U.S. Army Reconnaissance and Surveillance Handbook

,

• Publisher: Skyhorse
• Year: 2013
• Print ISBN: 9781626360990
• eBook ISBN: 9781628735567
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Military & Maritime History
• Index: Technology & Engineering

The official United States Army manual, U.S. Army Reconnaissance and Surveillance Handbook provides tactics, techniques, and procedures for reconnaissance and surveillance planning, mission management, and reporting. Throughout history, military leaders have recognized the importance of reconnaissance and surveillance. Gaining and maintaining contact with the enemy is essential to win the battle, and U.S. military history contains many examples where our knowledge of the enemy, or lack of knowledge, directly led to victory or defeat. The role of reconnaissance and surveillance has not diminished on the modern battlefield; if anything, it has become even more important. Battles at the combat training centers prove that a good reconnaissance and surveillance effort is critical to successful attacks. On the other hand, a poor reconnaissance and surveillance effort almost guarantees defeat for the commander. The message is clear: success on the battlefield begins with reconnaissance and surveillance.
This essential handbook covers:

• Surveillance
• Preparation
• Assets
• Equipment
• Planning
• Monitoring
• Organizing Missions
• Electronic warfare
• Counter-reconnaissance
• And more!

It also looks at the development of intelligence, employment considerations for reconnaissance, and defines the roles of various personnel in planning operations.
Intended for maneuver commanders and their staffs; intelligence staffs and collection managers; and other personnel involved in planning and reconnaissance and counter-reconnaissance operations, and now available to everyone, U.S. Army Reconnaissance and Surveillance Handboo k provides an insider's look into the world of Army intelligence.

CHAPTER 1

Introduction

Throughout history, military leaders have recognized the importance of R&S. Gaining and maintaining contact with the enemy is essential to win the battle. Our own military history contains many examples where our knowledge of the enemy, or lack of knowledge, directly led to victory or defeat.

The role of R&S has not changed on the modern battlefield; if anything, it has become even more important. Battles at the combat training centers prove that a good R&S effort is critical to successful attacks. On the other hand, a poor R&S effort almost guarantees defeat for the commander. Figure 1-1 shows attack outcome according to reconnaissance status (Blue Force [BLUFOR]). This chart was developed by the Rand Corporation in its October 1987 study, “Applying the National Training Center Experience: Tactical Reconnaissance.”

Figure 1-1. Attack outcome according to reconnaissance status (BLUFOR).

The message is clear: success on the battlefield begins with R&S and R&S begins with the intelligence officer. As the S2, you play a big role in the success or failure of your unit. But if being able to find the enemy is critical to the attack, what role does the S2 play in the defense?

Figure 1-2 shows the attack outcome according to reconnaissance status (Opposing Force [OPFOR]). This is another chart from the same Rand study. It clearly shows: if you blind the enemy, they will most likely fail in the attack. Therefore, a successful defense depends on finding, targeting, destroying, or suppressing enemy reconnaissance assets before they can report your unit’s defensive positions.

Figure 1-2. Attack outcome according to reconnaissance status (OPFOR).

This implies an aggressive CR effort that seeks out enemy reconnaissance units rather than passively screening. It also implies the coordination and active participation among the S2, S3, fire support officer (FSO), and the intelligence and electronic warfare support element (IEWSE).

This manual describes the TTP you can use to develop and execute successful R&S plans. Field Manual 34-2 and FM 34-80 contain additional information on collection management and R&S.

This is a “how to” manual. It describes how to:

• Plan R&S operations.
• Task R&S assets.
• Graphically depict R&S operations.
• Execute R&S operations.
• Save time in the planning process.
• Plan for intelligence support to CR missions.
• Plan for division level assets, such as signals intelligence (SIGINT) collectors.

This manual will show you how to succeed in your reconnaissance and CR effort, giving you and your commander the best chance for victory in battle.

The intent is for you to use this manual in the field as a guide. This manual is also designed to show commanders and S3s the R&S planning process. This manual is arranged sequentially to reflect the order of the R&S and collection management processes. It will help you understand R&S a step at a time.

The better prepared you are as an S2, the better your R&S plan will be. Therefore, you should have a solid appreciation for intelligence preparation of the battlefield (IPB) and its contribution to developing an R&S plan. (See FM 34-130, Intelligence Preparation of the Battlefield, for a complete discussion of IPB.) You need to know what assets are available to you, as well as the capabilities and limitations of those assets. This supports planning and executing R&S operations.

Once you formulate your plan, you must know how to task appropriate assets. One way to disseminate the R&S plan or taskings is to develop an R&S overlay. FM 34-80, Appendix E, describes the preparation of the R&S overlay. As you execute the plan, you should know how to monitor the R&S effort and modify the plan accordingly. To reinforce the steps in the R&S process, this manual includes examples at brigade and battalion levels of how to plan, prepare, execute, and monitor the R&S effort.

Collection Management Process

To successfully plan and execute the R&S effort, you should understand the five phases of the collection management process, and the relationship of R&S to collection management. Regardless of the echelon, you will go through the following five steps or phases to develop a collection plan and, ultimately, an R&S plan:

• Receive and analyze requirements.
• Determine resource availability and capability.
• Task resources.
• Evaluate reporting.
• Update collection planning.

Receive and Analyze Requirements

Receiving and analyzing requirements means identifying what the commander must know about the enemy, weather, and terrain to accomplish the mission. Normally, the commander’s concerns are expressed as questions, termed priority intelligence requirements (PIR) or information requirements (IR).

PIR and IR are either stated by the commander or recommended by you and approved by the commander. They are the very reason R&S plans (and all collection plans) exist. You may also have requirements from higher or subordinate units; these you will prioritize and consolidate with the commander’s PIR. Once you have identified all requirements, you will eventually convert them into specific items to look for.

