Commander’s Handbook for Assessment Planning and Execution (Joint Publication)

As the Joint Staff J-7 continues to interact with the combatant commands and Services, we recognize that there is very little “how to” doctrinal guidance on planning and executing assessments. Consequently, we have developed this pre-doctrinal handbook to help joint force commanders and their staffs understand the scope and importance of assessment and provide information and guidance on its process; best practices; planning, and execution. This handbook was written to provide needed detail to military planners and is based on extensive lessons learned and best practices gained throughout the joint environment. Assessment is a key component of joint operation planning as described in keystone documents in the joint publication series, and outlines the basic process for conducting assessment. However, these joint publications contain considerable top-level discussion of assessment and lack the level of detail needed by staffs tasked to conduct assessment. This handbook describes detailed procedures that can be used to measure progress in achieving desired results. This handbook is descriptive, not prescriptive. It is offered as a practical method for assessing the planning and execution of joint operations. Joint force commander’s around the world routinely conduct assessment as a part of their day-to-day battle rhythms, and numerous headquarters have used the procedures described in this handbook during exercises and operations. We hope this handbook stimulates the joint community’s thinking about how to address assessments. We encourage you to use the information in this handbook and provide feedback to help us capture value-added ideas for incorporation in emerging joint doctrine, training, and professional military education.