5.1. CIMIC contribution to operational Planning

The Operational Planning Process (OPP) at operational level follows the Comprehensive Operations Planning Directive (COPD). The planning process at tactical level follows APP-28 “Tactical Planning for Land Forces”.

The CIMIC Functional Planning Guide (CFPG) applies these processes from the X9/CIMIC personnel perspective. The COPD is usually applied above corps and component command (CC) levels. Under certain conditions, a corps HQ might also choose to use the COPD. However, the COPD is usually applied by joint HQs of the NATO Command Structure (NCS), such as the Joint Force Commands Brunssum, Naples, and Norfolk on the operational level, and by the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) for strategic level planning. The CFPG is the reference and prime document for CIMIC contributions to the NATO Response Planning (NRP) and OPP. CIMIC planners must familiarise themselves with the COPD and read the CFPG in conjunction with it.

This chapter is limited to an overview chart of the NRP/ OPP from the political down to operational level to illustrate the complexity of the planning processes from political down to operational level.