ATTP 5-0.1 Commander and Staff Officer Guide - Army Electronic ...

Chapter 5
Troop Leading Procedures
Troop leading procedures provide small-unit leaders with a framework for planning
and preparing for operations. Leaders of company and smaller units use troop leading
procedures to develop plans and orders. This chapter describes the eight steps of
troop leading procedures and their relationship to the military decisionmaking
process. While this chapter explains troop leading procedures from a groundmaneuver
perspective, it applies to all types of small units.
BACKGROUND AND COMPARISON TO THE MDMP
5-1. Troop leading procedures extend the military decisionmaking process (MDMP) to the small-unit
level. The MDMP and troop leading procedures (TLP) are similar but not identical. They are both linked by
the basic Army problem-solving process. Commanders with a coordinating staff use the MDMP as their
primary planning process. Company-level and smaller units lack formal staffs and use TLP to plan and
prepare for operations. This places the responsibility for planning primarily on the commander or smallunit
leader.
5-2. Troop leading procedures are a dynamic process used by small-unit leaders to analyze a mission,
develop a plan, and prepare for an operation (FM 5-0). These procedures enable leaders to maximize
available planning time while developing effective plans and preparing their units for an operation. TLP
consist of eight steps. TLP are also supported by composite risk management. (See FM 5-19.) The
sequence of the steps of TLP is not rigid. Leaders modify the sequence to meet the mission, situation, and
available time. Some steps are done concurrently while others may go on continuously throughout the
operation:
� Step 1 – Receive the mission.
� Step 2 – Issue a warning order.
� Step 3 – Make a tentative plan.
� Step 4 – Initiate movement.
� Step 5 – Conduct reconnaissance.
� Step 6 – Complete the plan.
� Step 7 – Issue the order.
� Step 8 – Supervise and refine.
5-3. Leaders use TLP when working alone or with a small group to solve tactical problems. For example,
a company commander may use the executive officer, first sergeant, fire support officer, supply sergeant,
and communications sergeant to assist during TLP.
5-4. The type, amount, and timeliness of information passed from higher to lower headquarters directly
impact the lower unit leader’s TLP. Figure 5-1 (page 5-2) illustrates the parallel sequences of the MDMP of
a battalion with the TLP of a company and a platoon. The solid arrows depict when a higher headquarters’
planning event could start TLP of a subordinate unit. However, events do not always occur in the order
shown. For example, TLP may start with receipt of a warning order (WARNO), or they may not start until
the higher headquarters has completed the MDMP and issued an operation order (OPORD). WARNOs
from higher headquarters may arrive at any time during TLP. Leaders remain flexible. They adapt TLP to
fit the situation rather than try to alter the situation to fit a preconceived idea of how events should flow.
14 September 2011 ATTP 5-0.1 5-1