• Troop leading procedures are vital.in the army image by Tomasz Pawlowski from Fotolia.com
  
  A well-trained military unit will move as seemingly one person. However, this only comes through long months of training and by following troop leading procedures. There are very specific troop leading procedures that every military leader must follow in order to assure his military unit is successful in the field.
  
  

Receive Mission

• The troop leader receives the mission from command and analyzes the command. He must make plans for the mission, including what troops are necessary. He must consider the enemy's position and numbers as well as the area's terrain. He must take only one-third of the mission time to plan.
  
  

Warning Order

• After receiving the mission, he must outline all of the mission events. This is the warning order. It gives his subordinates time to consider the mission and to finish all preparations. It follows no specific military guideline or format. The warning order includes his direct orders, the ammunition, rations, water and supplies necessary.
  
  

Tentative Plan

• Formulate a mission method, or tentative plan. The troop leader must follow the five steps in the military decision-making process: mission analysis, situation and course of action development, analysis of possible course of action, comparison of each course of action, and the tentative plan. This serves as a guideline to fill in as the mission continues.
  
  

Movement

• After a tentative plan has been created, the units under the troop leader's command may have to start moving into the field. This is done if the tentative plan is strong enough to support basic movement. It is also done if it is important to save time, such as on a rescue mission. The plan details may not be completely finished.
  
  

Reconnoiter

• While troops are moving, troop leaders use maps and reconnaissance to verify the routes they are taking are correct. This is also used to ensure vital movements are timed correctly. Reconnaissance may require the troop leader to view the areas himself or send scouts if enemy presence is strong in the area.
  
  

Complete Plan

• As the leader receives reconnaissance, the mission needs may change. This includes potential enemy movement, unforeseen changes in the environment and equipment failure. At this point, the troop leader will add these changes to the plan and prepare the final order. He must make sure it follows the original mission requirements.
  
  

Issue Order

• After the plan is finished, the leader must create an operations order that outlines the mission and instructs the troops. The field commanders with the troops should understand the five Ws of the mission: who, what, where, when and why. They should understand how their troops fit into the mission and its success.
  
  

Supervise

• Before the mission officially starts, the troop leader must rehearse and inspect his troops. He must make sure they understand the mission and ensure that they are fully equipped and ready to fight. During the mission, he must periodically check in with the field leaders of his troops to make sure things are going well and must issue any new orders when necessary.