board. It would be a good idea to read some of the standing orders every few months at morning quarters. Where practical, standing orders should be posted so they will be visible to all the team. You should personally make sure that one copy each of the ship's organization book, ship's orders (and regulations), operations  department  organization  book  or  standing orders, and the Uniform Code of Military Justice are always  available  in  the  living  compartment.  You  can secure these books by a chain with the watch, quarter, and station bill. As  the  leading  Signalman,  do  not  make  the mistake of having an excellently written organization standing order and then fail to follow through. Require compliance with these orders. Point out instances where failure to follow orders created problems. It is far  better  to  have  one  good  standing  order  that everyone follows than to have ten that are ignored. Remember  that  conditions  change.  You  can develop good standing orders and have them obeyed, but they will lose their value or effectiveness if they are not revised as new situations arise. To help you in preparing adequate standing orders, refer to figure 14-l. Note that it bears the number 2-92. That means it is the second standing order for the year 1992. OPERATION ORDERS AND PLANS LEARNING  OBJECTIVES:  Identify   the sections  of  operation  orders  and  plans.  Explain the procedure for preparing operation orders and  plans. Operation orders (OPORDs) and plans (OPLANs) are designated to help the signal bridge personnel in performing   their   duties.   This   section   explains OPORDs  and  OPLANs. OPERATION ORDERS Before  the  start  of  underway  periods,  all  signal bridge   personnel   should   be   familiar   with   the communications portion of the OPORD or the letter of instruction (LOI). The leading Signalman obtains these orders from the communications/signals officer. Due   to   the   few   copies   available,   the   needed information may be extracted. At the minimum, a list showing the task organization, schedule of events, and call signs should be on the signal bridge. Whenever possible, the leading Signalman of the ships assigned to the task organization should arrange a meeting for a pre-underway brief. During this brief, information covering visual communications, use of call signs, and drills should be discussed. You gain an advantage by discussing these items before sailing. Changes  to  OPORDs  are  issued  frequently. Therefore,  the  leading  Signalman  must  consult  the OPORD often to make sure the signal team is kept uptodate  on  any  such  changes. OPORDs  are  issued  to  effect  the  coordinated immediate or near-future execution of an operation. They are prepared in a standard approved format, as stated in NWP 11, Naval Operational Planning. An OPORD is a basic plan and usually consists of the  heading,  body,  ending,  and  (as  needed)  detailed procedures (in the form of enclosures called annexes and  appendices).  The  basic  plan  is  concise,  and contains only details necessary for a clear, overall picture of the operation. Annexes themselves may be short or long. They often have appendices and tabs to elaborate  on  the  many  details  to  be  considered  in  a large and complicated tactical operation. The most important portion of the OPORD (for communications  personnel)  is  the  communications annex. This   annex   gives   information   on communications that is too extensive to be included in the basic OPORD. The   amount   and   type   of   information   in   a communications annex depends on the purpose of the plan or order and on the mission of the command. OPERATION PLANS An OPLAN is a directive for carrying out an operation or a series of operations extending over a large geographic area. The plan usually covers a considerable  period  of  time  and  is  prepared  well  in advance.  The  plan  may  include  information  on  the time it will become effective, or it may merely state that  it  will  become  effective  when  signaled  by appropriate  authority.  The  operation  plan  is  the instrument upon which subordinate commanders base directives to their commands covering specific tasks assigned. Usually an OPLAN is designed to deal with some future situation or condition which may or may not come about. For more information concerning OPORD and OPLANs,  refer  to  NWP  11,  Naval  Operational Planning. 14-4