FM 5-0, The Operations Process - Federation of American Scientists

Troop Leading Procedures
strengths and weaknesses of subordinate leaders. They realistically determine all available resources. This
includes troops attached to, or in direct support of, the unit. The assessment includes knowing the strength
and status of their equipment. It also includes understanding the full array of assets in support of the unit.
Leaders know, for example, how much indirect fire will become available, and when it is available, they
will know the type. They consider any new limitations based on the level of training or recent fighting.
Time Available
C-37. Leaders not only appreciate how much time is available, they understand the time-space aspects of
preparing, moving, fighting, and sustaining. They view their own tasks and enemy actions in relation to
time. They know how long it takes under such conditions to prepare for certain tasks (such as orders
production, rehearsals, and subordinate element preparations). Most important, leaders monitor the time
available. As events occur, they assess their impact on the unit timeline and update previous timelines for
their subordinates. Timelines list all events that affect the unit and its subordinate elements.
Civil Considerations
C-38. Civil considerations are the influence of manmade infrastructure, civilian institutions, and attitudes
and activities of the civilian leaders, populations, and organizations within an AO on the conduct of
military operations (FM 6-0). Rarely are military operations conducted in uninhabited areas. Most of the
time, units are surrounded by noncombatants. These noncombatants include residents of the AO, local
officials, and governmental and nongovernmental organizations. Based on information from higher
headquarters and their own knowledge and judgment, leaders identify civil considerations that affect their
mission. (See FM 6-0 and FM 3-05.401.) Civil considerations are analyzed in terms of six factors known
by the memory aid ASCOPE:
• Areas.
• Structures.
• Capabilities.
• Organizations.
• People.
• Events.
Course of Action Development
C-39. Mission analysis provides information needed to develop COAs. The purpose of COA development
is simple: to determine one or more ways to accomplish the mission. At lower echelons, the mission may
be a single task. Most missions and tasks can be accomplished in more than one way. However, in a timeconstrained
environment, leaders may develop only one COA. Normally, they develop two or more.
Leaders do not wait for a complete order before beginning COA development. They develop COAs as soon
as they have enough information to do so. Usable COAs are suitable, feasible, acceptable, distinguishable,
and complete. (See appendix B.) To develop them, leaders focus on the actions the unit takes at the
objective and conduct a reverse plan to the starting point.
Analyze Relative Combat Power
C-40. During COA development, leaders determine whether the unit has enough combat power to defeat
the force (or accomplish a task in stability or civil support operations) against which it is arrayed by
comparing the combat power of friendly and enemy forces. Leaders seek to determine where, when, and
how friendly combat power (the elements of intelligence, movement and maneuver, fires, sustainment,
protection, and command and control) can overwhelm the enemy. It is a particularly difficult process if the
unit is fighting a dissimilar unit (for example, if the unit is attacking or defending against an enemy
mechanized force as opposed to a similarly equipped light infantry force). Below battalion level, relative
combat power comparisons are rough and generally rely on professional judgment instead of numerical
analysis. When an enemy is not the object of a particular mission or tasks, leaders conduct a troop-to-task
analysis to determine if they have enough combat power to accomplish the tasks. For example, a company
commander assigned the task “establish civil control in town X” would need to determine if they had
26 March 2010 FM 5-0 C-7