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Take your tactical planning to the next echelon with this one-stop field guide summary to the U.S. Army’s Military Decision-Making Process (MDMP) — condensed and streamlined for platoon-level and squad leaders. Whether you're in the field or in a TOC, this document equips you to plan like a battalion staff — fast, effectively, and with confidence.
Why This Guide?
Battalion staffs have the time, personnel, and experience to work through full MDMP. Small unit leaders don’t.
This tactical cheat sheet bridges that gap, giving you the core steps, tools, and assessments you need to rapidly generate a sound mission plan — all in a simplified and actionable format.
What’s Inside:
Step-by-Step MDMP Breakdown
(FM 5-0 Referenced)
Covers the key doctrinal steps — from Receiving the Mission to Issuing the OPORD — with critical sub-steps like:
- Intelligence Preparation for The Battlefield (IPB)
- Mission analysis using METT-TC & OAKOC
- Tentative Coarse of Action (COA) development for friendly & enemy
- Simplified civilian Op - Order
Intelligence Preparation of the Battlefield (IPB)
(ATP 2-01.3)
This expanded section walks you through:
- Defining AO, AI, and Area of Influence
- Terrain & weather effects using OAKOC
- Threat composition, doctrine, and capabilities
- Developing enemy COAs (MLCOA/MDCOA)
METT-TC + OAKOC Tactical Advantage Matrix
(ATP 3-21.8)
Not just a checklist — this guide shows you how to assess tactical advantage or disadvantage at a glance. You’ll quickly determine:
- Whether the mission is achievable
- If you’re overmatched or tactically superior
- How terrain, time, and troop strength shape your odds
- Civil considerations that could impact your plan
Enemy COA Development Toolset
(FM 5-0, ATP 2-01.3)
Use our DRAW-D checklist, enemy doctrinal review tools, and NAI mapping guide to build out realistic, terrain-informed enemy plans — a critical input to your own COA development and ISR priorities.
Tactical Civilian OPORD variant OPORD Template (5 Paragraph Format)
(ATP 3-21.8)
Issue crystal-clear orders with a ready-to-fill 5-paragraph operations order format:
- Situation
- Mission
- Execution
- Sustainment
- Command & Signal
Format:
- Printable PDF
- Doctrinal references included: FM 5-0, FM 6-0, ATP 2-01.3, ATP 3-21.8