This study investigates the Army's current military decision-making process and its applicability to brigade level combat operations in a time-constrained environment. Tactical military decision making is an arduous process that many times occurs in less than ideal conditions. As the complexity of warfare increases and changes in the threat occur, the demand to develop tactical plans that leverage all the combat multipliers available to the commander, while providing the flexibility to maintain the initiative throughout the operation, becomes even more difficult. This problem is compounded further when decision making must occur in a time-constrained environment. This study examines the Army's doctrinal decision-making process and determines whether brigade combat teams can adequately utilize it in time-constrained combat situation to explore options, develop courses of action and produce a feasible plan. It specifically examines the techniques prescribed in doctrine to modify the process in a time-constrained environment, and identifies any issues related to those techniques. This study concludes that the three primary techniques described in doctrine for abbreviating the military decision-making process work, however, described techniques within the process for considering the enemy are inconsistent and inadequate. An appendix is included in this study with a proposed technique to overcome the issues with regard to consideration of the enemy that were identified when using the current doctrinal decision-making process in a time-constrained situation.

ADA 396588 Approved for public release; Distribution is unlimited. The opinions and conclusions expressed herein are those of the student-authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College or any other governmental agency. (References to these studies should include the foregoing statement.)