Plans are necessary in order to make things organized and successful. Without a plan, one may just be doing things randomly or aimlessly. Or on could be going to battle without a clue on what they should do, which is a terrible thing to happen in real life. This is why a military operational plan has come to existence.

Plans are necessary in order to make things organized and successful. Without a plan, one may just be doing things randomly or aimlessly. Or on could be going to battle without a clue on what they should do, which is a terrible thing to happen in real life. This is why a military operational plan has come to existence.

In this article, we will focus on military operational plans. We will be discussing what it is, its uses, the types of military operations plans used and its importance. Different varieties of military operational plan samples are also provided to serve as your reference or visual aid as we go through withe the topic.

Sample Military Operation Order With Annexes

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Military Strategy Planning & Operations

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Military Joint Operational Planning Process

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NATO Operations Planning Example

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Military Operational Planning Process Sample

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Joint Planning for Military Operations

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What Is an Operational Plan?

An operational plan is a detailed list of clearly defined actions that a department or part of a company need to take order support the goals and objectives that the company’s upper management has made. It is created a component of a company and each component of the company have their own operational plan to follow. The operational plan should be created in a way that strongly supports the strategic plan of the company, which is the plan that is created with the with entire company as a whole in mind. This is so that the company can achieve its goals and objectives successfully while the components of the company are still able to do their assigned jobs.

Operational plans guide and direct employees of a particular component of a company on what they should on a daily basis or their day-to-day tasks. Because of this, operational plans are extremely detailed. It includes information such as the who, what, where, when of the tasks or activities. Another type of plan that an operational plan needs to support is a tactical plan. It is created by mid-level management and it used in a specific division of the company.

Other related articles you may be interested in are Business Operational Plan Samples & Templates and Security Operational Plan Samples & Templates.

Uses of an Operation Plan in the Military

A military operation plan is a formal plan that is created and used in the military armed forces and other military organizations to help them prepare for any conflict that may arise. Aside from planning their attack and strategies, have you ever wondered what other things an operational plan in the military is used for? Well, here are some of the uses of an operation plan in the military.

  • A military plan, also known as a war plan, is created and used to ensure that military troops are always ready and prepared to take action when the need to arises or when certain conflicts arise.
  • It is used so that military operations will be able to coordinate actions during conflicts or in actual war, and be able to communicate clearly to all involved military operations to ensure the success of the operations.
  • Military operations plans are designed or planned according to circumstances that will help resolved conflicts in a way that is favorable to the state or the country where the military force belongs to.
  • Military operational plans are also used to keep maintain the safety of the country and its citizens.
  • The daily activities of soldiers on duty are directed or laid out in a military operational plan. This ensures that all operations are in sync and that all military activities are organized.

Military operational plans play an important role in maintaining a strong and effective military organization. You may also be interested in other operational plan related articles such as Project Operational Plan Samples and School Operational Plan Samples & Templates.

What Are Types of Military Operations?

Military operations are divided into five main types and they are theater, campaign, battle, engagement and strike. Each of these types of plans are classified by the scale and scope of the operations and its impact on the possible conflict. Let us get to know each of type of the military operation below.

  • Theater – This type of operations covers large area of operation, which may be an entire continent. The areas covered by these military operation dose not only cover the land area, but it also includes air space and the sea area. Theater operations are planned in these areas because there is a possibility of important military events to take place here, or it is a place that could potentially be involved in war and other war operations. A known example of this military operation is Operation Barbarossa.
  • Campaign – It is a subset of the theater operations, but unlike the theater operations, its operational strategic commitment and geographic coverage is limited. It also doesn’t have any broad goals outside of the military. Combat operations by the military are only conducted and in a given area. An example is the Battle of Britain.
  • Battle – This type of military operations is a subset of the campaign military operations. This operation is made of of specific military goals and objects as well as geographic objectives. The use of military forces in this type of military operations is clearly defined to ensure that things operate smoothly.
  • Engagement – Combat of two military forces takes place in a military engagement. The two forces involved are both not larger than a military division and definitely not smaller than that of a company and it is often part of a battle.
  • Strike – A strike is a military operations which has very specific goals, that are executed through a single attack on a specific target. This type of military operations is carried out in order to assassinate leaders of the enemy, make airports inoperable, obstructing the delivery of supplies to the enemy’s troops, etc.

These types of military operations are carefully planned and carried out to ensure success and as much as possible prevent the loss of life on military side. You may also check out other operational plan related articles, like HR Operational Plan Samples & Templates and Simple Operational Planning Samples & Templates.

Operational Planning Process Enhancement Sample

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Military Operations Sample Plan

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UN HQ Operational Planning Process for Peace

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Command Operations Planning Sample

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Why Is an Operational Plan Important?

Can you achieve your goals and objectives, personally or at work? You would probably answer through little steps or through sure steps that will bring your forward to your goals and objectives. Or by planning your life with the view of the picture picture ahead of you. We have been taught and told to do things a little a time if you can’t do them at a larger scale or see yourself achieve your goals because it will inspire you work even harder. And it is important that you take not of things as they really do work, its just that the results differ from one person to the other because we interpret things differently.

The situation can be compared to that of an operational plan. If you look at it closely, you will come to realize their similarities. Let us go back to defining what an operational plan is. An operational plan are detailed and specific tasks or day-to-day activities followed by a specific group of people in order to help or support the objectives and goals of a bigger plan. As mentioned above, this bigger plan is called a strategic plan. Little steps can be interpreted as that of day-to-day activities that if done regularly, can produce great results. The same thing is true with doing things a little at a time. Larger goals and objectives need to be broken down into smaller ones so that they can be attended to and realized. It is just impossible to achieve certain big goals and objectives in just one go.

An operational plan also fosters cooperation and establishes good communication among the three levels of management in the workplace, namely, top management, mid-management and lower management. In order for everyone in a company to work together to achieve a specific goal, open and clear communication should first be established. While this is just a bonus feature, it is still an important reason to have an operational plan in place.

If you want to check out operational plan articles with free samples and templates, all you need to do is visit our website. We have there titles, like Annual Operational Plan Samples & Templates and Audit Plan Samples & Templates.

Key Takeaway

What we have learned that an operational plan is a detailed and specific list of daily task and activities that are specifically planned and implemented to achieve specific goals and objectives that help support a a larger plan called a strategic plan. A military operational plan is a type of operational plan that is specifically used by military organizations to carry out important  military missions as well as protect the state or territory they are serving. We have also discussed the five types of military operations and they are theater, campaign, battle, engagement and strike operations. Finally, we also discussed that detailed and specific activities in an operational plan, helps the company achieve its goals one step at a time.

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