text: Chapter 3
  Planning for Personnel Recovery
  This chapter discusses how personnel recovery is integrated into Army planning. It
  first discusses the personnel recovery staff using the military decisionmaking process.
  Then the chapter discusses the Appendix 13 (Personnel Recovery) to Annex E
  (Protection) for an operation order. It then details isolated Soldier guidance. The
  chapter concludes with a discussion of the evasion plan of action.
  PERSONNEL RECOVERY AND THE MILITARY DECISIONMAKING
  PROCESS
  3-1. Commanders and staffs use the military decisionmaking process (MDMP) for planning during at
  least three methods of personnel recovery—immediate, deliberate, and externally supported. The deliberate
  method is the obvious method for use of the MDMP. During the deliberate method of personnel recovery,
  the commander issues intent and guidance to the staff. They, in turn, use the MDMP to develop COAs for
  recovering isolated persons.
  3-2. When the headquarters is notified of an isolating event in battalion headquarters and above,
  personnel recovery in the MDMP becomes a normal staffing action. An isolating event can include a
  surviving, evading, or delaying contact with detained or captured person or persons. Sample staff personnel
  recovery actions are organized into matrixes (tables 3-1 through 3-7 on pages 3-1through 3-17) based on
  the steps of the MDMP. All actions are listed by responsibility and chronologically, as they would likely
  occur during an isolating event. These matrixes enable the commander, staff, and PRCS to plan in a
  deliberate or time-constrained environment.
  RECEIPT OF MISSION
  3-3. Table 3-1, pages 3-1 to 3-7, lists staff actions for step one, receipt of mission. Such staff actions
  include alert the staff, gather tools, update the running estimates, conduct initial assessment, issue
  commander’s initial guidance, and issue the initial warning order.
  Table 3-1. Receipt of mission staff actions
  Responsible Personnel Recovery Actions: Alert the Staff
  Battle captain • Provides a commander’s critical information requirement update to the
  commander.
  Chief of staff • Directs the staff to conduct parallel or collaborative planning, or both.
  • Directs the staff to begin taking notes for the after action review (all staff
  sections, units, and leaders). Schedules a formal after action review after each
  phase and mission.
  Note. The mission may be tasked by higher headquarters, identified through message traffic, or
  received from an isolated person. Potential sources include operation plans or orders, search and
  rescue incident reports, search and rescue situation reports, ground-to-air signals, or other staff
  communications such as spot reports.
  Commander • Emphasizes time on the run (isolation or captivity) of isolated persons.
  G-3 (S-3) • Alerts the designated staff representatives for PR planning.
  Battle captain
  (Table 3-1 continues on page 3-2.)