FMI 3-34.119 - Soldier Support Institute - U.S. Army

Chapter 7RISK MANAGEMENT7-17. Risk management is the process of identifying, assessing, and controlling risks arising fromoperational factors and making decisions that balance risk cost with mission benefits (FM 100-14). Riskmanagement is integrated into the MDMP (see FM 5-0), and continues throughout the operations process.Commanders and staffs assess risk whenever they identify hazards, regardless of type; they do not waituntil a set point in a cycle.7-18. Effective risk management can reduce the frequency of IED strikes and diminish the physical effectswhen they do occur. It is used to identify hazards, define risks, identify methods for control, and identifyresponsibilities for implementation. The risk-management process enables commanders and staffs to defineacceptable risk levels and implement controls until risks are commensurate with the mission. Riskmanagement is a five-step process. The steps are as follows:• Step 1. Identify the hazards.• Step 2. Assess the risk of each hazard.• Step 3. Make risk decisions and develops controls.• Step 4. Implement controls.• Step 5. Supervise and evaluate.IDENTIFY THE HAZARDS7-19. This is often the most difficult part of risk management. An IED incident is the condition that resultsfrom the interactions of an IED, a catalyst (such as activation from a Soldier, Marine, or vehicle), and acommon spatial relationship. These hazards are defined in terms of the types of IEDs (such as a packageIED, a VBIED, or a suicide bomber), how a Soldier or Marine might encounter the hazard (dismounted ormounted and the type of vehicle), and the locations where encounters would be most likely.ASSESS THE RISK OF EACH HAZARD7-20. This requires determining the probability and effects of an IED strike. An effective risk assessment iscritical for evaluating the combat effectiveness of a unit in an IED environment. Risk-assessment criteriaare developed by using Table 7-1. A sample risk assessment is shown in Figure 7-1 and will be discussedfurther in this chapter.Table 7-1. Risk assessment matrixSEVERITYPROBABILITYFrequent (A) Likely (B) Occasional (C) Seldom (D) Unlikely (E)Catastrophic I E E H H MCritical II E H H M LMarginal III H M M L LNegligible IV M L L L L7-4 FMI 3-34.119/MCIP 3-17.01 21 September 2005