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

Environmental Frame
Design
3-44. The commander and staff develop a contextual understanding of the situation by framing the
operational environment. The environmental frame is a narrative and graphic description that captures the
history, culture, current state, and future goals of relevant actors in the operational environment. The
environmental frame describes the context of the operational environment—how the context developed
(historical and cultural perspective), how the context currently exists (current conditions), and how the
context could trend in the future (future conditions or desired end state). The environmental frame enables
commanders to forecast future events and the effects of potential actions in the operational environment.
The environmental frame explains the actors and relationships within a system and surfaces assumptions to
allow for more rapid adaptation. The environmental frame evolves through continuous learning, but scopes
aspects of the operational environment relevant to higher guidance and situations.
3-45. Within the environmental frame, commanders review existing guidance, articulate existing
conditions, determine the desired end state and supporting conditions, and identify relationships and
interactions among relevant operational variables and actors. They analyze groupings of actors that exert
significant influence in the operational environment knowing that individual actors rarely share common
goals. By identifying and evaluating tendencies and potentials of relevant actor interactions and
relationships, commanders and their staffs formulate a desired end state that accounts for the context of the
operational environment and higher directives.
End State and Conditions
3-46. The desired end state consists of those desired conditions that, if achieved, meet the objectives of
policy, orders, guidance, and directives issued to the commander. A condition is a reflection of the existing
state of the operational environment. Thus, a desired condition is a sought-after future state of the
operational environment. Commanders explicitly describe the desired conditions and end state for every
operation. This description provides the necessary integration between tactical tasks and the conditions that
define the end state.
3-47. Time is a significant consideration when developing the desired end state. How time relates to the
desired end state heavily influences not only the expectations of higher authorities but also how
commanders use forces and capabilities to achieve desired conditions. Staffs exercise diligence throughout
design to account for the expected time required to achieve the desired conditions. They also qualify
whether the desired conditions are intended to be lasting or transient in nature. This temporal dimension is
essential to developing effective operational approaches. It impacts the feasibility, acceptability, suitability,
and completeness of any resulting plan.
3-48. The characteristics and factors of conditions vary. Conditions may be tangible or intangible. They
may be military or nonmilitary. They may focus on physical or psychological factors. They may describe or
relate to perceptions, levels of comprehension, cohesion among groups, or relationships between
organizations or individuals. When describing conditions that constitute a desired end state, the commander
considers their relevance to higher policy, orders, guidance, or directives. Since every operation focuses on
a clearly defined, decisive, and attainable end state, success hinges on accurately describing those
conditions. These conditions form the basis for decisions that ensure operations progress consistently
toward the desired end state.
Relevant Actors
3-49. Commanders use the environmental frame to understand and explain behaviors of relevant actors in
the operational environment. An actor is an individual or group within a social network who acts to
advance personal interests. Relevant actors may include states and governments; multinational actors such
as coalitions; and regional groupings, alliances, terrorist networks, criminal organizations, and cartels. They
may also include multinational and international corporations, nongovernmental organizations, and other
actors able to influence the situation either through, or in spite of, the appropriate civil, religious, or
military authority.
26 March 2010 FM 5-0 3-9