text: Engineer Planning
  * Step 3. Evaluate the threat. The purpose of evaluating the threat is to understand how a threat
  can affect friendly operations. This is a detailed study of enemy forces and their composition and
  organization, tactical doctrine, patterns of operation, weapons and equipment, and supporting
  systems. This step identifies threat capabilities based on threat missions and objectives.
  * Step 4. Determine threat COAs. The staff identifies and develops possible threat COAs that can
  affect accomplishing the friendly mission. The staff uses threat COAs, along with other facts and
  assumptions about the OE, to drive friendly COA analysis and influence friendly COA
  development.
  Tactically focused echelons typically gain substantial initial context for their assessments from a higher
  echelon’s Army design methodology. Before receipt of a mission, the running estimate consists of a broad
  analysis of the OE and an assessment of engineer capabilities. Upon receipt of the mission, the running
  estimate parallels the MDMP and becomes focused on relevant information to assist the commander’s
  decision making.
  The result of the MDMP is a concept of operations. The running estimate is refined through detailed
  consideration of engineer requirements in support of the concept of operations. The assessment includes
  each of the elements of decisive action (see table 5-4).
  Table 5-4. Elements of decisive action
  Offense
  Operation: Considerations:
  • Movement to contact. • Planning begins with predicting the adversary’s intent
  • Attack. through a thorough understanding of the threat, threat
  engineer capabilities, and how the terrain will affect
  • Exploitation.
  operations.
  • Pursuit. • Engineer planning tends to focus on mobility support
  including a robust reconnaissance effort.
  • Engineer planning also includes planning to ensure a
  smooth, resourced transition from offensive to defensive or
  stability operations.
  • Engineer units tend to have command relationships to
  maneuver commanders.
  Defense
  Operation: Considerations:
  • Mobile defense. • Planning begins with the use of terrain products to visualize
  • Area defense. how best to shape the terrain, to include describing the
  best positions from which to defend.
  • Retrograde.
  • Engineer planning tends to focus on countermobility and
  survivability support including a significant construction
  effort.
  • Construction planning includes security and survivability
  considerations.
  • Engineer units tend to have support relationships to the
  maneuver commander except for those combat engineer
  forces task-organized to the reserve or the mobile strike
  force.