What is the primary document that initiates contingency planning?

• A. National Security Strategy
• B. Joint Operations Plan (JOP)
• C. Air Force Plan of Readiness
• D. Joint Strategic Campaign Plan (JSCP)

Answer: (D)

The key idea is how joint contingency planning gets started: a single guiding document translates national objectives into actionable planning requirements. The Joint Strategic Campaign Plan does just that. It provides the planning guidance, sets priorities, and directs Combatant Commands to begin developing operation plans and contingencies. It acts as the trigger for the formal planning cycle, turning strategic aims into concrete planning tasks across the services.

The National Security Strategy outlines broad national policy but doesn’t initiate the joint planning process itself. The Joint Operations Plan is a specific plan produced after planning has progressed, not the document that starts the process. The Air Force Plan of Readiness isn’t the standard initiating document in joint doctrine. So, the primary document that kicks off contingency planning is the Joint Strategic Campaign Plan.