"METT - TC"

METT-TC

"METT-TC" is an acronym used by the US Army to help simplify and outline operational coordination as well as aid personnel in planning and situational awareness. METT-TC stands for: Mission, Enemy, Terrain / Weather, Troops, Time, and Civilian Considerations. Lets break down what each of these mean, and how you can use this simple outline to coordinate and prepare.

MISSION

Understanding your mission and making sure your team members understand it is crucial to overall success. Have specific parameters in place that help outline mission specifics and the goals of said mission. This can apply to virtually any task that needs to be accomplished whether that be a patrol, making a shelter, assaulting an objective, rescuing a lost person(s), bugging out, fortifying a stronghold, etc. No matter what the specific mission is, its important to have clear objectives in place and those objectives need to be explained / briefed to all personnel involved.

ENEMY / THREATS

Understanding the potential and / or confirmed enemy in the area of operation or mission area is paramount. Are there enemies in the area? Where are the enemies? What kind of capabilities do they have? Are you outnumbered? What kind of assets do they have? Who are your enemies? Are you even capable of engaging with said enemy? These are the kinds of questions you need to have answers to in order to plan an effective mission / operation. "Enemy" can be applied to any and all threats to you. If in a survival situation you could consider dangerous animals, conditions, environments, or even natural disasters. This is the part of the outline that is in place to determine what kind of enemies / threats you and your team may be up against. 

TERRAIN / WEATHER

Preparing to be effective in the types of terrain that is within your mission's area of operations is the next step in the outline. Knowing this information will enable you and your team to have the appropriate gear and essentials to overcome obstacles, traverse specific terrain features, and deal with potential hazards the terrain may cause. Ensuring you have the capabilities to navigate the terrain is vital. Will you need to avoid certain terrain features in the area of operations? Considering all the questions pertaining to terrain is a crucial part of planning. This is also the time to consider what kind of weather conditions and limitations you could have. This enables you and your team to pack accordingly and have the appropriate gear in place to deal with weather effects. 

TROOPS AVAILABLE

It is important to know how many personnel you need to accomplish your mission. It is equally important to know how many you can reasonably commit to the mission without sacrificing in other areas. This is also a great place to establish specialized teams and groups to better overall effectiveness. Considering how overall effectiveness will be disrupted if you for whatever reason lose team members is also important. All coordination and planning pertaining to personnel should be managed here. This is also the time to check on individual team members status and overall mission readiness.

TIME AVAILABLE

What are the time constraints and / or requirements around your mission? Do you have an appropriate amount of time to succeed? What kind of time standards do you need to achieve? These are the questions you should ask when planning. This is also the time to establish mission schedule and hard times (briefing, start, checkpoints, time on target, duration, end, etc.). Be sure that you brief any critical time standards and overall time available for the specific mission at hand.

CIVILIAN CONSIDERATIONS

This final section of the outline is where you need to consider the civilians / people that inhabit the area you will be operating in. Are they neutral? Are they opposed to your enemy? Are they accepting and / or friendly to your enemy? You need to have basic information on the civilian lifestyle, behavior, culture, and overall presence. How do you interact or can you interact with them? Can you avoid detection? How will interacting with them affect the mission? Be sure you understand the details and information surrounding civilians in the area of operations.

In conclusion, METT-TC is a very simple yet effective tool that can be used to better outline and prepare for different missions or different goals.  

Misson: What is you specific mission and what are its goals?

Enemy: Who is your enemy and / or threats and are they present in the operating area 

Terrain: What kind of terrain and weather is in the area and how will it effect you mission?

Troops: How many team members are available to carry out the mission?  

Time: How much time will the mission take, and how much time do you have?

Civilian: Are there civilians / persons in the area and how will they affect the mission?