Planning for Action: Campaign Concepts and Tools

Planning for Action: Campaign Concepts and Tools is designed to be used as a handbook for developing campaign plans at the US Army Command and General Staff College. This book provides working definitions of campaign concepts and tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) for campaign planners. In order to support the concepts, there are a number of "thinking tools" that complement and reinforce our operations process with a rational, logical approach to an increasingly complex and dynamic operational environment. Linking the campaign planning concepts to the thinking tools enables commanders to implement the mission command imperatives of understand, visualize, and describe to create a shared understanding of the problem and the operational approach to transform conditions to meet national objectives. Although all of the concepts and TTPs in this handbook are based on joint and US Army doctrine, they represent a way to approach campaign planning rather than the way that must be followed. Doctrine provides a "starting point" with common definitions and a common frame of reference - but doctrine requires original applications that adapt it to circumstances. As with doctrine, the concepts and tools described in this book also require judgment in application. The intent is to provide a starting point for developing campaigns with particular emphasis on ensuring unity of purpose in planning and executing campaigns.