Planning in Combat Mission: Mission Analysis

[IICptMillerII]

Another writeup for those of you who can pry yourselves from the Ukraine thread. This time, the topic is mission planning, specifically how to do it in relation to Combat Mission scenarios. 

The basic idea is:

Planning Framework for Combat Mission

The workflow for planning how to play a scenario in Combat Mission can be broken into four parts and are done in order. They are:

     1.      Receive OPORD/WARNO/FRAGO

     2.      METT-TC

     3.      OKOCA

     4.      Enemy Course of Action (ECOA)

Read along for the full breakdown and explanation! https://millerswargamingvault.blogspot.com/2022/06/introduction-planning-is-critical-to.html 

Feel free to discuss. Just remember that this is a very complicated subject if you decide to get really into the details. There are entire doctrinal publications covering each one of these topics. This is a more general overview meant to be easily digestible in a single sitting, as as such some nuance is lost.

Fair warning for my fellow rock bangers, there are no pictures in this entry besides the cover image.

[SergeantSqook]

Yo that's crazy but how does it relate to Ukraine

[BornGinger]

It doesn't relate to Ukraine in any way other than the Ukraine people fight in when they play the game Black Sea.

His words "Another writeup for those of you who can pry yourselves from the Ukraine thread" means that he expects people to be busy reading the thread How Hot is Ukraine Gonna Get. And if some have decided to take a break from that thread, they might want to discuss the article he's linking to in this thread and also to discuss the workflow for planning how to play a scenario in any Combat Mission game.

That's at least how I understand the first post in this thread.

Edited June 17, 2022 by BornGinger

[IICptMillerII]

39 minutes ago, BornGinger said:

It doesn't relate to Ukraine in any way other than the Ukraine people fight in when they play the game Black Sea.

His words "Another writeup for those of you who can pry yourselves from the Ukraine thread" means that he expects people to be busy reading the thread How Hot is Ukraine Gonna Get. And if some have decided to take a break from that thread, they might want to discuss the article he's linking to in this thread and also to discuss the workflow for planning how to play a scenario in any Combat Mission game.

That's at least how I understand the first post in this thread.

My good man @SergeantSqook was joking, but yes you are correct. 

[Rinaldi]

8 hours ago, BornGinger said:

It doesn't relate to Ukraine in any way other than the Ukraine people fight in when they play the game Black Sea.

His words "Another writeup for those of you who can pry yourselves from the Ukraine thread" means that he expects people to be busy reading the thread How Hot is Ukraine Gonna Get. And if some have decided to take a break from that thread, they might want to discuss the article he's linking to in this thread and also to discuss the workflow for planning how to play a scenario in any Combat Mission game.

That's at least how I understand the first post in this thread.

Thanks for the clarification. Got confused myself. 

[Thewood1]

Might be the fastest I have ever seen a thread start to derail.  Especially disappointing considering the excellent topic.

[Grey_Fox]

2 hours ago, Thewood1 said:

Might be the fastest I have ever seen a thread start to derail.  Especially disappointing considering the excellent topic.

Some of us talk on other services (discord mainly), and there is a feeling of disappointment and something approaching disgust that this forum has become a Russo-Ukraine war rumour outlet where 99% of the activity is relegated to a single thread, rather than a CM forum. Sqook and Miller's comments should be seen in that context.

Edited June 17, 2022 by Grey_Fox

[Combatintman]

On 6/16/2022 at 3:57 AM, IICptMillerII said:

Another writeup for those of you who can pry yourselves from the Ukraine thread. This time, the topic is mission planning, specifically how to do it in relation to Combat Mission scenarios. 

The basic idea is:

Planning Framework for Combat Mission

The workflow for planning how to play a scenario in Combat Mission can be broken into four parts and are done in order. They are:

     1.      Receive OPORD/WARNO/FRAGO

     2.      METT-TC

     3.      OKOCA

     4.      Enemy Course of Action (ECOA)

Read along for the full breakdown and explanation! https://millerswargamingvault.blogspot.com/2022/06/introduction-planning-is-critical-to.html 

Feel free to discuss. Just remember that this is a very complicated subject if you decide to get really into the details. There are entire doctrinal publications covering each one of these topics. This is a more general overview meant to be easily digestible in a single sitting, as as such some nuance is lost.

Fair warning for my fellow rock bangers, there are no pictures in this entry besides the cover image.

Mine's got pictures ... 

