Abstract
<jats:p>The monograph describes operational planning as implementation of the military instrument of power at the operational level to resolve a crisis and ensure national security and defense, namely military security in the military sphere, in the format of a comprehensive approach, taking into account aspects of public administration in a complex and dynamic environment. The concept and philosophy of operational planning in interaction with decision-making at the political and military-strategic levels are considered. The operations planning process is considered as management of the development of a single social system, which includes competing opposite and neutral parties, in the format of domains of the operational environment (PMESII) and factors of time, force, space and information. Attention is drawn to the decision-making process and recommendations are made to improve the methods of studying the operational environment using critical thinking, identifying the problem and the enemy, conducting factor analysis and centers of gravity analysis. The essence and the procedure for developing an operational design and courses of action are explained. The operations planning process is presented as the interaction of the commander (leader) with the joint operations planning group (core planning group), taking into account the strategic vision of the crisis, as convergent and divergent thinking in the decision-making process. The concepts of the work of the joint operational level headquarter during the execution of the operations plan and operations assessment is provided.</jats:p>