The information contained below is an extract from Field Manual 101-5, Staff Organization and Operations, 31 May 1997.

Managing Information

The staff's ability to operate effectively during the preparation for and execution of an operation revolves around how staff members manage information. A staff officer must be able to receive, analyze, process, and distribute massive volumes of information quickly and efficiently. All information is not of the same importance and cannot be processed the same way. Information management is a balancing act between providing too much information, which will overload the commander and slow down the decision process, and providing too little information, which can lead to poor decisions.

As the battle progresses, the volume of information increases significantly. The commander establishes filters for information reporting, the most important of which are the CCIR. This helps eliminate extraneous reports and allows the staff to recognize key events that demand the commander's attention. The CofS ensures the staff analyzes the information and provides the commander only information necessary to make decisions.

The staff must establish and practice, prior to the commencement of operations, an SOP to effectively manage all the information. This SOP must include standard displays the commander feels comfortable in using for decision making, and procedures and techniques the staff uses to report critical information.

The first step in managing information is to analyze information to determine whether it is critical, exceptional, or routine. (See Appendix I.) The staff officer must know the commander's intent and the concept of the operation, and be current on how the preparation for and execution of the operation are proceeding in order to interpret what the information means and how critical it is. This means the staff member must not only know how his functional area is progressing in detail, he must understand how the preparation for or execution of the operation is progressing overall. Without a broad knowledge of the situation, the staff member may misinterpret the information's criticality.

The next step is to decide what to do with the information--how to properly display and disseminate it. A map is an effective visual information display for the commander to see a snapshot of the operation. From one map, the commander should get a reasonably complete situation report (SITREP) of the critical information about a unit and the current operation without having to ask numerous questions of staff officers. The map also gives the staff a quick and efficient means of displaying critical information for other staff officers. Status boards and charts are other visual methods for staff officers to effectively display critical information. However, the staff must avoid having too many, or unnecessary, charts that might contribute to information overload or avoid putting so much information on maps, charts, and overlays that updating them is difficult. The staff's use of matrixes, logs, and journals is also important. Modern automation technology will add new means to display, store, and disseminate information.

The staff must have a means to disseminate information and any orders that result from the commander's analysis of that information. For subordinate and supporting units, this is normally a fragmentary order (FRAGO) or a warning order (WARNO). The order may be oral, in the form of an overlay, or in written format. (See Appendix H.) The use of WARNOs is particularly critical during the execution of operations. It allows subordinate elements maximum time for parallel planning and preparation for branches, sequels, and new missions. The clarity of FRAGOs and WARNOs is essential. During the conduct of operations, there is much less time for clarification than during preparation for execution.

The staff disseminates this information among the staff sections within its own headquarters according to its SOP. The SOP should include who gets what kind of information and in what priority. All staffs should have access to all information, but they do not all need it in the same priority. Establishing what information is critical to what staff section and who needs critical information quickly is an important part of staff coordination. The information may not always fit a specific category. As they evaluate any unusual information, all staff officers should be asking themselves, "Who else needs this information?" Most important, CSS operators must be kept fully informed of the progress of the operation.

Finally, the staff disseminates information to higher and adjacent headquarters using standard reports. Knowledge of the higher commander's CCIR helps a staff determine what priority to assign to information going to higher headquarters.

Making Recommendations

If the staff officer has done everything within his authority to bring the plan back on track, but has been unsuccessful, or lacks the assets or authority to make it happen, he must then make a recommendation to the commander to resolve the problem. Knowing both the assets available within the command and from higher headquarters and the commander's intent is the key to determining a recommendation. Basic recommendations during operations include that the commander--

Recommended changes to the plan may include that the commander execute a branch or a sequel identified during the planning process. The recommendation should support the commander's intent and facilitate future operations. It must address the change's advantages, disadvantages, risk to the force, supportability, and overall effect on the operation.

Conducting Coordination

During preparation for and execution of operations, continuous coordination by the staff officer is critical. This includes coordinating vertically and horizontally to exchange information and coordinate actions that may impact on the staff officer's area or other functional areas. Coordination aims to reduce confusion and problems while maximizing the synchronization of the plan. It is particularly important to conduct thorough coordination when subordinate units change their execution of the plan directed by the issuing headquarters.

Synchronizing Operations

During preparation for and execution of an operation, the staff helps the commander synchronize the operation to mass maximum combat effects on the enemy. This involves synchronizing the operation in space and time across the battlefield functional areas with respect to the close, deep, and rear operations to gain or retain the initiative. Synchronization involves every staff officer understanding his part of the operation and how it relates to everyone else's while supporting the commander's intent.

Maintaining Continuity

During the preparation for and execution of operations, the staff must maintain continuity to reduce turmoil. Continuity requires planning for continuous 24-hour-a-day operations. This includes plans for shift changes in command posts, sleeping, eating, command post displacements, operations during WMD strikes, provisions for individual casualties or destruction of entire command posts, and maintenance of communications under all conditions.   Each staff section must establish what information and procedures everyone needs to know, and how they will be updated. This includes the commander's intent, the current mission, CCIR, shift-change procedures, maintenance of situational awareness through periodic staff huddles, and staff drills for actions such as mission planning and orders production. Continuity also includes distributing the staff section among the various command posts to cover each functional area in those command posts that need it.