BSS6: The Battle Staff SMARTbook, 6th Ed.

BSS6 is the sixth edition of The Battle Staff SMARTbook, completely updated for 2020. Updated material includes the full scope of new material from ADP 5-0, The Operations Process (Jul ‘19); ADP 6-0, Mission Command (Jul ‘19); FM 3-0 (w/Change 1), Operations (Dec ‘17); FM 6-0 (w/change 2), Commander and Staff Organization and Operations (Apr ‘16); ATP 2-01.3, Intelligence Preparation of the Battlefield (Mar ‘19); ADP 3-19, Fires (Jul ‘19); ATP 3-60, Targeting (May ‘15); ATP 5-19 (w/change 1), Risk Management (Apr ‘14); and ADP 1-02, Terms and Military Symbols (Aug ‘19); and more.
 
The Battle Staff SMARTbook covers the operations process (ADP 5-0); commander’s activities; Army planning methodologies; the military decisionmaking process and troop leading procedures (FM 6-0 w/Chg 2: MDMP & TLP); integrating processes (IPB, information collection, targeting, risk management, and knowledge management); plans and orders (WARNORDs/FRAGORDs/OPORDs); mission command, C2 warfighting function tasks, command posts, liaison (ADP 6-0); rehearsals & after action reviews; and operational terms and military symbols (ADP 1-02).
 
The Army’s framework for organizing and putting command and control into action is the operations process—the major command and control activities performed during operations: planning, preparing, executing, and continuously assessing the operation. Commanders use the operations process to drive the conceptual and detailed planning necessary to understand their operational environment (OE); visualize and describe the operation’s end state and operational approach; make and articulate decisions; and direct, lead, and assess operations.
 
Planning is the art and science of understanding a situation, envisioning a desired future, and laying out effective ways of bringing that future about. Preparation consists of those activities performed by units and Soldiers to improve their ability to execute an operation. Execution is the act of putting a plan into action by applying combat power to accomplish the mission and adjusting operations based on changes in the situation. Assessment is a continuous activity that supports decision making by ascertaining progress of the operation for the purpose of developing and refining plans and for making operations more effective.