Explain the concept of risk management in tactical planning and give one example.

• A. Identify hazards, assess risk, implement controls, and monitor residual risk; e.g., reduce exposure with covered routes.
• B. Increase mission speed to reduce exposure.
• C. Focus solely on weapon effectiveness.
• D. Ignore hazards if they seem unlikely.

Answer: (A)

Risk management in tactical planning is a structured way to keep people and assets safe while advancing the mission. It starts with identifying hazards that could cause harm, then assessing how likely each hazard is and how severe the impact would be. After that, you implement controls to eliminate or reduce those risks, whether through engineering, procedures, or choosing safer options. Finally, you monitor residual risk to see how effective the controls are and to adjust as the situation changes. A practical example is selecting routes that stay in cover and concealment to reduce exposure to enemy observation and fire. You’d continually reassess as conditions evolve to keep risk in check. This approach is about proactively reducing harm and maintaining mission viability, rather than simply increasing speed, focusing only on weapon power, or ignoring hazards altogether.