Integrated Planning for Unified Action in Phase Zero

Within the context of current US government efforts to integrate, synchronize and unify actions to secure US national interests against current threats, this paper will assess the current capability of the Department of Defense to plan for Phase 0 at the strategic and operational levels. Specifically, the purpose of this paper is to answer whether DoD has a method or methods for integrating, both horizontally and vertically, all US national elements of power, policy and planning into a combatant commander's Phase 0 activities, as required by joint doctrine. This paper uses the Capabilities Based Assessment (CBA) process to evaluate the DoD capability for integrated Phase 0 planning in four simplified steps: identify the military problem, determine the current military capability to address it, evaluate the capability, and recommend solutions for capability shortfalls. Using a previous study as a baseline, this paper provides an update on the existing guidance for the US government, determines the specific requirements and methods available for planning Phase 0, shaping operations, identifies the current DoD capability to plan integrated Phase 0 or shaping activities using recent examples, evaluates the capability using criteria developed in the prior study, updated by current research: common problem identification; clear national policy and strategic objectives, identifiable actors at the strategic and operational levels; recognized and practiced tools for planning; and common assessment mechanisms, identifies vital shortfalls in the military capability, and makes recommendations for addressing the gaps. By using the process above, this paper finds that despite the unprecedented levels of transformation by each agency, DoD does not yet have methods for integrating all US elements of power, policy and planning into a combatant commander's Phase 0 activities. In order for a military output of unified planning for phase 0 the US government must provide the unified in
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