Operational Preparedness Framework

• Military Capability
• Levels of Capability
• Operational Preparedness
• Indicative Key Performance Indicators
• OPRES Performance (“P”) Rating System

Military Capability

Military Capability is the power to achieve a desired operational effect in a selected environment and to sustain that effect for a designated period. It is the combined effect that systems of inputs have in helping to achieve a particular operational consequence. Military capability goes beyond just equipment. Rather it includes all necessary elements that, together, enable a military capability to achieve an operational effect. The elements that make up military capability are Preparedness, and the Force Componentsdescribed by the acronym PRICIE as follows:

• Personnel (all personnel elements of the capability including personnel sustainment and individual training).
• Research and Development.
• Infrastructure/organisation/structures, all major infrastructural works projects.
• Concept of operations/doctrine/collective training.
• Information/technology.
• Equipment and Logistics

Military Capability comprises an amalgam of PRICIE and Preparedness. PRICIE encompasses the quantitative dimension of NZDF Outputs, and Preparedness is the qualitative dimension. While PRICIE comprises many components, as shown above, for simplicity of reporting the NZDF will focus on three major quantitative components, Personnel, Equipment and Training (PET). Together, these are termed Force Components. The relationship between Force Components and Preparedness is shown in the following diagram:

The ability of the NZDF output expense force elements to be employed on military tasks is a function of the preparedness state in which they are held. That is, force elements must be held at a level of capability from which they can be raised to an operational status within a specified time, then deployed for the conduct of a particular type of military task and be sustained for a specified period while engaged in that task. Within the NZDF there are four ingredients of Preparedness - Readiness; Combat Viability; Deployability; and Sustainability. These are defined as follows:

• Readiness. Readiness is the current proficiency and effectiveness of a force to conduct a range of activities defined against a Directed Level of Capability and Employment Context, and that provide options for employment on military tasks within a specified Response Time. The force readiness comprises personnel, trained state (individual and unit), equipment held, and equipment condition (serviceability), and includes tactical command, control, communications and intelligence.
• Combat Viability. Combat Viability is the in-theatre ability of a force to achieve its military task or mission using current resources. It incorporates the following:
  • the ability of service personnel to engage in combat with due regard to morale, leadership, and a sense of mission;
  • the sufficiency of equipment and its design/technology standards to provide firepower, protection to personnel and other battlefield attributes to the level required by the threat;
  • the adequacy of military doctrine and tactics to make effective use of personnel and equipment;
  • the standard of collective or combined training;
  • the ability of the force to achieve the level and duration of fighting to achieve its objectives; and
  • the effectiveness of standardisation when working with friendly forces.
• Deployability. Deployability is the capacity of a force element to move to an Operational Level of Capability, complete final preparations, and assemble for deployment within a specified time. Effected deployability includes the completion of OLOC generation training, preparation of deployment equipment and munitions, and positioning personnel and equipment for embarkation by air or sea.
• Sustainability. Sustainability is the ability to support a designated force at operating tempo throughout the duration of an operation. It includes the availability of replacement personnel, equipment maintenance, sufficiency of second and third line stocks, and the lift capacity to carry them into theatre and to those force elements requiring them.

Levels of Capability

Using Employment Contexts (ECs)¹³ it is possible to establish the Operational Level of Capability (OLOC) that a force element needs to have reached in order to carry out its military tasks effectively. For a force element to be at its OLOC for a particular EC means that it has the requisite preparedness state, i.e., the force element is ready, combat viable, deployable and sustainable. The OLOC requirements for all NZDF force elements are detailed within Schedule 4 of the NZDF Output Plan (a classified document.)

A force element can be held at differing levels of capability. The quantitative dimension, i.e. force components, cannot be varied significantly on an annual basis given the long-term nature of defence investment decisions. However, the qualitative dimension can be varied by dictating the preparedness at which the force element is held, and may differ for particular ECs.

