Overview. This section is designed to introduce you to Rapid Planning Techniques

BODY

1. General. Rapid Planning is a process of planning for a mission in a compressed amount of time, with potentially little information available. It is the responsibility of all members of the detachment to be able to perform with little to no supervision in order for Rapid Planning to be successful.

2. Receive Alert Order. When an incident occurs that requires the detachment's involvement, JCS will task and prepare the detachment via means of an Alert Order. Upon receiving the Alert Order, the de-tachment will arrange to determine a course and close the distance to the target area. The dede-tachment commander will call for the Battle Staff to assemble for whatever mission, ie, "Assemble the Battle Staff for IHR". The personnel from the detachment that will attend should be the Mission Commander and the Strike Force Commander. When the Battle Staff is called, the troops should immediately prepare their in-dividual and organizational equipment for the impending mission, this will be discussed more in detail lat-er during this plat-eriod. When the Battle Staff is assembled, an Initial Staff Orientation is conducted and Commanders Guidance is given.

a. Initial Staff Orientation. Orients the Battle Staff of the current situation, both on the intelligence and operational side. It also verifies for the detachment the current status of all elements who will be directly involved in conducting the mission, as well as other support personnel. The following is an example of the Initial Staff Orientation:

(1) Conduct Roll Call

(2) Conduct Staff Orientation

(a) Operational Orientation/Situation (b) Intelligence Briefing

(c) Mission Statement/Analysis (d) Maritime Status

(e) Air Status (f) Comm Status (g) Logistical Status (h) Strike Force Status (i) Attachment Status (j) Rules of Engagement

(k) Determine additional intelligence requirements (l) Produce RFI's in priority

b. Commanders Guidance. This portion should orient the leaders of how they can best accomplish tasks. It should also focus your efforts, i.e., what infiltration assets are available, what not to use, what to specifically accomplish first, etc. Gain as mush information as possible prior to departing the detachment area. Commanders Guidance may include the following:

(1) Mission Re-Statement, if necessary.

(2) Specified and Implied tasks.

(3) Assumptions/Previous Decisions/Restrictions.

(4) Higher Command imposed restrictions.

(5) Assessment of enemy strengths and weaknesses.

(6) RFI Guidance.

(7) Course of Action Guidance.

(8) Phasing Instructions.

(9) Alternate/Contingency Plans.

(10) Sets timelines for briefs and Actions.

c. Once Commanders Guidance has been given, the Strike Force Commander, along with his element leaders should coordinate and establish times, place, and points of contact for coordination meetings with higher, adjacent, and supporting units. A Standard Support Requirement List is submitted to higher Head-quarters asking the following:

(1) Isolation Area.

(2) Rehearsal Area.

(3) Time and place for receipt of ammunition and demolitions.

(4) Time and place for receipt of special equipment.

(5) Time and place for test firing of weapons.

(6) Intelligence update on enemy, turn in RFI's, and focus on enemy capabilities vice suspected in-tentions.

(7) CEOI/Code Words/No Comm Plan with HHQ's and supporting units.

(8) Escape and Evasion Plan.

(9) Fire Support assets available.

(10) Attachments: Who/Why/When Effective.

(11) Attempt to coordinate for Leaders Recon of the Objective, (if feasible, seldom is), gain photos, blueprints, sketches, etc, of the objective area and Crisis Site.

d. When the Battle Staff is called, the troops immediately prepare their individual and organizational equipment. Shooters should dress out in their flightsuits. The equipment that the individual shooter will take on the mission is laid out in stick order, ie, Vest, gunbelts, weapons, hoods, helmet, hooligans, sledge hammers, chemlights, batteries, radios, etc. Once all the equipment is laid out, team leaders conduct in-spections.

3. Warning Order. As you will learn, one of the keys to success in Rapid Planning is to have solid SOP's. You, as an element, should already have a generic warning order already prepared. Even though you do not have a situation and mission, you can prepare the General Instructions Paragraph based on SOP's. For instance, for an IHR, it would be a safe bet that for the Emergency Assault, your insertion plat-form is going to be air via Fast Rope, therefore you may want to set-up the general organization in stick order. Additionally, you already have an idea of what must be accomplished on the objective, as well as how to evacuate. From SOP's, you should break down into two to three elements that can work independ-ent of one another. Each of these elemindepend-ents has a Breacher, Assistant Breacher, a shooter carry a hooligan, sledge hammer, bolt cutter, shotgun, suppressers, etc. The Troop Commander and Troop Sergeant should be split between elements. Special equipment is already assigned to shooters, such as the breaching tools, poleless litters, Radios, etc. All operators are already assigned a basic combat load.

a. Key Personnel. Operators within the troops are assigned critical task, according to SOP's, and as out-lined in the generic Warning Order:

(1) The Troop Commander, Sergeant, and Tactical Wizard concentrate on Actions on the Objective in paragraph 3 of the order.

