Use Mission Orders – a tenant of Mission Command that we exercise almost daily. But, in garrison, we have become overly reliant on Microsoft Office to present our Operations Orders. The Maneuver Captains Career Course (MCCC) and the ARSOF CCC thrust you back into the analog world for developing and briefing your tactical orders. For those of us practiced in creating orders on Word or PowerPoint, this is a rude awakening. You pour over document protectors, overlays, 1:50000 maps, and map markers strewn across your desk as you try to remember how you ever did this without a keyboard and mouse. Having a system and a good briefing board will pay dividends not only in the schoolhouse, but also when you get back to the tactical force. Here is one way to make a great Briefing Board that remains applicable when you get to your unit.
You can access the design for the briefing board HERE.
I learned this Portable Briefing Board design from a friend and peer. 
Instead of using the traditional “Science Fair” Tri-Fold Board at the Maneuver Captain’s Career Course (MCCC), we decided to make and test a product more applicable to tactical use. We created an intuitive, compact, and rugged board for briefing OPORDs. You can fold it to fit perfectly in a rucksack or assault pack. You can jump it in and hang it from a tree in your Patrol Base or lay it on the ground next to your terrain model in the light world, or carry it in a Stryker or Bradley and hang it off the side in your TAA for briefing.
We designed the board to match the doctrinal OPORD format and the briefing techniques taught for tactical orders at MCCC. We use a series of “flips” to transition from enemy, to friendly, etc.. Your bottom right panel holds the Timeline and WARNORDs and your bottom two left panels are for your Micro and Macro maps. I tested this briefing board at the MCCC, through multiple NTC rotations, home-station training, and on a Pacific Pathways rotation. It also features a configuration to allow for note taking with a map marker.
“An order should not trespass upon the province of a subordinate. It should contain everything that the subordinate must know to carry out his mission, but nothing more. … Above all, it must be adapted to the circumstances under which it will be received and executed.” -FM 100-5 (1939)
Like any tool, it is only as effective as you make it.
To make this work for you, you will need to practice with it (specifically timing your slide and overlay flips) and tailor it to your needs. I have heard the downside from others that the flips take too much time. I found that they were 1. intuitive and 2. gave me time to briefly collect my thoughts and transition from one part of the brief to the next. By gathering myself in between sections of the brief (20 seconds or so) I was able to be more concise in my briefing and ultimately save time.
At the end of this document, you will find the templates for your insertable slides in the document protectors.
Go to The Rucksack to find this resource and others! I hope this guide helps. If you have questions or recommendations, you can contact us Here, on Twitter, or Facebook. If you like this product, please share and show people to the website.
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