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Instruction on the use of the military decision-making process (MDMP), in manuals such as FM 101-5, Staff Organization and Operations, 31 May 1997, and in the core Command and General Staff College (CGSC) tactics courses, is written for maneuver commanders and staffs. Furthermore, the Advance Fires Course, an elective at CGSC, does not teach or address how the MDMP is used to produce field artillery support plans (FASPs). Currently, there is no manual published that outlines doctrine on how to apply the MDMP to write FASPs. The Field Artillery School began teaching artillery-oriented MDMP procedures to Officer Advance Course students in 1997; artillerymen who attended the course prior to 1997 are left to wonder how to properly use the MDMP to produce a synchronized FASP.

The direct support (DS) artillery battalion staff should strive to conduct as much parallel planning as possible with the maneuver brigade staff; however, in a time-compressed planning environment, this is not always possible. The procedures outlined in this newsletter address the production of the FASP when the DS artillery battalion staff begins formal planning shortly before the brigade operation order (OPORD) is published. However, even in this sequential planning procedure, the artillery staff must still conduct planning along with the brigade staff. The artillery staff's planning will not be parallel with the brigade's MDMP, but the artillery staff will have a good concept for the artillery course of action (COA) once the brigade commander approves the maneuver COA. The artillery staff must conduct this prior planning with the brigade staff to produce a supportable brigade COA and to facilitate producing a quality FASP in a timely manner. The goal of the artillery battalion staff is to produce a thorough, synchronized FASP as soon as possible after the publication of the brigade OPORD.

NOTE: The MDMP process outlined in this newsletter is led by the battalion executive officer (BN XO); the Field Artillery School, however, teaches that the S-3 runs this process. The author believes that the BN XO, as the second in command and chief of staff, is the one responsible for synchronizing the staff's efforts on developing a FASP. This allows the S-3 time to focus on fighting the current fight, develop courses of action, and issue movement orders, while the BN XO supervises the process. The BN XO is the logical member of the battalion staff to ensure that the logistic and operation plans are developed together and support each other. Furthermore, the MDMP procedures outlined in this article are written for a compressed order timeline, more commonly found at Combat Training Centers (CTCs). The procedures follow the guidelines outlined in FM 101-5. These procedures were successfully tested during the Leader Training Program and during a CTC rotation. The author believes that it is best to train the staff on the MDMP using the toughest conditions (i.e., conditions found at the CTCs) they will encounter. If the staff can produce a FASP using the compressed timeline procedures outlined in this article, it can produce a FASP when the timeline is not constrained.

Foreword

Techniques and Procedures