EPA stands for Evasion Plan of Action in the military Personnel Recovery context. The plan records intended actions in the event of isolation. It is prepared before the mission concerned and gives commanders and recovery forces additional information about the actions and movements a person or group intends to undertake.
What an EPA records
An EPA combines information about the mission and personnel with planned actions once isolation occurs. A US planning example includes the planned route, with direction, waypoints and distances, and evasion intentions for different parts of the mission.
Further information addresses immediate and prolonged evasion. It may include rally points, intended locations, destination areas and alternative movements. Planning also accounts for physical condition: an uninjured team may have different movement intentions from an injured person. Intended actions are recorded for possible contact or pickup locations.
Further details concern communications and equipment. These include available radios, batteries and signalling equipment, planned contact procedures and fallback options, and carried survival equipment. Some of this information is already contained in mission documents or unit procedures. The EPA brings together the information needed in the event of isolation.
From individual intentions to coordinated preparation
In the US planning example, soldiers or small teams pass their intentions through the chain of command. There, the plan is checked to establish whether and how it can be supported. The responsible PR organisations then need the information for planning and execution. This connects planned movements and contact options with the forces and resources actually available.
How recovery forces use the plan
Knowing what movements were planned gives commanders and recovery forces additional indications for locating, supporting and picking up personnel.
Once isolation occurs, obstacles, the threat or the person's condition may change their actions. Current position reports and further observations therefore remain necessary.
EPA, ISG and ISOPREP
In US military usage, Isolated Soldier Guidance (ISG) means instructions for conduct during isolation. These instructions come from the chain of command. An EPA instead communicates the individual's or small unit's intended actions to their commanders.
The Isolated Personnel Report (ISOPREP), by contrast, contains prepared information for identifying and authenticating a person. During recovery, identity information, intended actions and current position reports are used together.
Updates and access
Changes to the mission area, intended movements or relevant communication options, for example, must be taken into account during preparation. Otherwise, recovery forces may base their planning on intentions that no longer apply.
The plan contains operational information about intended actions, movement and communication. It must be available to authorised organisations and handled in accordance with national and operational procedures.