text: Chapter 3
  A scout produced pen, paper, and a field desk from his kit, established a hasty command post
  and rapidly converted the spy’s initial report into multiple copies of an important message
  that contained the critical combat information that the reconnaissance organization knew
  their commander and the emperor needed. Murat approved the report and handed it to a series
  of riders who maneuvered along a series of connecting files that relayed the message
  to Napoleon.
  That night the report reached Napoleon. The emperor and his staff quickly analyzed the
  combat information, updated situation maps, and then, in a rush of rapid, harshly accented
  orders, updated the plan and issued a series of fragmentary orders. By the next morning, all
  of Napoleon’s subordinates received the same word; the enemy was massing to the west
  around Erfurt and Weimer. Two days later, elements of the Grande Armée, operating
  decentralized but still within mutual support, and taking advantage of the effective
  reconnaissance and security operations of its cavalry screen, crushed the Prussian Army in
  the battle of Jena-Auerstadt.
  SECTION II – COMMAND AND CONTROL
  3-13. Mission command is the Army’s approach to command and control. Command and control is the
  exercise of authority and direction by a properly designated commander over assigned and attached forces in
  the accomplishment of the mission (JP 1, Volume 2). Command and control alone does not destroy an enemy
  force, secure an objective, or resupply an element. However, none of these activities could be coordinated
  towards a common objective, or synchronized to achieve the maximum effect, without effective command
  and control. The countless activities a military force must perform gain purpose and direction executing
  command and control. The ultimate goal of command and control is mission accomplishment.
  3-14. The operations process is the Army’s framework for organizing and putting command and control into
  action. The operations process consists of major command and control activities performed during
  reconnaissance and security operations (planning, preparing, executing, and continuously assessing). To
  function effectively and have the greatest chance for successful mission accomplishment, commanders,
  supported by their staffs, employ the operations process to drive both conceptual and detailed planning.
  Conceptual and detailed planning is necessary to understand, visualize, and describe their operational
  environment; make and articulate decisions; and direct, lead, and assess military operations.
  3-15. The operations process and reconnaissance and security operations are mutually dependent. Just as the
  planning, preparation, and assessment of the operations process informs and directs reconnaissance and
  security operations, the BCTs and squadrons conduct reconnaissance operations during all phases of the
  operations process. The BCTs and squadrons provide the necessary information to complete plans,
  preparations, adjust the execution of operations, and provide further assessments of the tactical situation and
  the operational environment. The activities of the operations process are not discrete; planning, preparing,
  executing, and continuously assessing the operation overlap and recur as the circumstances of the tactical
  situation and operational environment demand. Planning starts an iteration of the operations process. Upon
  completion of the initial order, planning continues as leaders revise the plan based on changing circumstances
  (and timely reports from Cavalry units). Preparing begins during the planning and continues through
  execution. Execution puts a plan into action by applying combat power to gain a position of relative
  advantage. (Refer to ADP 5-0 for more information.)
  OPERATIONS PROCESS
  3-16. Commanders and staffs use the operations process to integrate numerous tasks executed by the BCT’s
  organic Cavalry organizations and other subordinate units. Commanders must organize and train their staffs
  and subordinates as an integrated team to plan, prepare, execute, and assess reconnaissance and security
  operations while simultaneously planning, preparing, and assessing the BCT’s decisive operations.
  3-17. In addition to the principles of mission command, commanders and staffs consider the following to
  employ the operations process effectively: