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The Thorough Planning and Orders Process- Part 2, By J.E.D.

2. Arrange for Reconnaissance: The best way to describe this portion is with a story. Let’s say you’re looking to buy a new house with some property. This new place is going to be your retreat, so you really want to make sure it’s going to be the right place for you and your family. You found a place you really like by looking on the internet, but it’s on the other end of the state from you. So, the first thing you do is find the address to the property. Then you’ll probably MapQuest or Google map it, and get directions and time to it. Next, the real estate agent or homeowner is contacted, and a time and date is set for a meeting. You make sure your spouse/significant other and other possible family members or friends involved can meet on that same date and time. You have now just arranged for reconnaissance. It is that simple.

3. Make Reconnaissance: Now it’s time to go look at that awesome house you want. Everyone piles into the minivan, but before you get on the highway you need to stop at the gas station and fill up. While there you get some drinks and snacks and double check your map/directions to the place. Once in the closest town to your new retreat, you start to pay attention to things like the people, what stores are there, condition of the roads, et cetera. You arrive at the house and take a look around. You inspect everything to the best of your ability. On your way back home, you and everyone else will be discussing what you saw and observed. Now plans might change, due to you actually having boots on ground and seeing things for yourself, along with input from your trusted friends and family. The whole goal here is to see things for yourself and not rely on maps, pictures, and hearsay alone. Anytime you can physically be in a location and observe it for yourself, the better the information will be.

You are going to either confirm or reject your previous ideas and information after actually having eyes on what you needed to see. Remember the acronyms METT-T, SALUTE, DRAW-D, EMPCOA, and KOCOA-W; that’s the information you need to answer or confirm. Although those are just the basics, the more information the better.

4. Complete the Plan: It’s time to make a final decision on how you will accomplish your mission. You have already thought of a few ways of going about it. One of the ways that you thought was the best idea, you now realize is impractical, after completing your reconnaissance. After rejecting the first idea, you choose the second best idea you had and carry on with that. Using all the information you had, you filled in the blanks. Then, after completing a reconnaissance, you confirmed that info and answered all the questions you may have had. So now, we have to put it all together into something that is easy for everyone to understand. In comes the operation order.

5. Issue the Order: An operation order can be half a page to a few hundred pages long, depending on the size and complexity of the mission. There is a lot of information being given out to your team, and it must be clear, concise, and easy to understand. Notice I repeated myself there. The whole purpose of an operation order is to provide specific instructions and give direction to your team. It should also convert your plan into action. Although the operation order is written on paper initially and can be read by your team and understood, it was designed to be explained orally using a terrain model or map. Below is an outline of the operation order; following the outline will be a complete breakdown of what it means and how to use it. An easy way to remember what goes into an operation order is use the acronym OSMEAC.

Let’s start breaking this thing down.

6. Supervise: A very wise man once told me “Inspect what you expect”. You must supervise your team and ensure they are doing what needs to be done correctly. Do not expect that it will be done your way without your inspection. Supervision is continuous and occurs throughout the preparation phase and during the mission. As a leader, you are responsible and accountable for the mission.

Using BAMCIS and the operation order will make life much easier for you in most of life’s situations. Obviously, these processes were designed and are used for combative purposes, but we can adapt them to our everyday life. Some of you do so already without even realizing it; I know I do. Below is an entire outline of BAMCIS and the operations order in one complete unit that you can use this as a reference to plan and write your own orders.

I hope this becomes a handy tool for everyone and was easy to understand. Mr. Murphy has a way of infiltrating every operation, no matter the size, but with the Operations Order there should be a solid plan in place with everyone on your team all on the same page. Your team will have a greater understanding of the who, what, when, where, why, and how. Then when Mr. Murphy graces you with his appearance, you and your team are able to adapt and complete the mission.