Best Practices Amaury Murgado
Operations Plans Learn how to write your own blueprint for a successful mission.
E
veryone wants to do the cool stuff: run code, kick in doors, grab the bad guy right out of his shoes, and put him in the box. But the administrative work has to get done, too. The saying “It’s not over ’til the fat lady sings” is incorrect. It’s not over until the paperwork is done. I teach my recruits at the academy that for every minute of fun, there will be at least an hour of paperwork. That includes a report after the fact, as well as an operations plan beforehand. At some point you will be in charge of a specialty unit or be part of a special operation. Either way, someone will ask you to write an operations plan (ops plan). An ops plan is your blueprint for success, but most people have never actually learned how to write one. Digging up the last plan on file and using it as a template isn’t the same thing as developing one from scratch. You need to know what exactly an ops plan is, what it is supposed to accomplish, and what it is really used for.
What an Ops Plan Is and Is Not People plan in two distinct mindsets:
strategically (long term) or tactically (short term). An operations plan is typically a tactical plan that covers a specific action that occurs over a relatively short period of time. It serves as both a plan and a set of orders. It is a plan in the sense that it details all the operational considerations of some type of action that is coming up in the near future. It is a set of clear and distinct orders because it will detail what can and cannot be done during the same period. It also establishes tasks to be performed, objectives to be reached, and how to demobilize the action. When you hear the term ops plan you probably automatically think of something high speed and low drag involving SWAT. You might forget that it’s probably the most common form of plan used within an agency. Actually, let me amend that: It should be the most common form of plan used. It can be as simple as covering a special traffic enforcement zone with four motor officers or as detailed as covering a full blown checkpoint requiring close to a hundred officers. 16
POLICE JANUARY 2012
The great news is that instead of learning hundreds of different ops plans, all you need to focus on are the principles contained therein. They are the same regardless of the kind of operation you are planning for; only the details are different. What an ops plan is not, is a waste of time. It is a good way to iron out problems and deal with pitfalls before they actually occur. It solidifies and confirms your resources. Further, it Don’t forget to gives you a historical record to cross figure out fuel reference with future operations and requirements for all vehicles. provides documentation for court purposes. Combine an ops plan with an after action report and you have a powerful tool that will help you evaluate and improve future plans. It will also give you insight as to any future training you may need to conduct to improve your operations.
What’s it Supposed to Accomplish? As stated earlier, an ops plan is both a plan and a set of or-
ders. It’s there to help get you organized and iron out contingencies. This is the point where you should work out as many details as possible, as it will help cut down on surprises later. One way to stay organized is to folMake sure low a format that gives you ample mayour chain neuvering room in writing out your of command plan. I have seen ops plans that run reviews your from one to 15 pages and everything ops plan. in between. In my opinion, keeping the format simple is as important as the details needed to fill in the blanks. I find that complicated formats may look good to pencil pushers, but field types know the meaning of KISS (keep it simple, sir). I have consistently used one format as the basis for my ops plans. It’s the one I learned in the military. I find the Army Five Paragraph Operations Order format works well and crosses over with little difficulty into law enforcement. The format consists of five distinct sections: Situation, Mission, Execution, Service Support, and Command and Signal. I have modified the format to meet my needs on many occasions and there lies its beauty: flexibility. Other times, I have had to follow the format given to me For more Best Practices go to www.PoliceMag.com/bestpractices