By Randi Stenson, MCCoE Public Affairs

(Fort Leavenworth, Kan.) Plans officers and staff sections across the Army take note: A new Field Manual (FM) 5-0, Planning and Orders Production, and FM 6-0, Commander and Staff Organization and Operations, are now available on the Army Publishing Directorate website.

This release marks the return of an FM 5-0 (formerly The Operations Process and rescinded in 2012) and rebrands the publication as a dedicated Army planning manual. CADD lead authors Doug Keeler and Will Rogers moved key planning resources from FM 6-0 to FM 5-0 in an effort to streamline the publications and provide readers with a more logical organization of material. The new FM 5-0 includes routinely used references like the military decision-making process, troop leading procedures, orders formats, running estimates, and more.

The authors also incorporated source material from Army Techniques Publication (ATP) 5-0.1, Army Design Methodology, and ATP 5-0.3, Operation Assessment, to create a “one-stop shop” for planners.

FM 6-0, historically one of CADD’s most downloaded publications, now focuses solely on command and control (C2) system alignment. Chapters are organized around the four components of the C2 system: people, processes, network and command posts. The manual also updates terminology and other information to align with current doctrine.

“I think anyone who uses doctrine will be pleased with these changes,” said Rich Creed, CADD director. “We’ve consolidated the key material from three manuals into two, and given commanders and their staffs the tactics and procedures they need to establish command and control.” 

Both publications are online and can be downloaded from the Army Publishing Directorate at https://armypubs.army.mil/. Hard copies may be ordered through unit publication clerks. Audiobook versions of FMs 5-0 and 6-0 will be available on Apple and Google podcasts later this year.

“Leaders at all levels need to be aware of changes in how we organize and fight. Today, we are launching the update to one of our most popular manuals and adding to that a dedicated planning FM. In June, the Army will publish the new FM 3-0, Operations, and establish multidomain operations as our operational concept. This is a very big year for Army doctrine,” said Creed.

To learn more about CADD and the Mission Command Center of Excellence, visit https://usacac.army.mil/organizations/mccoe.