sequenced in time, space, and purpose to accomplish missions. Current operations integration cells use MOPs in execution matrixes, checklists, and running estimates to track completed tasks. Staffs use MOPs as a primary element of battle tracking with a focus on the friendly force. Evaluating task accomplishment using MOPs is relatively straightforward and often results in a “yes” or “no” answer.

1-67. Direct leaders generally experience more certainty and less complexity than organizational and strategic leaders because of their close physical proximity to their subordinates. They direct actions, assign tasks, teach, coach, encourage, give guidance, and ensure successful completion of tasks or missions. They must be close enough to the action to determine or address problems. Examples of direct leadership tasks are vehicle maintenance, supervision of creating of fighting positions, and performance counseling.

2-72. Interorganizational coordination is the coordination that occurs between elements of DOD and U.S. government agencies for the purpose of achieving an objective. It is an essential characteristic of unified action. The Secretary of Defense may determine that it is in the national interest to task U.S. military forces with missions that bring them into close contact with (if not in support of) intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) and NGOs. In such circumstances, it is mutually beneficial to closely coordinate the activities of all participants.

5-38. Having genuine concern for subordinate health and welfare generates motivation, inspiration, and influence—it is the right thing for leaders to do. Army members will be more willing to go the extra mile for leaders whom they respect, and they are more likely to respect leaders who respect them. Sending Soldiers or DA Civilians into harm’s way to accomplish missions is always in tension with the desire to take care of people. Leaders display genuine concern by preparing subordinates through tough realistic training that prepares them for the hazards and dangers of combat.

5-76. Any means other than face-to-face communication present some risk for misunderstanding due to the lack of verbal and non-verbal cues. Building rapport and trust is an ongoing, long-term effort that occurs during unit formation, individual unit reception, day-to-day garrison operations, and training exercises. It continues during operational missions. Learning what key leaders and staff mean when they say or write something is key to creating a basis for shared understanding. Taking adequate time to communicate when forming relationships is important to setting the right conditions, as are brief backs to confirm intent. Speaking candidly and asking for clarification when necessary are important steps in creating shared understanding. Email, websites, and social media have increased the volume and speed of available information. However, they minimize verbal cues and lack the non-verbal cues that are vital to clear communications and shared understanding between people. Leaders need to guard against over-reliance upon electronic means to communicate with each other and with subordinates. Leaders should use face-to-face communications with subordinates as much as possible to ensure understanding and to observe the feedback cues given by listeners.

2-11. The Army process preplanned and immediate ASRs through the Army air-ground system to identify air support requirements to the supporting air component. Pre-planned ASRs are processed per the battle rhythm in sufficient time to meet the planning stages of the joint air tasking cycle and sourced on the initial published air tasking order. Immediate ASRs arise after the air tasking order is published and must be sourced by assets already tasked on the air tasking order. Scheduled and/or on-call air missions are tasked to support preplanned ASRs. Scheduled missions are planned against targets on which air attacks are delivered at a specific time. On-call missions (X-airborne alert and G-ground alert) are planned against target types for which a need can be anticipated for a timeframe. On-call air missions are preferably tasked to support immediate ASRs to satisfy dynamic targeting requirements.

3-27. With the support of the host nation, U.S. and partner military forces collaborate with interagency representatives and other civilian organizations to design and implement SSR strategies, plans, programs, and activities. DOD leads and provides oversight for these efforts through its bureaus, offices, and overseas missions. SSR facilitates security cooperation and SFA activities that build partner capacity. SSR involves reestablishing or reforming institutions and key ministerial positions that maintain and provide oversight for the safety and security of the host nation and its people. Through unified action, those individuals and institutions assume an effective, legitimate, and accountable role. SFA activities help provide internal and external security for host-nation citizens, under the civilian control of a legitimate state authority. Effective SSR enables a state to build its capacity to provide security. The desired outcome of SSR programs is an effective and legitimate security sector firmly rooted within the rule of law.

1-8. As part of global, transregional, and regional strategies, special operations include a range of coordinated, integrated, and synchronized activities conducted with unified action partners. Through sustained engagement with these operational partners, Army special operations forces foster information sharing, enhanced interoperability, and the collaborative execution of missions—all of which facilitate joint operational planning and execution.

