o be executed. The
"act or series of acts" represented by the selected "course of action"
has now become a detailed "act or series of acts". As such, it is now
susceptible of being assigned, in whole or in part, to subordinate
commanders as "tasks". The cycle within that particular echelon is
completed when the tasks are thus assigned. The commander has thereby
charged his immediate subordinates with the commission of specific
"acts or series of acts".

Each such subordinate commander necessarily decides on the best method
of accomplishing his assigned task, i.e., on the course of action (act
or series of acts) which will best accomplish the effort required of
him. The procedure (for each commander on that echelon) thus begins
anew until an echelon is reached where the character of the required
action has already been determined as a matter of routine (see page
84).

The Use of a Form in the Solution of Problems

The natural mental processes (see page 19) are employed in all of the
four steps. The processes, in each step, require modification to an
extent dependent upon the factors to be evaluated.

A form has been adopted for the application of the mental processes in
the first step. This form, long known to the military profession as
The outline of The Estimate of The Situation (see Appendix), sets
forth in a logical manner and order the several considerations likely
to influence the selection of correct military objectives in problems
of wide, as well as of lesser, scope. The use of this form is
conducive to uniformity of reasoning. It centers the attention upon
essentials, in order to ensure that no material factor bearing on the
solution of the problem is overlooked. It guides thought along a
specific path and, through the influence of suggestion, deliberately
increases the expenditure of mental effort.

The procedure indicated in the form contributes to the Decision
reached as a result of an Estimate of the Situation, only to the
extent that it provides an outline for, and encouragement of,
systematic analysis and reasoning.

To prove successful in stimulating rather than stifling creative
thought, flexibility is a characteristic of any form capable of
application in such dissimilar circumstances as may be presented by
the varying scope of military problems. The Estimate Form is such a
flexible guide. If a commander, in solving a problem, feels the need
of greater flexibility, he may, of course, modify o