 

[domfluff]

7 minutes ago, Combatintman said:

Mine's got pictures ... 

 

Something I started to discuss with Miller, but didn't conclude, was a comparison of the US and UK approach to things.

There's been some discussion recently about whether the planning process takes too long, and indeed I was on a webinar last night with John Schmitt running one of his TDGs - specifically designed to practice rapid decision making.

There are certainly some aspects of the UK combat estimate that I think make a lot of sense - putting the enemy's actions first means you're considering them straight away, and potentially avoiding treating them as static blocks on the map, for example.

I'd be really interested if you have any more thoughts about this, above "this is the one I'm used to"

[Combatintman]

11 minutes ago, domfluff said:

I'd be really interested if you have any more thoughts about this, above "this is the one I'm used to"

I was at Command and Staff Trainer (South) when the Combat Estimate was rolled out (2000-2003) - in fact we were the organization that was responsible for field trialling it.  Mike Jackson I think was CGS at the time and we had his buy-in which helped knock down the 'not invented here' crowd at the Staff College.  My last job before transferring to the Aussie Army was at Command and Staff Trainer (North) ... so yes I may have some opinions on the matter 

[Combatintman]

Deleted - double post

Edited June 17, 2022 by Combatintman

[Simcoe]

On 6/15/2022 at 7:57 PM, IICptMillerII said:

Another writeup for those of you who can pry yourselves from the Ukraine thread. This time, the topic is mission planning, specifically how to do it in relation to Combat Mission scenarios. 

The basic idea is:

Planning Framework for Combat Mission

The workflow for planning how to play a scenario in Combat Mission can be broken into four parts and are done in order. They are:

     1.      Receive OPORD/WARNO/FRAGO

     2.      METT-TC

     3.      OKOCA

     4.      Enemy Course of Action (ECOA)

Read along for the full breakdown and explanation! https://millerswargamingvault.blogspot.com/2022/06/introduction-planning-is-critical-to.html 

Feel free to discuss. Just remember that this is a very complicated subject if you decide to get really into the details. There are entire doctrinal publications covering each one of these topics. This is a more general overview meant to be easily digestible in a single sitting, as as such some nuance is lost.

Fair warning for my fellow rock bangers, there are no pictures in this entry besides the cover image.

Great stuff! You’ve been on a roll with the content.

[Vacillator]

4 minutes ago, Simcoe said:

Great stuff! You’ve been on a roll with the content.

Agreed, I'm looking forward to this - especially if it applies equally to WW2 titles.  None of those modern acronyms .

EDIT: didn't read the WARNO, it's already all linked in the first post, so I don't have to look forward to it .

Edited June 17, 2022 by Vacillator

[IICptMillerII]

2 hours ago, Combatintman said:

Mine's got pictures ... 

 

Damn, I knew I was forgetting something important! I'll add a link to this post to the writeup!

1 hour ago, domfluff said:

Something I started to discuss with Miller, but didn't conclude, was a comparison of the US and UK approach to things.

Feel free to discuss here, same with you Karl. I am not fluent at all with the British version of this planning process so cannot comment on it directly, but I am equally interested in a comparison. 

1 hour ago, Simcoe said:

Great stuff! You’ve been on a roll with the content.

Thanks! I've been try to keep up with it and justify having a blog in the first place. Plus, it can be oddly fun to do at times. 

1 hour ago, Vacillator said:

Agreed, I'm looking forward to this - especially if it applies equally to WW2 titles.  None of those modern acronyms .

It definitely applies across all titles. The planning process itself is derived from modern acronyms and procedures, but they are all just as applicable in 194X as they are in 198X and 202X. 

[Simcoe]

6 hours ago, IICptMillerII said:

Damn, I knew I was forgetting something important! I'll add a link to this post to the writeup!

Feel free to discuss here, same with you Karl. I am not fluent at all with the British version of this planning process so cannot comment on it directly, but I am equally interested in a comparison. 

Thanks! I've been try to keep up with it and justify having a blog in the first place. Plus, it can be oddly fun to do at times. 

It definitely applies across all titles. The planning process itself is derived from modern acronyms and procedures, but they are all just as applicable in 194X as they are in 198X and 202X. 

What do you use to take screenshots, make graphics and gifs?

[IICptMillerII]

11 minutes ago, Simcoe said:

What do you use to take screenshots, make graphics and gifs?

