The military operation, designated as Operation Northern Guardian, is designed as a fait accompli executed with overwhelming speed.

Phase One (D-Day to D+3): Rapid deployment of the 82nd Airborne Division's 1st Brigade Combat Team to Thule Air Base and Kangerlussuaq Airport, supported by Air Force transport assets and fighter cover from bases in the United Kingdom. Simultaneously, naval assets including the carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt and Arleigh Burke-class destroyers would establish sea control in the Denmark Strait and Baffin Bay. The objectives is to secure Greenland's two major airfields, establish an impregnable defensive perimeter, and present Denmark with a situation where military recapture was effectively impossible.

Phase Two (D+4 to D+14): Expansion of forces to approximately 8,000 personnel, including engineering units to upgrade infrastructure, intelligence assets to monitor regional developments, and diplomatic teams to engage with Greenlandic authorities. The goal is to create parallel governance structures that could claim to represent Greenlandic interests while subordinating them to U.S. security requirements.

Phase Three (D+15 onwards): Diplomatic offensive to legitimize the occupation through a combination of pressure on Denmark, divide-and-conquer tactics within NATO, and appeals to Greenlandic self-determination. The endgame envision a negotiated settlement in which Greenland would become enter into a "special relationship" within the United States in the style of Puerto Rico that grants permanent basing rights and effective security control.