(2) Team Leaders may be assigned to fill in Paragraphs 1, and 2 of the order.

(3) The medic might be tasked with filling paragraph 4 of the order.

(4) The troop communicator may be tasked with filling in paragraph 5 of the order.

(5) A operator is assigned as the navigator and may be tasked with developing, or coordinating with the Air Control, on the routes, Load Plans, and Bump Plans.

(6) A operator is may be tasked with developing the Escape and Evasion Plan.

(7) A operator is assigned as the troop intelligence representative, and maintains continuous coordi-nation with the detachment's S-2 and relays pertinent information to the leaders and individual operators.

(8) Other operators are tasked with other duties, such as issuing radios, chemlights, breach tools, bat-teries, ammunition and flash bangs, etc.

4. 6-Hour String. The need for Rapid Planning is based on the requirement that the detachment must be able to respond, begin the execution phase of the Emergency Assault, within 6-Hours of being Alerted.

The 6-Hour String does not mean that if at the 1 hour and 30 minute mark the Tangos start to execute Ho-tels, that you cannot be launched. The 6-Hour String is simply a realistic guideline that can be followed and still allows to be mission capable.

5. Course of Action. Each COA should be detailed enough so that the commander can "SEE" how the mission will be accomplished, but not so detailed that he is bogged down in each individual emplacement, exact routes, etc. Normally the commander will require the Strike Force to submit three different and dis-tinct COA's. This allows the commander to select the one COA that he feels is the best, most likely to succeed COA. However, dependent on the mission, situation, assets available, and information, you may only be able to give one COA, better know as

a Concept of Operations Brief. When planning the COA, as well as the follow on Emergency Assault and Deliberate Assault, the planning cell should consist of the Strike Force Commander, Element Command-ers and their tactical wizards, the Air Controller, S-2, S-3, and key support leadCommand-ers. These pCommand-ersonnel in the planning cell only worry about their piece of the pie. Include the following in the Course of Action Brief:

a. Concept of Operation:

(1) Scheme of Maneuver.

(2) Fire Support Concept.

(3) Actions at the Objective.

(4) Movement; Infiltration/Exfiltration.

b. Task Organization:

(1) Mission Commander.

(2) Functional Groupings (leaders, Core Units, Size of Unit).

(3) Reserve Force, if any.

c. Contingency Plan.

d. Deception Plan.

e. Table of Equipment, (variations from standard equipment).

f. Timing, (schedule of events).

g. Advantages/Disadvantages.

Once a Course of Action is selected, it then becomes the mission. Detailed planning begins immediately upon selection of a course of Action.

6. Emergency Assault Planning. Once a COA has been selected, The Troop breaks down into its plan-ning cells and conducts Emergency Assault Planplan-ning. During planplan-ning, individual operators must leave the planners alone long enough for them to complete their planning; a planning cell that is continuously in-terrupted will get little done. The personnel that have been delegated task, such as the operators develop-ing the E&E Plan, route, load and bump plans, receive guidance from the commander, complete the plan, and then present it back to the commander for his approval. Likewise, coordination with Air Controller and other support must be made to ensure the feasibility of the plan.

a. Emergency Assault Order. Once the Emergency Assault Order has been completed, it is issued to the whole Strike Force, anyone who will be on the ground must be present during the order. Likewise, everyone attending should have note taking material, and maps should be distributed.

b. Rehearsals. Once the order has been issued, rehearsals are conducted. The Strike Force should re-hearse the Load Plans, Bump Plan, Actions on the Objective, Withdrawal and MACO, and Contingencies.

It is not uncommon, especially for certain leaders who are tying up loose ends, to miss rehearsals. This is unacceptable. Anyone who will be on the ground must participate in rehearsals.

c. Inspections. Once rehearsals have been completed, inspections are conducted. During inspections, leaders should conduct a brief back with individual shooters. Ensure that all shooters have the appropriate equipment, as well as being sterile, ie, no E&E Plan on their body.

7. Deliberate Assault Planning. Once the Emergency Assault Order, Rehearsals, and Inspections have been completed, the Strike Force will begin Deliberate Assault Planning. Again, the commander may re-quire three COA's to be submitted for the Deliberate Assault. The Deliberate Assault COA may be varia-tions of the Emergency Assault.

a. The difference between the Emergency Assault and the Deliberate Assault is:

(1) That you should attempt a soft approach using stealth when planning for the Deliberate Assault.

(2) More detailed planning is conducted because you are now afforded time, which means a better, more solid plan.

(3) More intelligence is gained because R&S has probably inserted and National Assets have had time to react.

b. Once a COA has been selected for the Deliberate Assault, planning is conducted in the same manner as with the Emergency Assault. Once the Deliberate Assault Order has been completed, it is issued; re-hearsals are conducted, followed by inspections.