I use Nvidia Shadowplay (part of the GeForce Experience software bundle) to take screenshots and recordings. Making gifs is a long obnoxious process that involves recording the video in game, editing/cropping it down, then using an online gif coverter tool to actually make the gif. I know others here are able to use photoshop to make their gifs, but I have never been able to get that to work with my copy. 

For the graphics, I use photoshop. 

[Simcoe]

1 hour ago, IICptMillerII said:

I use Nvidia Shadowplay (part of the GeForce Experience software bundle) to take screenshots and recordings. Making gifs is a long obnoxious process that involves recording the video in game, editing/cropping it down, then using an online gif coverter tool to actually make the gif. I know others here are able to use photoshop to make their gifs, but I have never been able to get that to work with my copy. 

For the graphics, I use photoshop. 

Thanks!

[chuckdyke]

@Combatintman No Plan Survives First Contact With The Enemy. You can say that again.

 

[Codreanu]

Great work, thorough METT-TC and OCOKA is something I have a bad habit of skipping over so I've bookmarked the page so I can look back on it for reference when I play. You really have a knack at explaining concepts in a way that is easy to understand.

[IICptMillerII]

56 minutes ago, Codreanu said:

Great work, thorough METT-TC and OCOKA is something I have a bad habit of skipping over so I've bookmarked the page so I can look back on it for reference when I play. You really have a knack at explaining concepts in a way that is easy to understand.

Thanks! I was trying to make it more of a guide than a dense manual. I've noticed that a lot of people have trouble translating the concepts in tactical manuals to practical effect in scenarios. I think part of that is because people do not realize that military manuals are like textbooks. They are meant to be taught by instructors in a classroom environment to teach basic fundamentals, and all the practical stuff is learned in the field. Trying to use a military manual to win a CM scenario is the same thing as trying to use a physics textbook to assemble and launch a rocket. 

Sounds like I was successful in my goal. Glad it helped!

[Glubokii Boy]

2 hours ago, IICptMillerII said:

 Trying to use a military manual to win a CM scenario is the same thing as trying to use a physics textbook to assemble and launch a rocket. 

Things might seem fairly simple when you read about it in the manual. The basic idea is not all that difficult to understand. Stuff like...

- Supress the enemy possition and attack it from the flank...

- Cover your advancing elements with base of fire possitions...

- Achive fire supperiority.

Reading the manuals and looking at the examples one might be fooled into beliving...'OK...this does not look all that difficult' ...but being able to do these things against

an active enemy certainly is DIFFICULT ...

 

 

[BornGinger]

On 6/18/2022 at 3:44 AM, IICptMillerII said:

Making gifs is a long obnoxious process that involves recording the video in game, editing/cropping it down, then using an online gif coverter tool to actually make the gif.

If you have a Samsung 7 phone, probably works with other so called smart phones too, you can make a gif from a part of a video in the phone's videoplayer. It's a very quick process.

[Lethaface]

On 6/17/2022 at 8:17 PM, domfluff said:

There's been some discussion recently about whether the planning process takes too long, and indeed I was on a webinar last night with John Schmitt running one of his TDGs - specifically designed to practice rapid decision making.

Isn't this also a question of taking time to make sure every aspect of the process is understood and refined when there is time (i.e. during peacetime), so that when **** hits the fan and there are REAL deadlines those involved can do the same thing under pressure and 'more rapid' without just 'checking the boxes' and go with it?

That's basically what I got from methodology and doctrines/frameworks in my field of work; it's often overkill for the situation at hand, especially when there's no burning platform. But when stuff needs to get done quickly and with good enough quality, you need to have the capabilities to know/feel where you can cut corners (or fix later) and where you can't; that knowledge/experience takes a lot of time and effort to learn.

 

[domfluff]

It's absolutely that. The recent discussion I'm less sure was in good faith, and was perhaps more of finding something to complain about. Nevertheless, I don't doubt that there can be bloat in the planning process, and a desire for some more efficiency at times. Whether that's actually a good idea is another thing - often insufficient planning to "cut through the red tape" ends with disaster, in practice.

[Rinaldi]

1 hour ago, domfluff said:

 Nevertheless, I don't doubt that there can be bloat in the planning process, and a desire for some more efficiency at times. Whether that's actually a good idea is another thing - often insufficient planning to "cut through the red tape" ends with disaster, in practice.

In short: it is easier to identify fat and trim it than it is to identify weakness and build muscle.