Understanding country planning

The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has placed a renewed emphasis on planning for security cooperation with foreign militaries, but it is still in the early stages of developing comprehensive guidance on how to conduct this type of planning. As a result, the combatant commands and their U.S. Air Force components have had to develop country plans with little guidance as to what these plans should look like and what purpose they should serve. This report synthesizes best practices in country planning and presents them using a simple five-step country planning cycle and a three-part country plan format. The country planning cycle begins with the issuance of strategic guidance, which informs the development of a country plan that is then resourced, executed, and, finally, assessed. The three-part country plan format is centered on the development of measurable objectives and the identification of the activities and resources needed to achieve the objectives. This report presents detailed information on each step in the country planning process to help combatant command and U.S. Air Force planners understand and leverage existing DoD processes. It concludes by recommending that the Air Force and DoD develop standard guidance for country planners and that they synchronize the resourcing process for their respective programs.