text: Intelligence Staff Support
  5-42. IPOE allows commanders and staffs to start from a mission-focused holistic approach to analyze the
  OE to support the mission. The approach—
  ⚫ Describes all relevant aspects of the OE that may impact friendly, threat, and neutral forces.
  ⚫ Considers all relevant domains and dimensions that may impact friendly and threat operations.
  ⚫ Identifies windows of opportunity to leverage friendly capabilities against threat forces to reach
  a position of relative advantage (human, information, or physical).
  ⚫ Allows commanders to leverage positions of relative advantage at a time and place most
  advantageous for mission success with the most accurate information available.
  5-43. IPOE results in intelligence products used during the MDMP to assist in developing friendly COAs
  and decision points for the commander. Additionally, the conclusions reached and the products (which are
  included in the intelligence estimate) developed during IPOE are critical in planning information collection
  and conducting targeting. When discussing IPOE, it is natural to discuss the various IPOE products; however,
  the following outcomes of the IPOE process are as important as developing IPOE products:
  ⚫ Collaboration across the staff and with the commander.
  ⚫ Effective consideration of the range of possible threat COAs and capabilities (not just the most
  dangerous and most likely).
  ⚫ Careful analysis and detailed consideration of the terrain, weather, and significant mission and/or
  operational variable considerations.
  ⚫ A fair and accurate portrayal of the threat during COA development and analysis (war game).
  5-44. The G-2/S-2 and intelligence staff lead the staff effort, but IPOE must include the entire staff—at least
  during key portions of the process. Often IPOE’s success is either set or not set, depending on what has
  occurred before IPOE. This intelligence effort applies the IWFTs of—
  ⚫ Plan, establish, and revise an intelligence architecture.
  ⚫ Leverage data, information, and intelligence.
  ⚫ Conduct pre-mission analysis of the OE.
  MISSION FOCUS
  5-45. Upon receipt of a WARNORD or mission (or in anticipation of a mission), the commander and staff draw
  relevant information categorized by the operational variables and filter it into the mission variables
  (METT-TC [I]) used during mission analysis. During IPOE, the staff focuses on the relevant aspects of the OE
  regarding the staff’s warfighting function. The staff focuses primarily on the mission variables of enemy, terrain
  and weather, and civil considerations. However, based on the staff’s echelon, type of OE, type of operation, and
  changes in the OE, the staff may need to account for other significant aspects of the OE.
  5-46. To be effective, IPOE must—
  ⚫ Consider all domains and dimensions.
  ⚫ Define the commander’s AOI by its geographic boundaries and across all domains to focus
  collection and analysis within the AOI.
  ⚫ Describe how the enemy, terrain and weather, and civil considerations will affect friendly and
  threat operations. This subtask involves the commander and the entire staff collaborating to
  determine these effects. No matter how complex, the staff must thoroughly consider the civil
  considerations (including information) that are significant to the mission.
  ⚫ Include relevant aspects of the OE that relate to relative advantages and defeat or stability
  mechanisms.
  ⚫ Support each step of the MDMP with IPOE products.
  ⚫ Consider the operational framework. (See chapter 2.)
  ⚫ Facilitate the commander’s ability to visualize the desired end state and a broad concept of how
  to shape current conditions into that end state.
  ⚫ Support the commander in directing the intelligence effort.
  ⚫ Facilitate understanding threat characteristics and threat goals, objectives, and COAs.