TROOP LEADING

PROCEDURES

327th Signal BN (ABN)

 REFERENCES

• FM 7-8
• FM 25-101

327th Signal BN (ABN)

 AGENDA
• Decision making
• TLP eight steps
– RECEIVE THE MISSION
– ISSUE THE WARNING ORDER
– MAKE A TENTATIVE PLAN
– START NECESSARY MOVEMENT
– RECONNOITER
– COMPLETE PLAN
– ISSUE THE COMPLETE PLAN
– SUPERVISE
• Conclusion

327th Signal BN (ABN)

 DECISION MAKING

•Army leaders usually follow one of two decision making

processes. Leaders at company level and below follow the
troop leading procedures (TLP). The TLP are designed to
help solve tactical problems. Leaders at battalion-level and
above use the military decision making process (MDMP). For
further discussion on the MDMP see FM 101-5 (Staff
Organizations and Operations). Both TLP and MDMP are
established, proven methods of problem solving and decision
making. They save time and achieve parallel decision making
and planning.

327th Signal BN (ABN)

 TLP EIGHT STEPS
• RECEIVE THE MISSION
• ISSUE THE WARNING ORDER
• MAKE A TENTATIVE PLAN
• START NECESSARY MOVEMENT
• RECONNOITER
• COMPLETE PLAN
• ISSUE THE COMPLETE PLAN
• SUPERVISE

327th Signal BN (ABN)

 RECEIVE THE MISSION
•The leader must understand the order and most importantly the commander’s intent.
Analyze the order to determine what tasks must be accomplished whether they are
specified in the order or implied by the mission.

•Also determine what resources, including time, are available to prepare and execute
the mission.

•Receive the mission to be completed from command, whether it be a new mission or

a change to a mission in progress. Leader must analyze the mission based on the
factors of the Mission, Enemy, Terrain, Troops available, and Time available
(METT-T).

•For the factor of time, the leader should use less than 1/3 of the time to the
beginning of the mission to plan and issue the order so that his subordinates
have 2/3 of that time to prepare (1/3 - 2/3 Rule).

327th Signal BN (ABN)

 ISSUE THE WARNING
ORDER
•Provide a brief order outlining upcoming events to prepare
subordinates for movement. This order provides initial instructions
to allow preparation to begin as soon as possible (i.e. draw
ammunition, rations, water, supplies. etc.). The warning order has
no specific format.

•The leader must let his subordinates know that they are about to
receive an order based on the order received from higher. Tell the
subordinates what the expected mission is and any implementing
and planning instructions they need to begin their preparations.

•Include a timeline in the warning order that covers all critical

events (including OPORD issue time) prior to mission
execution.

327th Signal BN (ABN)

 MAKE A TENTATIVE
PLAN
•The leader develops an estimate of the situation to form the basis
of a tentative plan. The military decision making process involved
uses five steps: mission analysis, situation / course of action
development, analysis of possible courses of action, comparison of
each course of action, and the decision or tentative plan.

•Based on information supplied in the order that was received and

the leader’s analysis of that order along with the unit’s current
situation using METT-T, the leader must first clearly determine his
unit’s mission.

•The unit mission simply answers the five Ws: Who, What, Where,
When, and Why. Then the leader determines the concept or How
his unit will accomplish the mission.

327th Signal BN (ABN)

 START NECESSARY
MOVEMENT
•The unit may need to start movement while leaders are still
planning or reconnoitering. Therefore, a delegated leader
may bring the unit forward at any point during the troop-
leading procedure.

•If the mission requires movement or repositioning of any

element, this movement should begin as early as possible to
make best use of the time available.

327th Signal BN (ABN)

 RECONNOITER

•Reconnaissance at company-level and below is generally

conducted either on the ground or on a map. The leader should
include key personnel on his reconnaissance. He should focus
his reconnaissance on primary unit positions, alternate locations,
critical routes, and possible threat locations and routes.

•There is nothing more effective than actual “eyes-on”

reconnaissance to confirm routes and time critical movements.
Nevertheless, if there isn’t enough time, leaders must at least
conduct a map reconnaissance.

327th Signal BN (ABN)

 COMPLETE THE PLAN
•Make necessary changes to the plan and prepare order. Leaders
should review the mission to ensure that their plan is in
compliance with the commander's intent.

•Leaders organize the information needed for their order in a

standard coherent form. This may be the format designated in the
unit SOP or the standard five-paragraph operations order format
below:

1.  Situation e a d e rs
oo n l o d
P l a t g o
2.  Mission  h a v ea
3.  Concept of the Operation l r e a d y e.
a p l a c
4.  Service Support r m a t in
5. Command and Signal
fo
327th Signal BN (ABN)
 ISSUE THE COMPLETE
ORDER
•Provide a five paragraph Operations Order (OPORD) outlining the mission and
how it will be completed. Subordinates should know who, what, when, where, and
why of the mission so they understand their own tasks and how they fit into the
entire mission.

•Leaders issue their order either on the ground they plan on operating, which is
preferred, or with a map of the area of operations. They make sure all key
subordinates are present to receive the order.

•If the order is issued verbally, leaders must present it clearly and deliberately
enough to allow key subordinates time to write the important points down.

•Once the order is issued, leaders should use brief-back techniques to make
sure the subordinate leaders understand the tasks and priorities assigned to
them.
327th Signal BN (ABN)
 SUPERVISE
•The most important step but often the most overlooked is supervision.

•This means closing the loop to insure your subordinates understand the
mission and are prepared to execute the mission through the use of conduct
Pre Combat Inspections (PCI). Soldiers and their first line leaders conduct
Pre Combat Checks (PCC). Commanders and other leaders conduct PCIs to
insure the mission is understood and subordinate elements are prepared to
conduct the mission they’ve been assigned.

•Finally, leaders at all levels conduct rehearsals to give everyone involved a

thorough understanding of their tasks, how these tasks meet the commanders
intent, and how they fit into the overall concept of the operation.

•Rehearsals also allow the leader to identify and examine actions or tasks that
may require more coordination or preparation prior to execution of the plan.

327th Signal BN (ABN)

 Conclusion
•Planning, Rehearsals, and Inspections: Sergeant’s
Business? You Bet!
•There it is! The pre-combat triad of planning, rehearsing, and
inspecting is Sergeant’s business at the platoon level. As an
NCO, your parallel mission in life is to train your platoon leader
for higher command.
•If you don’t offer the platoon leader the benefit of your
experience and training, the platoon leader has to learn in a
vacuum. This leaves the Platoon Leader alone – usually by this
time mentally exhausted – to plan for the operation. In combat
that error will cost lives, perhaps your own.

327th Signal BN (ABN)