Determine Resource Availability and Capability

In simplest terms, determining resource availability and capability means assessing what means you have to look for the specific items you have developed in the first step.

Task Resources

When tasking resources, you must tell a specific resource what it should look for, and how it is to report information.

At division and higher, several elements accomplish these five steps. For example, the all-source production section (ASPS) aids the collection management and dissemination (CM&D) section in analyzing requirements. The CM&D may simply task the military intelligence (MI) battalion to collect on specific requirements; the MI battalion S3 is the one who actually tasks a specific asset. In fact, very seldom does a division G2 directly task a specific asset.

At maneuver brigade and battalion levels, however, your S2 section will usually do all five steps of the collection management process. You will develop a collection plan which addresses how your unit will collect information to satisfy all intelligence requirements. Unlike division, you will normally task specific assets to collect specific information.

This essentially is the difference between a collection plan and an R&S plan: A collection plan identifies which units or agencies will collect information. An R&S plan identifies which specific assets will be tasked to collect information, and how they will do it. Therefore, as a general rule, R&S planning occurs mostly at brigade and below.

Evaluate Reporting

Is the asset accurately reporting what it sees based on its capabilities? And does the report answer the original question?

Update Collection Planning

Do you need more information to answer the question, or is it time to shift focus and begin answering another question?

Solutions to Common Errors in Reconnaissance and Surveillance Planning

This manual focuses on R&S at brigade and battalion levels. It discusses ways to improve your R&S plans and to win the battle. Many common mistakes made by S2s in the planning stage result in unproductive R&S operations. These mistakes were noted during numerous observations at the training centers and occur regularly. To avoid errors in R&S plans, use the guidelines discussed below.

Use IPB Products

Use enemy situation templates and event templates to identify areas on the battlefield where and when you expect significant events or targets to appear. These IPB products will save many hours of analysis by pinpointing specific areas on which to focus your R&S effort.

Know Your Assets

Know the capabilities and limitations of the R&S assets available to you. This should ensure that assets are not sent on missions they are not capable of conducting, nor trained to conduct.

Provide Details

When you develop your R&S plan, provide details. Generic R&S plans do not produce the amount of information required in the time allocated.

Understand Scheme of Maneuver

It is imperative you understand your unit’s scheme of maneuver before you begin to formulate the R&S plan. A well-thought-out R&S plan that does not support the scheme of maneuver is a useless effort.

Provid...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title
• Copyright
• Table of Contents
• PREFACE
• CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION
• Collection Management Process
• Solutions to Common Errors in Reconnaissance and Surveillance Planning
• CHAPTER 2 RECONNAISSANCE AND SURVEILLANCE AND INTELLIGENCE PREPARATION OF THE BATTLEFIELD Terms
• Reconnaissance and Surveillance Principles
• Intelligence Preparation of the Battlefield Process
• Reconnaissance and Surveillance Plan Development
• CHAPTER 3 ASSETS AND EQUIPMENT Assets and Equipment Organic to the Maneuver Battalion
• Assets and Personnel Normally Supporting the Maneuver Battalion
• Assets and Personnel Normally Supporting the Maneuver Brigade
• CHAPTER 4 PLANNING EFFECTIVE RECONNAISSANCE AND SURVEILLANCE
• Staff Officer Responsibilities
• Planning
• CHAPTER 5 METHODS OF TASKING RECONNAISSANCE AND SURVEILLANCE ASSETS
• CHAPTER 6 THE RECONNAISSANCE AND SURVEILLANCE OVERLAY
• CHAPTER 7 MONITORING THE RECONNAISSANCE AND SURVEILLANCE EFFORT Tracking Targets and Assets
• Evaluating How Your Assets Report
• Managing Priority Intelligence Requirements
• Modifying the Reconnaissance and Surveillance Plan
• Tasking Assets
• CHAPTER 8 AUGMENTING OR TASK ORGANIZING RECONNAISSANCE AND SURVEILLANCE MISSIONS Task Organized with Engineers and Artillery Forward Observers Attached to Reconnaissance Patrol
• Task Organized with Signal Assets, Observation Posts, and Forward Observers Attached to Extended Reconnaissance Patrol
• Scouts with Infantry
• D Company, Scout Platoon, and Ground Surveillance Radar Effort Augmented
• CHAPTER 9 RECONNAISSANCE AND SURVEILLANCE IN OFFENSIVE OPERATIONS Detailed Reconnaissance
• Surveillance of the Objective Ongoing Reconnaissance and Surveillance Planning
• CHAPTER 10 INTELLIGENCE SUPPORT TO COUNTERRECONNAISSANCE Staff Officers
• Mission Planning
• Reconnaissance Fundamentals
• Using Intelligence Preparation of the Battlefield to Support Your Counterreconnaissance Effort
• Counterreconnaissance
• CHAPTER 11 RECONNAISSANCE AND SURVEILLANCE IN LOW-INTENSITY CONFLICT Factors
• Guerrilla/Insurgent Operations
• Upper Echelon Organization
• Equipment
• Forms of Guerrilla Combat
• Insurgent Map Symbols
• Movement Formations
• Tactical Command Basic Organization
• Intelligence Preparation of the Battlefield Considerations
• Assets
• CHAPTER 12 ELECTRONIC WARFARE ASSET EMPLOYMENT Fundamentals
• Planning
• What Type of Intelligence and Electronic Warfare Assets Are Needed?
• APPENDIX A MANAGEMENT TOOLS FOR RECONNAISSANCE AND SURVEILLANCE OPERATIONS
• APPENDIX B EXAMPLE OF THE RECONNAISSANCE AND SURVEILLANCE PROCESS
• GLOSSARY
• REFERENCES
• INDEX