Under extreme time constraints the commander will perform the mission analysis himself and provide the staff with the restated mission and his intent. The commander must ensure the process is under his control and steps within the process are not arbitrarily ignored. The staff will continue to provide guidance as necessary, coordinate actions, and implement the commanders decisions. To a varying extent, staff members are always assessing the current operation and updating their estimates. Detailed planning prior to operations provides the commander and staff with components of information they need to make knowledgeable choices and decisions as operations continue.
Modifications are much simpler than returning to a zero base.
These products, such as DSTs and event templates, identify critical points in the plan that require decisions and commanders consideration. Staff members should maintain sufficient, updated information on the changes from their initial estimates to be able to give the commander an indication of their ability to support new mission requirements. Regardless of how the commander chooses to abbreviate the decision-making process, two areas he should always include are wargaming and risk assessment. Risk assessment must be done to ensure a solution to a task or set of tasks will not render the force incapable of anticipating operations or lower the units combat effectiveness below acceptable levels. Forward to the Glossary.