To hold a unit at OLOC on a routine basis is expensive and demanding on equipment readiness and personnel availability and training. Accordingly, in defining the ECs and determining the likely tasks to be performed by a particular force element, it is possible to derive the likely time the force element will have before it must be deployed and start operations once committed by government. This time, known as the Response Time, can be used to raise the level of capability of the force element from some lower level of capability to OLOC. Response Time gives the force time to: assemble and concentrate its personnel, stores and equipment; undergo additional individual and collective training; and carry out specific planning for operations. That is, Response Time provides the opportunity for force elements to become ready for deployment to a particular area of operations for specified tasks.

Response Times will vary depending on the plausible setting (EC) in which the force element may be used. The longer the Response Time a force element has, the lower the level of capability, up to a point, that the force element has to maintain on a routine basis. For example, the Response Time for the Counter-Terrorist forces is very short, because those forces must be immediately available for such military tasks, whereas the Response Time for force element contributions to a battalion group can be longer. Response Times for individual force elements for likely contingencies are detailed in Schedule 4 to the NZDF Output Plan.

In essence, the Response Time relates to the difference between the preparedness state of fully prepared (P1) and OLOC. Response Times will be increased accordingly where forces are held below P1 (see the preparedness rating table later in this section.)

Once the actions required to generate OLOC within the Response Time are known, it is possible to derive the level of capability that must be held by the force element on a routine basis (day-to-day business as usual training), and this is known as the Directed Level of Capability (DLOC). This is the level of capability the NZDF is required to maintain during each financial year in order to provide the Government with options for the commitment of military forces. In purchasing this Directed Level of Capability, the Government retains in the NZDF the essential minimum capacity from which operationally effective force elements may be generated within agreed Response Times (as adjusted when preparedness states are less than P1 or fully prepared.)

When a force element is activated to perform a military task, additional funding may be required to enable that force element to transition from DLOC to OLOC (i.e., to resource the additional training and stores usage) for the expected duration of the deployment.

Two of the three quantitative dimensions of outputs, Personnel and Equipment, represent relatively fixed costs in the short to medium term and thus cannot provide a sensitive mechanism for varying the amount and cost of the NZDF’s annual product. However, as a general statement the outputs’ qualitative dimensions, i.e., preparedness state, can be varied in the short term. For example, these can be adjusted on an annual basis by increasing or decreasing the amount of readiness training activities undertaken by a force element, which will vary the consumption rate of items such as fuel and munitions used during such training. However, there is a minimum level of readiness training activities that need to be undertaken on an annual basis to keep units viable.

Varying the training activities has a direct impact on the DLOC of a force element, i.e., if training activities are reduced, then the DLOC is reduced and the force element would:

• not be able to generate OLOC in the specified Response Time (i.e., would not be fully prepared (P1)); or,
• require the Response Time to be increased to allow for the extra activities that would need to be undertaken to generate OLOC from the lower preparedness state.

The qualitative (preparedness) dimension of NZDF outputs offers the potential to vary in the short term (i.e., on an annual basis) the cost of what the NZDF can be tasked to produce. However, there is risk in making such choices as any extension to Response Time, for example, has an increased activation cost in that more activities have to be undertaken to raise the force element from DLOC to OLOC, and the consequence may be that applicable force elements may not be available within the necessary timeframe to provide military options to government.

In exceptional circumstances (for example for personnel, technical, or financial reasons), the CDF may grant approval, for a specified period, for a force element to maintain a lower level of capability than would otherwise be desirable. The lowest level of capability is Basic Level of Capability (BLOC). This is the minimum level at which military capabilities have to be held if they are not to be permanently lost. At BLOC, a force element could not reach an OLOC in less than six months, so will not generally be available for military tasks. Also, some of the more complex force elements may take more than six months to regenerate military capability.

As a result of equipment modernisation action, commissioning or decommissioning, a force element may not be able to achieve a level of capability. In this case it is classified as at No Level of Capability (NLOC) and would not be expected to be available for military tasks.

Operational Preparedness

Operational Preparedness Reporting System (OPRES)¹⁴

The measurement of the performance of force elements/forces deployed on actual operations (i.e. activated force elements) is achieved in terms of successful completion of the task or mission within the resources allocated. For those force elements that are not activated within a given year, OPRES provides for their operational preparedness evaluation (and reporting) at DLOC (as defined above under Levels of Capability). OPRES, which is part of the wider Defence Performance Management System (DPMS), reports to CDF and the NZDF Executive Leadership Team (ELT) on the standards reached against the standards set as a measure of output delivery¹⁵. OPRES also now informs on the forecast capability of the force elements of the NZDF.

