Creating Operations and Exercises

This figure outlines the procedure to plan an operation and its structure in Defense and Security.

The operations root force element allows the planner to aggregate all the operations plans under one parent or by planning authority, so they are easily identified and accessed. You can use this to separate contingency plans (that is, tentative operations plans) from real on-going operations.

This is different from the unit that is responsible for that operation and serves as the commanding headquarters. This separation is performed by A/B 002 and 822 links.

The operation is represented by a force element, that is technically the same object that was covered in the earlier units.

The validity dates are of the Operation's object itself, and are different from the start and end date of the operation itself. Notice that while the validity dates are mandatory during the creation of the operation's header, the operational period, that is, the actual start and (predicted) date of the operation are optional at this point. A good practice is to keep the validity dates range wider than the expected operational period, to allow more flexibility.

Some of the standard facts are not applicable to the operation's header and thus cannot be edited. Instead, the planner has to define some unique operation data. This are used for reporting and analytics.

Notice that the start and end date of the operation are different from the start and end date of the Operation Force Element itself:

• The start and end date of the operation itself may be unknown during the planning (for example, a contingency plan)
• When the plan becomes concrete, the planner can assign the start date, and speculate what the end date will be.

The climate, terrain, and weather attribute can support the planning in the process of defining the right equipment and the correct type and quantities of provisions to support the mission.

When the operation is created, the planner can start defining the operational Force Elements. Operational Force Elements are special entities that exist only for the operation, and come on top of the standard structure:

• You cannot aggregate the number of operational Infantry BN Force Elements and add them to the number of real infantry BN in your organization.
• When you are assigning a real unit to an operation it is not duplicated and only gets additional 823 links.

The level of details in which the operational Force Elements are defined is related to the actual resources assignment intent.

• If the intent is to assign a complete organic unit, it is enough to define a high-level operational force element that will serve as a framework (for example, a patrol boat, Infantry company, and so on).
• If the intent is to use a standard type of unit (that is, light infantry company) but choose and assign individuals (and equipment) from different organic units to the operation, a detailed force element and structure are required. Such Force Elements and structures can be created manually, or by coping from a regular or reference force element.
• If the operation requires a specific and unique force structure, it has to be manually created down to the lowest level, similar to creating a standard force element.
• An Augmentation: in case a standard type of unit has to be augmented by a special task force (for example, a K9 Team), it could be enough to keep the standard unit as a 'framework' force element, and add a detailed force element and structure only for that augmentation.

Creating an operational force element is almost identical to creating a regular force element and it has the same set of facets. You can define the readiness level, capabilities, METLs, addresses, authorized equipment, controlling and finance attributes, and so on.

The planner can create a detailed operational structure by creating each FE and its attributes manually (for example, for mission tailor-made structure), or by copying from any existing structure, together with the selected attributes (for example, for a standard type of unit, or when reusing a previous operational or exercise structure.)

The difference is all about the subordination relationships. When you are creating an operational force element, the 'FE Relationship' facet will stay blank, as there are not organizational (002), administration, (803) or wartime (800) links; instead, the operational relationship facet will show the 823 links that were created by the system.

Using the Operational Relationship facet and the 823 links, the planner can mix and match operational Force Elements and real units that are assigned to the operation.

In the example above, the Operational FE "ATW80D Light Infantry BN" has three subordinates:

• FE 50002543 (3rd Tank Coy) is a real FE that is assigned to the entire operation as part of the plan.
• FE 50103430 and 50104031 are operational FE, representing a framework for infantry companies. The actual companies will be selected later in the planning process.

In order to see the hierarchical view of an operation, you have to select Usage Type = Operation in the Manage Force Elements app selection area.

The hierarchical evaluation path of the 'Operation' includes both the 002 and 823 links, as shown in the chart on the right:

• We start by navigating across the organizational hierarchy down to the operation's FE by 002 links.
• Then, we continue navigating across the operation's org structure by the 823 links.
• If we get to a force element of an organic unit, we can continue navigating across its Organizational (002) structure.

The planner defines the jobs, quantities, and dates of the required operational positions.

The system shows draft positions, and the planner has the option to update the description and dates, and mark chief and deputy positions.

When it is saved, the positions are shown in the Operations section.

Rotations are optional. The planner can create and update them at any time during the planning or the execution of the mission.

Rotations must not overlap and have the following attributes:

• Activity and phase that can provide input parameters for calculating the consumption rate of spares, fuel ammunition, and other equipment-based consumables
• Upper limit of personnel, which is an input for calculating personnel based consumption such as food and water

The planner can split a rotation and define different attributes for each segment, as the planning is refined.

Rotations may be assigned to any operational force element. The system allows bulk transfer of that assignment to all subordinate FE's.

An operational FE can be assigned to a rotation only if its parent is also assigned to that rotation.

A rotation can be split to allow assignments of different actual Force Elements into the newly defined rotations/fragments.

The update of rotation dates is not transferred to the subordinate FE automatically, since the assignment dates at the FE level could be different from the formal rotation dates, and the planner might not want to overwrite these manually assigned dates.