ARRC Journal 2019 | Page 46

ARRC JOURNAL TAKEAWAY 4: LogFAS (ADAMS/EVE/CORSOM) provides the basic capability to conduct high-level planning of movement operations through the consideration of transportation nodes and route capacities and characteristics, as well as through the establishment of road and rail transportation networks and simulated vehicle convoys and railway trains. The software can therefore be used to assess obvious limitations and to identify potential bottlenecks at the early stages of the strategic movement planning process. Movement planning is a distinct, but integral, part of the NATO operational planning process, no matter if it is carried out at the strategic, operational or tactical level. The LogFAS M&T software can produce valuable input to every phase of the operational planning process, from initiation to plan review. While the use of these tools to produce some deliverables and to support specific processes may be directed from higher headquarters, additional planning requirements can also greatly benefit from the timely and efficient use of LogFAS M&T software. Use of LogFAS in NATO Planning The following will briefly describe how and what happens during NATO planning and the corresponding steps taken in LogFAS. Initiation. The development of movement plans in support of NATO-led operations is an iterative process and LogFAS can be used for simulation and analysis in the commander’s initiating directive. It is at this stage that the relevant M&T data feeding these LOGFAS tools, such as GeoMAN data, need to be updated from trusted sources to ensure that the results presented in the initiation and later phases are as accurate as possible. Orientation. This is where mission analysis is conducted and results in one or potentially many mission analysis briefs (MAB) to the commander. The ADAMS and CORSOM functions can be used to support concept development and courses of action (COA) for the commander’s consideration and provide input on related considerations, such as on the selection of strategic LOC, M&T organisations and manning requirements. The chosen COA will be further developed into a concept of operations (CONOP), which the M&T specialists will be expected to contribute 46 ALLIED RAPID REACTION CORPS to. The CONOP should be supported by a statement of requirements (SOR), often referred to as Combined Joint (CJ) SOR in the NATO context, identifying all forces required to fulfil the operational requirements established in the CONOP. The SOR should ideally identify the commander’s priorities and timelines in terms of desired order of arrival (DOA), commander’s required date (CRD) and the planned final destination (FD) for the requested forces or capabilities. While the SOR should be generated from TOPFAS by the J5 staff and imported into LogFAS tools, it can also be produced in ADAMS. From the SOR, M&T planners utilising generic forces and assets, so as to provide a gross feasibility estimate of the movement concept, could generate an initial MNDDP using ADAMS. This, then, would aid in simulating various potential scenarios. The CORSOM function could also be run with the MNDDP data for a similar simulation of the RSOM process. Plan Development. Through the force generation process, countries will offer force contributions against the requirements listed in the SOR. An Allied Force List (AFL) will be created listing all potential forces at the commander’s disposition to meet its CONOP, potentially showing gaps in some capabilities and surpluses in others. Through the iterative process of plan development, the plan will firm-up to include only those available forces deemed required to realise this plan, as well as all national units planned to be deployed in support to the offered capabilities (such as National Support Elements (NSEs)), to form the Allied Disposition List (ADL)). The ADL, then, constitutes an expression of the time- phased requirements for deploying contributed forces. It is imperative at this time that the ADL include all necessary deployment parameters, such as the DOA, CRDs, PODs, and FDs, as well as all forces to be included in the overall movement plan. The development of the ADL should take into account, to the extent possible, time phasing limiting factors, such as length of LOC, strategic lift availability and throughput capacities, amongst others. It must be noted at this time that the production of an ADL may occur later in the planning process when a SOR containing the necessary movement information, mentioned above (except for force profiles and holdings), is produced and where countries are asked to produce their DDP to match their planned contribution to such a SOR. The ADL and the national databases of forces allow countries and other contributing organisations to develop their own DDP for consolidation by the lead headquarters, normally SHAPE, for major operations and exercises into an MNDDP. Through further bilateral exchanges with countries and the conduct of movement planning conferences, the lead movement coordination organisation will deconflict the MNDDP to best meet the commander’s operational requirements. In this phase, LogFAS M&T tools will assist the JOPG M&T representatives in developing flexible and robust movement plans. The plan development phase will conclude by the production of the Operation Plan (OPLAN), and the outline of the MNDDP should be reflected into a Movement Support Plan (SUPPLAN) as an appendix to the OPLAN’s Movement Annex (Annex S). Plan Execution and Review. The plan review phase begins as soon as the OPLAN is written and any part of its content changes and needs to be modified. This phase also covers the execution phase of the operation, where the plan will need to be updated regularly to meet the evolving situation. The MNDDP is converted to an EVE multinational FEP, providing visibility over all planned missions over a given period of time, allowing the overall movement plan to be adjusted as movements occur. Similarly, CORSOM will be used to adjust the initial RSOM plan to meet any unforeseen obstacle to its realisation, allowing simulation of the use of alternate routes or any other changes that would affect ground transport operations. TAKEAWAY 5: The integration of LogFAS M&T software in NATO operations and exercises (including computer- assisted exercises (CAX)) should not be done in isolation or as an afterthought; a movement plan completed in ADAMS that demonstrates a specific COA is unrealistic should lead to the design or choice of a new COA, rather than to ignore the results of proper movement planning for the benefit of completing the rest of the planning process. The level of effort and related resources and expertise required to support the integration of the proper use of LogFAS M&T tools should not be underestimated.