text: Chapter 3
  Figure 3-4. BCT information collection timeline
  3-82. The commander is the most crucial participant in the MDMP. More than merely a decision-maker in
  the process, a commander uses his or her experience, knowledge, and judgment to drive staff planning efforts.
  During the MDMP, commanders focus their activities on understanding, visualizing, and describing.
  3-83. The staff’s efforts during the MDMP focus on assisting the commander in understanding the situation,
  making decisions, and synchronizing those decisions into a fully developed plan or order. Staff activities
  during planning initially focus on mission analysis. Commanders use the products the staffs produce during
  mission analyses to understand situations and develop a commander’s visualization. The mission analysis
  products also define the staff’s input into the initial phases of the BCT’s reconnaissance and security operations.
  3-84. The RDSP is a decision-making and planning technique that commanders and staffs commonly use
  during execution when available planning time is limited. (See FM 6-0 for more information regarding the
  RDSP.) The MDMP is a time-intensive systematic process that provides the optimal solution, while the RDSP
  seeks a rapid and effective solution within the commander’s intent. The RDSP is a time-friendly
  decision-making and synchronization process that allows leaders to combine experience and intuition to
  understand situations quickly and develop courses of action. The Cavalry squadron staff most often executes