3-9. Collecting information to facilitate understanding of the operational variables provides the basis for operations assessments. A complete understanding of an OE may be hindered if the focus is solely on adversary information and actions. Additional information collection with a focus on the civilian population is often required for and is key to influencing and mobilizing the population and the consolidation of gains. People and populations within a region can present significant security challenges. Operations to shape are accomplished through a variety of missions, tasks, and actions, and they are often focused on understanding, engaging, influencing, changing, or countering human perceptions. This requires study and analysis to ensure the right decisions and actions are taken at the right time to get positive outcomes. The complexity of the human aspects of conflict are dynamic. Therefore, operations to shape must be persistent and consistent to maintain continuity, and they must be adjusted based on changing conditions.

6-68. During the enrichment stage, teams strengthen relationships between members and focus on team objectives. Members become accountable to and for the team. New members gradually move from questioning everything to trusting themselves, their peers, and their leaders. Trusted team members are more willing to resolve differences of opinion and fact, suspend doubt, and concentrate on duties and missions. Leaders learn to trust by listening, establishing clear lines of authority, and enforcing standards. Leaders should understand indicators of distrust such as persistent defense of personal opinion, conflict avoidance, suspicion about others’ motivation, and ignoring the importance of team membership. Leaders improve trust and build morale by getting to know members, communicating truthfully, treating them fairly, and recognizing good work and teamwork.

3-34. DDR, encompassing the processes that safely transitions combatants back to civilian life, and SSR, involving the reconstitution and professionalization of security institutions and actors, are interdependent and mutually reinforcing. Working in tandem, they can enable countries emerging from conflict to provide for their own security and uphold the rule of law, an essential precondition of sustainable development and part of the exit strategy for costly peacekeeping missions. As such, politically, they rise or fall together.

4-181. Providing other designated domestic support encompasses preplanned, routine, and periodic support not related to disasters or emergencies. Often, this is support to major public events and consists of participatory support, special transportation, and additional security. Examples are NSSEs such as Olympics, inaugurations, or state funerals. Some missions may involve designated support requested by a federal or state agency to augment its capabilities due to labor shortages or a sudden increase in demands. Such support may extend to augmentation of critical government services by Soldiers, as authorized by the President and directed by the Secretary of Defense. For example, skilled Soldiers replaced striking air controllers in the Federal Aviation Administration until newly hired civilians completed training. Soldiers have moved coal during strikes or even operated key commercial enterprises when national security considerations justified such extreme action.

5-101. Combat engineering in support of aviation operations includes requirements for the hasty construction or rehabilitation of aviation facilities that support fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft as well as UASs. It includes the requirements to improve drop zones and extraction zones for airborne insertions and aerial (airdrop) delivery. The considerations associated with performing forward aviation combat engineering are similar to those associated with the construction of combat roads and trails. Both are based on expedient horizontal construction techniques and are considered combat engineering missions, although they can be conducted by units that are designed to perform general engineering tasks.

3-113. As planners begin the process of reducing forces in a theater of operations, they must develop a balance between operational capability and sustainment capability. There is a natural tendency to eliminate the sustainment and enabler forces first because they do not provide an inherent capability to engage with the population or enemy. However, as the sustainment and enabling force are withdrawn, there is a direct impact on the operational forces in the form of reduced operational reach and requirements for assumption of additional missions.

3-111. Organizations and individuals can implement professional reading programs; a wealth of materials are available to support topic determination, such as the U.S. Army Chief of Staff’s Professional Reading list or the U.S. Center of Military History Professional Reading List. Determining the frequency, such as monthly or quarterly, will be dependent on organizational missions, but the unit must allocate and protect time for effective implementation.

9-107. Planners then proceed to initially array friendly forces starting with the decisive operation and continuing with all shaping and sustaining operations. Planners normally array ground forces two levels below their echelon. The initial array focuses on generic ground maneuver units without regard to specific type or task organization and then considers all appropriate intangible factors. For example, at corps level, planners array generic brigades. During this step, planners do not assign missions to specific units; they only consider which forces are necessary to accomplish their task. In this step, planners also array assets to accomplish essential stability tasks.