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• Higher headquarters briefs, plans and orders.
• The commander's planning guidance.This is made up of the restated mission, initial concept of the operation, scheme of maneuver, deception objective, rear operations priorities, time plan, type of order to be issued, and type of rehearsal (backbrief, reduced force, full force). It may indicate what support tasks are required before, during, and after the mission.
• The commander's intent (or concept).The intent may indicate when and where support actions are to be synchronized with maneuver, thereby suggesting logistics triggering mechanisms.
• Operations and intelligence briefings and overlays.These provide locations of friendly and enemy forces, weather, terrain, likely logistics release points, resupply routes and distances.
• MTOEs of Task Force units. These provide data on logistics resources, capabilities and capacities.
• Logistics status reports. These reports provide data on the readiness of primary weapon systems and materiel stocks.
• TF scouts. They are especially helpful if the need to gather data against the components of tactical logistics is included in their collection requirements (such as airlift resupply landing zones).
• Engineer route reconnaissance overlays.
• Traffic circulation and highway regulating plans.
• Personal reconnaissance. Logistics staff members may be required to collect data on likely resupply routes, obstructions, bridge weight limits or the composition of stream beds.

Gathering data about the components of tactical logistics gives the staff planner the basic planning factors needed to assess the battlefield environment. Through analysis, these data are transformed into decision information to determine the supportability of competing courses of action and to develop effective staff estimates. Only by assessing the status and impact of the components of tactical logistics can logisticians bring an informed estimate to the planning process. Tacticians must take advantage of the contributions made by logisticians during planning or face periods of diminished combat power during a mission--potentially at a critical point in the battle.

By analyzing relevant data elements and applying them during planning, logistics preparation of the battlefield is achieved. This is essential if we are to incorporate the sustainment imperatives of anticipation, integration, continuity, responsiveness and improvisation specified in FM 100-5, Operations and FM 100-10, Combat Service Support.

Table of Contents
Section I - Components of Tactical Logistics
Section III - The Training Challenge: Integrating Logistics