Guides

The nine-line format for requesting Close Air Support — how to build, transmit, and control a CAS mission from the ground.

How to design a robust PACE plan — Primary, Alternate, Contingency, Emergency — that keeps command and control intact when primary communications fail.

A practical guide to Intelligence Preparation of the Operational Environment — producing terrain analysis, threat models, and enemy COA templates that drive mission planning.

A step-by-step walkthrough of the METT-TC framework — Mission, Enemy, Terrain and Weather, Troops and Support Available, Time Available, Civil Considerations — as applied during mission analysis in the MDMP.

A step-by-step walkthrough of the call for fire sequence — from target identification to FFE — for indirect fires and CAS coordination.

A step-by-step guide to writing a WARNO that gives subordinate leaders maximum preparation time while the full OPORD is still being developed.

How to build a logistics plan that sustains combat power through the operation — covering classes of supply, LOGPAC timing, casualty evacuation, and sustainment integration with the maneuver plan.

Step-by-step guide to building a close-quarters breach plan using Dark Dot's CQB canvas.

Doctrinal procedures for transitioning from movement to a hasty attack — when contact is unplanned, time is unavailable for deliberate planning, and the commander must act on fragmentary information to preserve momentum and avoid yielding initiative.

How to use the Dark Dot terrain plan to build tactically sound patrol routes — approach, alternate, and exfil routes — with phase lines, waypoints, and objective linkage.

Complete field procedure for composing and transmitting a 9-line MEDEVAC request, from point of injury through acknowledgment by a medical evacuation asset, including common errors and time-critical shortcuts.

How to use Dark Dot's terrain plan features — phase lines, zones, and objectives — to build a structured operational framework for maneuver control.