Commander of 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division in 2015 at the National Training Center (NTC) going through Orders Development Process with Staff. Photo provided by Captain Sean Williams
In June 2004, I signed in to the Headquarters (HQ) of the 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division (Ready First) at Ray Barracks, Friedberg, Germany. I signed in to the unit rear detachment since the Brigade was completing an extended tour in Iraq after the Shia uprising in Sadr City and Najaf. I briefly served as the rear detachment S-1 and later the rear detachment Executive Officer. When the Brigade redeployed, I transitioned into my official first staff assignment – the Brigade S-3 (Operations) section. Within the S-3, I served as the Assistant S-3 for Plans responsible for planning and writing the Brigade’s Operations Orders (OPORDs).
The Planner
The duties of the Assistant S-3 for Plans, known as the Planner, are planning coordination with Division HQs, adjacent Brigade HQs, and subordinate Battalion HQs; developing staff estimates, lead planning teams, and develop and brief the Brigade OPORDs. As a recent graduate of the Army’s Armor Captain’s Career Course (ACCC) – renamed the Maneuver Captains Career Course (MCCC) – and the Combined Arms Service Staff School (CAS3), I felt prepared for my staff assignment. However, the most crucial aspect of my job was not my previous military education, which was important, but the mentorship and leadership I received from the S-3 and my fellow staff officers.
As the Planner, I had the opportunity to plan and write the OPORDS for the following events: a Brigade-level Command Post Exercise (CPX), two Brigade Level gunneries at Grafenwoehr, and maneuver exercises at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center (JMRC) in Hohenfels that included railhead operations, and a Maneuver Rights Exercise across the Germany countryside, Torgau 2005 (U.S.-Russian Training Event), Javelin fielding and modernization, and a Command Post of the Future (CPOF) certification training at Fort Hood, Texas. The two most memorable events were the training events at JMRC and the Maneuver Rights Exercise.
The JMRC rotations planning required extensive coordination with Division HQ, subordinate Battalion HQs, and across all staff elements. Elements of the plan included railhead operations from Friedberg to Hohenfels of the Brigades M1A1s (Abrams) tanks and M2A2 (Bradley) Infantry Fighting Vehicles (IFVs), M113s, and other tracked vehicles. In addition to the railhead operations, the plan required convoys of the unit’s wheeled vehicles and personnel. Next, the plan required a comprehensive concept for Reception, Staging, Onward Movement, and Integration (RSOI) to download and assemble all the vehicles and personnel needed to conduct the training exercise. The initial portion of the plan required dedicated planning and coordination with the unit S-1 (Personnel), S-4 (Logistics), and S-6 (Communications).
Once RSOI was complete, the next planning phase for simulated combat operations involved coordinating various staff elements. This coordination included the S-2 (Intelligence), the Fire Support Officer (FSO) and targeting team, the Engineering Liaison Officer, the U.S. Air Force Liaison Officer (ALO), Army Aviation planners, and occasionally a Special Forces Operational Detachment – Alpha (ODA). Today, the list would include Civil Affairs (CA), Military Information Support Operations (MISO) known as Psychological Operations (PSYOP), Cyber, and Space planners. As the Planner, I was personally responsible for coordinating and integrating the various staff inputs into the Brigade Plan to ensure operations were synchronized. The critical element of the planning effort was implementing standard operating procedures (SOPs) that enhanced the unit’s ability to exploit opportunities by rapidly developing Fragmentary Orders (FRAGOs) to conduct time-sensitive operations including a cordon and search or attack an enemy’s exposed flank with airmobile forces.
The JMRC rotation ended with a redeployment that involved planning for railhead operations, convoys, and RSOI operations back at Friedberg, Germany. The JMRC exercise prepared the unit for its upcoming deployment to Iraq. The second JMRC exercise specifically focused on counterinsurgency (COIN) operations that Bridge would conduct in Nineveh and Al Anbar Provinces from 2006-2007. As the Planner, the JMRC exercises allowed me to enhance my planning for Combined Arms Integration and Synchronization.
The second major planning event I worked on was the Brigade’s Maneuver Rights Exercise called Operation READY CRUCIBLE. The purpose of READY CRUCIBLE was to simulate a Return of Forces to Germany (REFORGER) exercise where the Brigade would maneuver across the German countryside. READY CRUCIBLE consisted of battalion-size operations where subordinate battalions would conduct a road march from Ray Barracks to the Friedberg Training Area (FTA) and conduct a series of sections or platoon level drills. Next, the Battalion conducted road marches to designated objectives along the German countryside and conducted a series of movements to contact and obstacle breaching operation.
A tank from 1-37 Armor Battalion conducting a road march during READY CRUCIBLE: Photo by Nama Reelnam on Flickr
As the Brigade Planner, I was responsible for coordinating with the local German officials and police to use the roads, coordinate agreements with German farmers to use their lands, and conduct route reconnaissance with the Brigade Reconnaissance Troop. That planning involved in READY CRUCIBLE later proved useful since I worked closely with local nationals to coordinate and deconflict operations and in the event of damages, pay reparations. These skills proved invaluable during my deployment to Iraq, where I worked closely with local Iraqi civilians, police, and military officials.
A convoy of 1-37 Armor Tanks during READY CRUCIBLE. Photo provided by Richard Bumgardner
There were some essential lessons I learned from my assignment as the Brigade Planner. First, the importance of effective written and oral communication skills. My first S-3, a former instructor at the Infantry Captain’s Career Course, spent a considerable amount of time coaching and mentoring me to write succinctly. By the end of my assignment as the Planner, my OPORDs had minor edits from him, demonstrating a marked improvement. The second lesson was the importance of standardization. The Planner is responsible for writing the base document and Annex C (Operations) of the OPORD and must coordinate with the other staff elements for the other annexes and appendices. As the Planner, I had to lead peers in the planning effort, a skill necessary at any staff echelon. The biggest challenge was ensuring that all parts of the OPORD were formatted the same and confirm that tasks to a subordinate unit were not buried in an annex or appendices that were not in the base document or directly referenced in the base document. Preventing tasks from being buried in annexes and appendices was necessary because the base OPORD must always stand on its own with enough detail along with the Commander’s Intent that a subordinate unit can execute an operation without the supported annexes and appendices. The third and final lesson was the importance of knowing doctrine. Knowing doctrine allows planners to develop SOPs, and more importantly, build flexibility to deviate from doctrine when opportunities to exploit a situation present themselves.
My assignment as the Brigade Planner proved invaluable during the rest of my Army Career. It influenced my decision to transition to the Functional Area (FA) 59 (Strategy, Plans, and Policy) Career Field. The lessons I gained from my experience as a Brigade Planner shaped my approach to planning campaign and contingency plans at U.S. Special Operations Command – Central (SOCCENT), a Theater Special Operations Command (TSOC) assigned to U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM). These lessons were also crucial at CENTCOM, where I was responsible for developing the Command’s Campaign Plan and multinational planning efforts with Allies from Canada, France, and the United Kingdom.
Lieutenant Colonel Chad M. Pillai is an active duty Army Strategist who served in various tactical, operational, and strategic level assignments in South Korea, Germany, Iraq, Afghanistan, the Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC), U.S. Special Operations Command – Central (SOCCENT), and U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM). He has written and published over 50 articles and blogs to include contributing a chapter on Geopolitics and Strategy for On Strategy: A Primer. Lieutenant Colonel Pillai earned a Masters in International Public Policy from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) is a member of the Military Writers Guild and Army Strategy Association.