text: Chapter 3
  Planning Challenges for Multinational Operations
  This chapter discusses planning challenges beginning with an overview of campaign
  preparation. It then discusses the importance of force protection. The chapter also
  addresses the commander’s mission focus and guidance to ensure unity of effort. This
  chapter discusses planning for the MPE and establishing the MPN within multinational
  forces. The chapter then provides early planning considerations.
  CAMPAIGN PREPARATION
  3-1. The ability to alert, mobilize, and rapidly deploy forces in any region is critical to mission success.
  Understanding the limitations and capabilities of multinational forces’ contributions helps create a secure and
  stable environment. Planners review national military contingents and mission partner assets. These
  contributions allow the necessary forces to deploy efficiently with the available lift assets. Understanding the
  current infrastructure and transportation limitations in the region helps the force allocate resources. Once
  resources are committed, national contingent units and liaison offices coordinate with the mission partners
  for deployment in the AO. Effective planners anticipate and coordinate requirements to maximize capabilities
  and minimize resources for the multinational force. This prevents duplication of effort from the lead nation.
  FORCE PROJECTION FOR MULTINATIONAL FORCES
  3-2. Force projection for a multinational force is critical to mission accomplishment. From the beginning,
  participants must know the multinational considerations to deploy forces and use lift assets. Multinational
  operations strive to avoid duplicated effort and unit capabilities. For example, before the UN protection force
  deployed to the former Republic of Yugoslavia, each participating nation performed its own engineer
  reconnaissance of the infrastructure. This enabled staff to see duplicated efforts and to find omissions in
  necessary support. Multinational force planners review assets from national military contingents and mission
  partners and then agree on a division of labor.
  3-3. Limited lift means maximizing efficiency during deployment of forces and sustainment capabilities.
  This lift requires coordination with troop contributing nations, so units do not deploy capabilities already
  available, such as port operations forces. In some cases, one multinational force transports another nation’s
  forces to the AO. Liaison officers from national contingents coordinate with the nation moving its forces or
  with the multinational force headquarters responsible for coordinating the movements with the nation
  providing lift. (See Chapter 5 for additional information on sustainment.)
  MISSION FOCUS FOR THE COMMANDER
  3-4. Mission focus is a planning challenge for commanders. Political considerations and military capabilities
  of the multinational force affect the focus that commanders have on multinational operations. The
  commander remains focused on the mission and understands the reason each national contingent participates.
  This mission focus determines the structure and resultant taskings of the multinational force. Commanders
  need to prevent a multinational force from splitting into components operating under differing political
  directions. The commander recognizes that political considerations can push an acceptable course of action
  rather than the optimum military solution. The commander remains flexible to adjust to unforeseen political
  influences, keeps the multinational force focused on the military objective, and avoids mission creep.
  3-5. Another challenge to mission focus is national differences in doctrine, training, or equipment. Leaders
  assign functions to a smaller group of partners to overcome differences in doctrine, training, or equipment.
  For example, the multinational force assigns the mission of support area security to home defense or police
  forces. Commanders consider tasking members of the multinational force with specific warfighting functions
  or operations based on the threat’s special capabilities and its nation capabilities. Commanders recognize the
  strengths and differences of the forces’ cultures. Commanders’ decisions and military leadership use the
  capabilities of the forces. Subordinate commanders request control of forces that provide capabilities not