By CAPT. PAUL HILL
Maj. Jamie Schwandt’s recent article “The Military Decision-Making Process Is An Inflexible Mess. Here’s How To Fix It” advocates abandoning the Army’s electrical flow planning process, but provides no actual alternative. When he does endeavor to interject concepts, he advocates a unsafe disregard for detail, coordination, as well as agreement planning. His examples hit naught to back upwards his indicate as well as inwards roughly cases telephone outcry upwards into query his agreement of operational planning. He takes us on a tour of successful World War II commanders, every bit proofs that MDMP is non viable, as well as lastly settles on the magic of the OODA loop. Ultimately, it is his ain inflexibility of seat regarding MDMP that prevents him from viewing it every bit a vital tool (among many) that enables many of the concepts he seeks to supervene upon it with. Erwin Rommel was a vivid commander, but to state the Afrika Korps’ success was due to him lone is disingenuous. He had highly competent Chiefs of Staff such every bit Hans Speidel as well as Fritz Bayerlein. These men took Rommel’s intent as well as guidance as well as led the staff through deliberate processes that turned them into plans that synchronized units inwards fourth dimension as well as space, allocated express resources, established priorities, as well as coordinated the execution. While Rommel came upwards amongst vivid ideas of what he wanted to do, his staff figured out how to hit it.
MAJ Schwandt’s illustration of COL Stirling’s “principles of messy tactics” is interesting, but the planning procedure used past times a company-sized special operations unit, reacting to actionable intelligence, is non comparable to processes to coordinate battalion as well as larger units. Additionally, COL Stirling’s principles are roughly other illustration of what he wanted to hit as well as non how to hit it.
The OODA loop is non a planning process, but a cognitive tool to sympathise how decisions are made. COL Boyd strongly believed inwards operational planning as well as would oftentimes deliver his briefing Discourses on Winning as well as Losing, as well as its application to terra firma combat, to full general officers from the Army as well as Marine Corps. Boyd oftentimes advocated for the evolution of staff processes that are able to wheel through the OODA loop faster than the enemy. Effective staff operations as well as battle drills enable the commander as well as the arrangement to observe, orient, decide, as well as human activity faster. They hit non supervene upon it.
MAJ Schwandt advocates a procedure “heedless of detail, allowing improvisation on the fly.” This is non a sign of creativity, but laziness. Any leader that believes disregard of especial is acceptable piece attempting to coordinate as well as synchronize over 5,000 personnel as well as 600 vehicles across multiple domains against a peer threat is setting their unit of measurement upwards for failure. It is the staff’s responsibleness to render especial to the plan. These details come upwards inwards the form of burn back upwards coordination, airspace deconfliction, resources allotment of critical assets, operational graphics, or integrated as well as responsive sustainment. None of this is possible without detailed planning. In fact, this flat of especial creates a shared agreement that enables disciplined initiative. Subordinate commanders volition live able to react to changes on the battlefield amongst the context of how it affects following units, the enemy, as well as mission accomplishment. This is far superior to the Leeroy Jenkins method of “allowing improvisation on the fly.”
While operational planning inwards an austere, time-constrained environs is stressful as well as uncomfortable; sense has consistently demonstrated that a deliberate planning procedure is critical to a unit’s success on the battlefield. There are several effective systems inwards usage past times militaries throughout the world. The Military Component Planning Process inwards usage past times the UN, the Tactical or Combat Estimates used inwards the UK, Joint Operations Planning inwards our ain doctrine, or lastly the Military Decision Making Process used past times the the U.S. Army. Maj. Schwandt is concerned nearly the speed of decision-making as well as tempo of operations, as well as rightfully so. While these processes may appear lengthy as well as cumbersome, the cease outcome genuinely produces commanders that are to a greater extent than capable of chop-chop making informed decisions during high tempo operations. The number is non the procedure itself, but the staff’s flat of preparation amongst it as well as each other.
MDMP enables the commander as well as staff to mean value critically as well as creatively to solve complex problems. It allows the staff to develop detailed, synchronized plans across multiple domains piece enabling parallel planning of subordinate as well as following units. ADRP 5-0 contains a method called the Rapid Decision-making as well as Synchronization Process (RDSP). Units good expert inwards MDMP tin dismiss usage this technique during operations to develop timely as well as effective solutions, however, the fundamental to success is preparation on the process. Organizations unfamiliar amongst the procedure volition get got difficulty chop-chop making decisions as well as rarely successfully synchronize across all domains.
Abandoning MDMP is non the answer. Ensuring your staff is good trained inwards the procedure is. This volition enable rapid analysis as well as decision-making, brand our organizations to a greater extent than agile, as well as ensure the enemy is constantly reacting to out of appointment information. As much every bit I honey watching the Leroy Jenkins video, I hit non recommend adopting it every bit our planning methodology.
Capt. W. Paul Hill is an infantry officeholder currently tending the Command as well as General Staff College inwards Fort Leavenworth, KS. He has served every bit a brigade Chief of Operations, operational planner, as well as commander. He holds bachelor’s as well as master’s degrees inwards aerospace from Middle Tennessee State University. This article represents his ain personal views, which are non necessarily those of the Department of the Army.
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