The Universal Joint Task List (UJTL) is a menu of tasks in a common language that serves as the foundation for joint operations planning across the range of military and inter-agency operations. The UJTL supports the Department of Defense (DOD) as it conducts joint force development, readiness reporting, experimentation, joint training and education, and lessons learned. It is the basic language in developing joint mission essential task lists (JMETL) and agency mission essential task lists (AMETL).
The Universal Joint Task List, more commonly known as UJTL, is a comprehensive list of possible military tasks at the strategic, operationals and (joint) tactical level of war.[1] * The UJTL was developed for the U.S. Armed Forces but it has been used by several other countries and international military organizations such as NATO, sometimes in adapted form and under different names, but usually including the term "task list".
* See sources at the bottom of this page.
The UJTL is meant to be a tool in operational planning and similar forms of military planning. It gives a menu of capabilities (mission-derived tasks with associated conditions and standards, for example, the tools) that a joint force commander may select to accomplish the assigned mission. When it is identified as essential to mission accomplishment, the tasks are reflected within the command joint mission essential task list.
The UJTL consists of a large number of hierarchically organized military tasks groups in four levels of warfare:
- Strategic National level (SN)
- Strategic Theater level (ST)
- Operational level (OP)
- Tactical level (TA)
The tasks in the list are labeled SN, ST, OP, or TA to show the level of warfare that they refer to in our schema.
Examples of these are as follows:
- Among the operational level tasks, there are seven top-level tasks, labeled OP 1 through OP 7. OP 1 is "Conduct Operational Movement and Maneuver."
- Subordinate to OP 1, there are six tasks labeled OP 1.1 through OP 1.6, of which OP 1.1 is "Conduct Operational Movement."
- Subordinate to OP 1.1, there are three tasks labeled OP 1.1.1 through OP 1.1.3, of which OP 1.1.2 is "Conduct Intratheater Deployment and Redeployment of Forces within the Joint Operations Area."
- Subordinate to OP 1.1.2, there are two tasks labeled OP 1.1.2.1 and OP 1.1.2.2. OP 1.1.2.1 is "Conduct Airlift in the Joint Operations Area."
The depth of task levels is not the same everywhere: unlike OP 1.1.2, OP 1.1.1 "Formulate Request for Strategic Deployment to a Joint Operations Area" does not have any subordinate tasks, and the same is true for OP 1.6 "Conduct Patient Evacuation."
Source:https://www.jcs.mil/Portals/36/Documents/Library/Manuals/m350004.pdf
Mission Essential Tasks and Task Hierarchy
You want to define the new essential tasks that an Infantry BN with Combat Intelligence Collection capability can perform.
The Mission Essential Task provides the basis for assessing a Force Element (for example, being able to set up deployed radar in 'n' hours, can paint rocks). Basically, this is a qualification for a unit.
This figure explains the Essential Task List in detail.
Sources:
Universal Joint Task List: https://www.jcs.mil/Portals/36/Documents/Doctrine/training/ujtl_tasks.pdf?ver=D6YnkR-2gOhVSNBh7bCo3w%3d%3d
Joint Mission Essential Task List (JMETL) Development Handbook: https://www.jcs.mil/Portals/36/Documents/Doctrine/training/JMETLbook.pdf?ver=2017-12-29-171303-350
Each task can have multiple measurable criteria that define the requirement and the actual achievement of the unit.
This level is not yet part of the Defense and Security solution, but it can be extended as part of an implementation project.
This figure illustrates a sample METL hierarchy in the Defense and Security system.
This figure illustrates the lifecycle of the Mission Essential Task List.
The solution allows for multiple sets of METL to be defined (for example, joint, service specific).
This could be used to define different task types (configurable list), such as the following:
- Training METL, focusing on collective trainings that are needed to maintain the capability.
- Operational METL, focusing on the actual operational tasks the unit has to perform.