TC 7-101 Exercise Design
- This training circular (TC) outlines a methodology for designing and executing training exercises. It describes planning procedures and methodologies, responsibilities, and analysis for those who plan and control Army exercises intended as culminating collective training events that critically assess unit-training status. Collective training is part of unit training. It is performance oriented and a command responsibility executed by leaders at all echelons. As a continuous process executed in accordance with a formal training program, collective training trains units and teams on tasks and missions they are expected to perform. It is executed in a crawl-walkrun approach and reaches across all training domains and integrated live, virtual, constructive, and gaming training environments.
- This publication applies to the Active Army, the Army National Guard (ARNG)/Army National Guard of the United States (ARNGUS), and the United States Army Reserve (USAR) unless otherwise stated.
- Headquarters, U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) is the proponent for this TC. The preparing agency is the Contemporary Operational Environment and Threat Integration Directorate (CTID), TRADOC G-2 Intelligence Support Activity (TRISA)–Threats. Send comments and suggested improvements on DA Form 2028 (Recommended Changes to Publications and Blank Forms) directly to CTID at the following address: Director, CTID, TRADOC G-2 Intelligence Support Activity–Threats, ATTN: ATIN-T (Bldg 53), 700 Scott Avenue, Fort Leavenworth, KS 66027-1323. This publication is available at Army Knowledge Online (AKO) at http://www.us.army.mil and the Reimer Digital Library at http://www.train.army.mil.
- Readers should monitor those sites and also the TRADOC G2-TRISA Website at: https://www.us.army.mil/suite/files/14705412 (AKO access required) for the status of this TC and information regarding updates. Periodic updates, subject to the normal approval process, will occur as a result of the normal production cycle. The date on the cover and title page of the electronic version will reflect the latest update.
Contents
Introduction
This training circular (TC) outlines a methodology for designing and executing training exercises. It describes planning procedures and methodologies, responsibilities, and analysis for those who plan and control Army exercises intended as culminating collective training events that critically assess unit-training status. The objective of exercise design is to structure a training event that establishes the conditions to facilitate performance- oriented training on properly selected, directed, and mission essential training objectives.
The references section of this TC contains a listing of publications pertaining and relating to this publication. The glossary contains abbreviations and special terms used in this TC.
This TC is a planning and design tool that significantly enhances an exercise planner’s ability to produce an operational environment (OE) that achieves desired unit training objectives while fielding a challenging opposing force (OPFOR) consistent with Hybrid Threat OPFOR doctrine as described in the TC 7-100 series. This TC provides the exercise planner with a backbone methodology for scenario development and establishment of the exercise OE. The approach to exercise design and analysis is sequential and structured to get the planner to the “bottom-line” as quickly as possible.
Figure 1 shows the tools necessary and available for the design of a training exercise. While the process is sequential, many of the steps and procedures are developed concurrently and may overlap (see chapter 2). This TC is meant to be used in conjunction with the 7-100 series as well as the other publications listed in figure 1. These tools can be found at https://www.us.army.mil/suite/files/14705412. Together, these tools outline an OPFOR than can cover the full spectrum of military and paramilitary capabilities against which the Army must train to ensure success in the types of OEs it can expect to encounter now and in the clearly foreseeable future.
The processes described in this TC are applicable to any number of exercise venues to include field training exercises, command post exercises, and simulations. They can also be used in the development of mission rehearsal exercises (MRXs). The operational variables (political, military, economic, social, information, infra- structure, physical environment, and time [PMESII-PT]) and the settings for their subvariables, as described in chapter 3, can be used to develop OEs for exercises or for describing actual OEs portrayed in MRXs.
Each chapter of the TC covers a specific aspect of exercise design. The exercise planner should become familiar with each chapter.
In order to train against a realistic threat and in a realistic OE, the OE must be dynamic. By using the PMESII- PT variables and incorporating them into every aspect of the scenario, the training unit will experience a realistic and challenging exercise every time. This TC describes the roles and responsibilities of the senior trainer, exercise director, and exercise planner; the importance of quality training objectives, the steps to designing an exercise; and the theory behind exercise design. The bottom line is that this TC gives planners the tools to provide the correct exercise conditions for the training unit’s training objectives, resulting in effective training.
Chapter 1: Responsibilities
This chapter establishes the responsibilities for exercise development. The senior trainer, the exercise director and the exercise planner are the individuals primarily responsible for exercise development and execution. Table 1-1 provides an example of how a unit can determine who will be the senior trainer, exercise director, and exercise planner for various levels of organizations.
Chapter 2: Exercise Design Sequence
There are four phases the exercise planner goes through to develop a collective training event that critically assesses unit training status at any level. The exercise design sequence takes the exercise planner from the initial determination of exercise parameters, through countertask and operational environment (OE) development, and concludes with orders production.
Chapter 3: Operational Variables
As discussed in chapter 2, the operational variables provide key design considerations for the exercise planner. Together, these variables comprise all the conditions, circumstances, and influences that affect any military operation or any training exercise. They provide a comprehensive view of an operational environment (OE), real or simulated, that realistically challenges the training unit, its leaders, and Soldiers in the execution of their missions and tasks. This chapter describes the variables, subvariables, and linkages that can be used to develop comprehensive OE conditions for training exercises.
Appendix A: TC 7-101 Exercise Design Checklist
The Exercise Design Checklist (table A-1) is a sequential, summarized list of key exercise design tasks and associated events as described in phases 1 through 4 in chapter 2. These include exercise parameters; task and countertask development; PMESIIPT OE development; orders, plans, and instructions; and typical briefings, conferences, and control documents. The righthand column contains page references in this TC for each step/task and action required. This checklist is not intended to be all-inclusive but rather to provide those critical tasks that must be accomplished within the design process. As noted in chapter 2, depending on the type of exercise and available OE information, certain tasks may occur in different phases.
Appendix B: TC 7-101 OPFOR Tactical Task List
The OPFOR Tactical Task List is a listing of tactical tasks that are specific to the OPFOR. OPFOR tactical organizations and individuals perform these tasks instead of the comparable tasks in the Army Universal Task List (AUTL). OPFOR organizations and individuals perform tactical tasks in order to provide challenging conditions for the execution or attempted execution of mission essential tasks by training units
Appendix C: TC 7-101 Scenario Blueprints
A training scenario blueprint is a pictorial and textual representation of the results of task and countertask analysis. A blueprint is presented as a course of action (COA) sketch with accompanying text. The actions and entities depicted establish the necessary full spectrum training conditions that provide the opportunity to accomplish training objectives.