COA approval is defined as staff briefs the commander on the COA comparison and the analysis and wargaming results, including a review of important supporting information.

• A. Staff briefs the commander on the COA comparison and the analysis and wargaming results, including a review of important supporting information.
• B. Drafting the OPORD
• C. Selecting a COA after analysis
• D. Final execution of operation

Answer: (A)

In this phase, the command’s staff gathers a clear comparison of feasible courses of action, along with the analyses and wargaming results, and reviews all important supporting information, then briefs this to the commander for decision. This briefing is the moment the commander has all the necessary data—risks, feasibility, potential effects, timelines, and resource needs—so a formal choice can be made about which COA to pursue. Once the commander approves a COA, the process moves forward to finalize planning and execution. Drafting the OPORD typically occurs after a COA is approved, and selecting a COA is effectively completed during that approval step, not at a later stage. Final execution happens after the plan has been approved and orders issued.