Understanding the problem

Military Review, March-April, 2008 by Bruce Stanley

Bruce Stanley, Fort Leavenworth, KS--Dr. (LTC) Tom Clark's timely and relevant article "Army Planning Doctrine: Identifying the Problem is the Heart of the Problem" (Military Review, November-December 2007) offers a teachable problem-identification method. His three-step method to identifying a problem and three-step method to developing a problem statement will benefit military instructors and students alike.

The Combined Arms Doctrine Directorate should consider this article as they update Field Manual 5-0, Army Planning and Orders Production. The inclusion of the identification steps and problem statement format into the military decision-making process, specifically the mission-analysis step, will be a valuable addition to the Army's decision-making model.

The article should further the discussion of why problem identification is key at all levels of command (tactical through strategic). The Command and General Staff School, particularly the Center for Army Tactics, has recently included instruction on identifying and writing a tactical problem into the course curriculum. Student feedback acknowledges that when a tactical problem is clearly defined and articulated, staffs are able to clearly focus when they are developing solutions to problems presented during practical exercises.

Dr. Clark's tactical problem model provides staff officers and commanders a useful tool to help reduce uncertainty and better focus operational planning. Adding this framework to doctrine will promulgate the framework throughout TRADOC, ultimately resulting in a common understanding of the importance of identifying the problem.