Step Four of the JIPOE process is to determine adversary/actor COA.

• A. Determine adversary/actor COA
• B. Define the Operating Environment
• C. Describe IPB products
• D. Evaluate JFC mission

Answer: (A)

In JIPOE, after you’ve identified who the adversaries are and what they’re capable of within the defined operating environment, you forecast their actions by outlining plausible courses of action they could pursue. This step translates capability and intent into concrete options that you can analyze, compare, and test through wargaming and intelligence collection planning. By detailing adversary COAs, you create the set of scenarios you will examine to estimate risk, anticipate maneuvers, and identify critical intelligence gaps.

Defining the operating environment is an earlier task, and describing IPB products refers to the intelligence products you’ll use to support analysis. Evaluating the joint force commander’s mission is part of broader mission analysis and planning, not the act of outlining adversary COAs.