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been to Ranger School. Major James wants him to get as much time as possible in planning and leading small-unit operations. The foreign officers are excused from this particular class exercise for a special briefing in Washington. The other captains in 912 are assigned duties within the ODA, those of team sergeant, intelligence sergeant, communications sergeant, and the like. The planning process is not unlike that in Phase II, but far more detailed and analytical. This formatted approach to planning is called the military decision-making process, usually referred to as MDMP. It is both methodical and comprehensive, and—if used properly—allows for creativity in the planning process, but forces the planners to examine every aspect of the mission. MDMP is the common format of special operations and joint-service operations. It allows SOF components such as Special Forces, Rangers, and SEALs to share planning doctrine with conventional forces.

“This is the only time in Phase III you will plan as a student ODA and take that planning into the field,” Eric James tells 912. “The foreign-internal-defense and unconventional-planning exercises will be far more detailed and rigorous. So we let you cut your teeth on the reconnaissance and direct-action problem. It’ll give you a chance to work and plan as a team. It’s also a chance to get creative and apply your adaptive-learning training to a tactical problem. This is an opportunity to have some fun and take chances. In your planning, think about novel ways to execute your mission. Don’t get too clever, but forget the book. Think about ways to accomplish your mission with minimum exposure and least chance of compromise.”

Nine-one-two attacks the problem, and begins to build alternate courses of action to accomplish its mission of observing its assigned targets. The team considers various courses of action and works up plans for infiltration, exfiltration, time on target, actions on target, and the host of logistical, contingency, and mission-essential tasks associated with the operation. There are medical, communications, and weather annexes to prepare. As a team, they’re all nimble with computers and the mission-planning software. Each of these captains has his personal version or versions of standard MDMP format—modified, tailored, and annotated from previous tours and planning previous operations. This planning software is carried on their personal laptops and on one or more thumb drives. A thumb drive is a small, removable computer storage drive a bit smaller than your thumb. When the drive is not plugged into the back of a computer, it’s often carried around the candidate’s neck on a lanyard.

“A thumb drive on a lanyard is the staff officer’s ID badge,” Captain Miguel Santos says with a grin. His role on the team for this exercise is the intelligence sergeant. Santos is one of the better mission planners in the student ODA. “I’ve been planning missions and small-unit tactics since I was at West Point. Every time I do this, I learn something, and that leads to a shortcut or a way to do it better the next time.” He fingers the small cylinder around his neck. “Every lesson learned goes here, and it’s available when I need it.”

Nine-one-two plans for two days and formally presents several operational courses of action to its forward operating base commander, who is played by Major Brooks. Brooks agrees with the single course of action it recommends, and the team begins the more detailed work that will turn the chosen course of action into an operable mission plan. This planning begins at Fort Bragg and continues when they arrive at Fort A. P. Hill.

The facilities at A. P. Hill are excellent, and there are no distractions. As a young junior-grade lieutenant back in 1969, I trained at A. P. Hill with SEAL Team Two. The current facilities are Spartan and similar to those at the Special Forces training areas on Fort Bragg—dated wooden buildings with barracks space at one end and a planning bay at the other. The planning bays are cluttered with easels, whiteboards, tables, folding