User’s Guide for JOPES

1 user s Guidefor JOPES1 May 1995(Joint Operation Planning and Execution System)To successfully fight and winwars, war planning must be ourcentral focus. We will develop thebest possible plans using the collec-tive wisdom available among all mili-tary planning forces are downsized, we must ef-ficiently plan to use the resources en-trusted us by the American the new world security environ-ment evolves, diverse threats to ournational interests frequently requirelarge and complex operations. Thelarger and more complex the operation,the more it critically depends on a com-prehensive planning system to ensure any measure of plans must incorporate, to the maximum extent possible, the warfighting employ-ment principles outlined in joint doctrine; Joint Pubs 3-0 and 5-0 (Joint Operations andPlanning for Joint Operations, respectively).

2 In addition, future plans must be prudentand relevant to current and projected threats. Plans must clearly explain how and whyforces are employed, in addition to what forces are to be deployed and products of our planning efforts must be able to stand up to the strongest scrutiny,including the ultimate strongly recommend reading this Guide --it encapsulates fundamental JOPES planningprinciples and procedures for both deliberate and crisis action M. SHALIKASHVILIC hairmanof the Joint Chiefs of StaffTable of ContentsEXECUTIVE SUMMARY .. 1 JOPES PUBLICATIONS AND DOCUMENTS .. 5 THE JOPES 6 Campaign Planning.

3 7 Deliberate Planning .. 8 Crisis Action Planning .. 9 Deliberate Plans .. 10 JOPES ADP SUPPORT SYSTEM .. 13 Time-Phased Force and Deployment Data .. 14 The Global Command and Control System .. 20 GLOSSARY ..GL-1(INTENTIONALLY BLANK) user 's Guide forJOPESiEXECUTIVE SUMMARYJ oint warfare is essential to our Nation'scapability to fight and win. The natureof modern warfare demands we planand fight as a team. For joint forces towin in battle they must have a single,unified planning and execution frame-work capable of translating individualService terminology and operationalpolicies into a commonly understoodlanguage and standard operating Joint Operation Planning and Ex-ecution System ( JOPES ) combines in-dividual Service terminology and op-erating procedures into one standardmultifaceted system.

4 It provides stan-dardization to the joint planning systemused for the execution of complexmulti-Service exercises, campaigns andoperations. JOPES uses a set of com-mand and control techniques and pro-cesses, supported by a computerizedinformation system, to ensure the rightamount of timely support gets to thewarfighter to ensure a decisive primer will explain what JOPESis and what it is not. It is writtenfor commanders and war planners,new and novice users of JOPES , andthose who have only a peripheral rela-tionship with the system. If understoodand used properly, JOPES becomes acombat multiplier, increasing our effi-ciency in joint planning and is the Chairman of the JointChiefs of Staff s (Chairman s) jointplanning system.

5 It covers the plan-ning spectrum from the National Com-mand Authorities (NCA) through theChairman, to the combatant com-manders (the CINCs) and the jointtask force commanders. JOPES gov-erns all aspects of conventional jointmilitary operations planning and execu-tion. It is the tool used by all echelonsof planners and operators to speak acommonly understood furnishes joint commandersand war planners at all levels standard-ized policies, procedures, and formatsto produce and execute a variety ofrequired tasks to include: planning writing operation plans(OPLANs), operation plans in con-cept format (CONPLANs), func-tional plans, campaign plans, andoperation orders (OPORDs).

6 And execution and deployment(time-phased force and deploymentdata [TPFDD]) management defining requirements for, and gain-ing visibility of, the movement offorces into the combatant com-manders' area of responsibility(AOR). user 's Guide forJOPESii prioritize, replan, and track deploy-ment status during execution, and refine deployment requirements andmonitor the deliberate and crisis actionplanning is described in detail in JOPESV olumes I and II, and in the Chairmanof the Joint Chiefs of Staff Manual(CJCSM), TPFDD Development andDeployment is, in the truest sense of theword, a System.

7 It is not merely a com-puter! It is not a series of computersoftware programs! It is not just a stan-dardized set of policies, procedures, andformats for conducting planning andexecution! It is the sum of all theseparts! The goal of this primer is to pro-vide the reader a fundamental under-standing of this system and the inter-action of its is not simply a computer sys-tem. It does include automated dataprocessing (ADP) support for plannersand commanders by providing bothhardware (computers) and software(programs) to facilitate joint operationplanning and execution. JOPES ADPresides in the computer network of theWorld-Wide Military Command andControl System (WWMCCS), sched-uled to be replaced in September 1995by the Global Command and ControlSystem (GCCS).

8 The JOPES softwareapplications support a variety of plan-ning and execution functions. Together,the computer hardware and softwaresystems assist the planners to: develop detailed deployment re-quirements, estimate logistics and transportationrequirements and assess operationplan transportation feasibility,1 INTRODUCTIONJOPES is a combination of joint policies and proce-dures (guidance), and automated data processing(ADP) support used to plan and execute joint mili-tary operations. Although JOPES (and its relatedsystems) has been used for over 20 years to sup-port the development of operation plans and time-phased force and deployment data (TPFDD), thecurrent automated system was given its first realbaptism of fire in Operation Desert Shield to assistin managing a real world operational then, JOPES ADP has been used in virtuallyevery deployment.

9 Even though its performance isfar from ideal, it has become an integral part of ourability to deploy primer provides a general overview of purpose is to correct the common misconcep-tion that JOPES is only an ADP system by explain-ing in clear and succinct terms what JOPES trulyis. This document is intended to be used as a com-panion piece to the user 's Guide to Joint Opera-tion Planning, dated 11 September 1994. Thatdocument provides a more detailed overview of jointplanning is a combinationof joint policies and pro-cedures, supported byautomated data process-ing (ADP), designed toprovide joint command-ers and planners with acapability to plan andconduct joint war, nothing is achieved except by calculation.

10 Everythingthat is not soundly planned in its detail yields no Maxims of NapoleonThe Joint OperationPlanning and ExecutionSystem ( JOPES ) is theintegrated system usedto plan and execute jointmilitary 's Guide forJOPESJ ointWarfightingOperationsJoint Operation PlanningOPORD orC ampaign Pla ncampaign planningThe Joint Operation Planning and Execution SystemJOPESADPS upportJOPESP ublications& DocumentsNCAP olicyDecisionsDeliberatePlanningOPLANOPL ANOPLANOPLANOPLANOPLANOPLANC risisActionPlanningfigure 1 JOPES provides a stan-dardized framework forjoint military planningand execution. Thescope of JOPES is farbroader than is gener-ally 1 depicts the various parts of JOPES .