The NZDF Inspector General (Commander Joint Forces New Zealand) monitors and evaluates the OPRES that provides data on the preparedness of designated force elements at assigned Levels of Capability and Response Times for activation as required. NZDF operational force elements report their preparedness state against the output specifications. OPRES reports quarterly on all non-deployed force elements. Special OPRES reports may also be generated to notify an unexpected change to the preparedness state of a force element.

Underpinning OPRES is a broad regime of evaluations, including assessments carried out during military exercises, competitions, routine tests of achievement and proficiency, and operational, technical and administrative inspections. Whenever possible, external evaluation by members of allied forces is arranged.

In addition, OPRES provides data for two other important functions. Firstly, it assists in the corporate management of resources to ensure the efficient delivery of NZDF outputs, and, secondly, the results of OPRES inform the processes within the Defence Capability Management Framework - and other frameworks as applicable.

The NZDF OPRES continues to be refined. Recent improvements include the requirement for the system to be more forward looking (future predictive)¹⁶ and to more clearly identify the impact of risks involved should the force elements be required to deploy on operations. Further refinements will be implemented throughout 2010 and beyond.

Performance Indicators for NZDF Outputs

As noted earlier, Employment Contexts and the military tasks to be performed under each (the Joint Mission Essential Tasks) are the basis against which OLOCs for force elements are set and from which, taking into account Response Time, DLOCs are set. DLOCs for force elements are expressed through preparedness states to be achieved. The four ingredients of that preparedness are Readiness, Combat Viability, Deployability and Sustainability)¹⁷. The OPRES performance measurement framework uses Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for the three Services. Indicative KPIs are summarised in the following table.

Notes:

1. These KPIs are indicative of the types of measures used. The actual measures used by each of the Services will vary. The Service-specific KPIs and their Performance Rating Scales are detailed in appropriate directives.
2. Service KPIs are used at the lower end (unit level) of OPRES. As in the case of OPRES, the aggregated KPIs, via the ‘Statement of Service Performance’, are reported externally in the NZDF Annual Report.

OPRES Performance (“P”) Rating System

Once the measures against the KPIs (as above) have been ‘scored’, a ‘P’ Rating is given (as an aggregate) to each individual force element for all applicable Employment Contexts. This forms the basis of the NZDF Statement of Service Performance (SSP) as recorded in the Information Supporting the Estimates of Appropriations (External Sector) published by The Treasury and tabled in the House of representatives on Budget Day.

The current “P” Rating System is used to describe the various preparedness states, as follows:

• P1 - Fully Prepared.  It means that the standards required for all measurement areas, under OPRES, have been achieved by between 90 to 100%. Response Time does not require extending from that specified in Schedule 4 to the NZDF Output Plan.
• P2 - Substantially Prepared.  The force element requires minimal resource input such that the Response Time is projected to be extended by up to the order of 33% in the applicable Employment Context (EC).  It means that the standards required for all measurement areas, under OPRES, have been achieved by between 80 and 89%
• P3 - Partially Prepared.  The force element requires a substantial resource input such that the Response Time is projected to be extended by a period in the order of between 34% and 50% in the applicable EC.  It means that the standards required for all measurement areas, under OPRES, have been achieved by between 70 to 79%
• P4 - Not Prepared.  The force element requires a level of resource input such that the Response Time for the applicable EC could be expected to be extended by more than 50%.  It means that the standards required for all measurement areas, under OPRES, have been achieved by less than 70%. Force elements held at BLOC will be assessed as P4.
• P5 - Unavailable for Assessment. The force element/capability is unavailable for assessment.  This could be as a result of a capability being deployed, commissioned, or introduced. Force elements held at NLOC will be assessed as P5.

The P ratings determined under OPRES can be directly compared with those set for the DLOC, and hence can indicate whether the NZDF is achieving the preparedness required for the resources that were allocated.

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