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SECTION IX

PREPARATION LESSON LEARNED: NEVER PASS UP AN
OPPORTUNITY TO REHEARSE

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Rehearsals are an integral part of the planning process. The rehearsal should both practice and test the plan. If at all possible, the fire support/artillery rehearsal should be conducted with the maneuver commander's rehearsal. A combined rehearsal will improve responsiveness of fires and synchronization of all the maneuver commander's battle resources.

At any level, fire support participants in the maneuver commander's rehearsal should include all members of the fire support cell, and all subordinate fire support elements. Specifically included are the FSCOOR0, FSO, ALO, NGLO and SALT officer, Mortar Platoon Leader, Chemical Officer, and Army Liaison Officer. Also the DS Bn S-2, S-3, Fire Direction Officers, radar personnel, the Intelligence and Electronic Warfare Support Element (IEWSE) team leader, and the Engineer Officer should be included.

A rehearsal is a run-through of the operation that both practices and tests it enough to be executed. At the end of an effective rehearsal, everyone should know their responsibilities and the cues for action. The commander should also know if the plan is viable. A rehearsal presupposes a completed plan; that is, a plan complete enough to be executed. Completion is what distinguishes a plan under rehearsal from one being wargamed.

The benefit to the field artillery battalion of conducting a rehearsal is the same as it is to the maneuver force. The rehearsal provides and verifies information on movement, schedules of fire, munitions requirements, and a more complete understanding of operational time involved with the scheme of maneuver.

Rehearsals may be conducted face-to-face, by wire, or by radio. If planning is well-organized, many plans and subplans can be rehearsed concurrently. When time is limited, pick out the plans that need attention and can be checked and fixed in the time available.

If the maneuver commander does not conduct a combined rehearsal, and rehearsal time is available, the FSCOORD, with his FSO should conduct a fire support rehearsal using the maneuver force operations order (OPORD), fire support plan, fire support execution matrix, and the field artillery support plan. A rehearsal conducted with only fire support personnel only is still better than no rehearsal at all.

As a minimum rehearse the following:

• Fire Support Plan: Verify target locations, trigger points/lines, primary and backups observers/target executors, primary and backup communications channels, target engagement criteria, target priority, purpose, method of engagement, attack guidance, and fire support coordination measures. Key participants are: FSOs, FDCs, ALOs, Army aviation Commander, Mortar Platoon Leaders.

• Target Acquisition Plan: Verify target priorities, cueing agents, cueing criteria, timeliness and accuracy requirements, who targets, what information is reported to whom, target selection standards, sectors of responsibility/zones of search, positioning/movement plans. Key participants are: FSOs, FOs, 05 FA Battalion S-2, Bde Targeting Officer radars, COLTs, and scouts.

• Reconnaissance and Surveillance Plan: Same as those for the Target Acquisition Plan, plus battery commanders, DS Bn Reconnaissance survey officer (RSO) and maneuver S-2s.

• Communications-Electronics Plan: Verifies SOI instructions, TACFIRE subscriber list, jamming procedures and requirements. Key participants are: CESO, FSEs, FDCs, TOCs, and BOCs.

NOTE: The above discussion is not intended to imply each rehearsal is conducted separately in addition to a combined arms rehearsal. Ideally all rehearsals should be incorporated into one combined rehearsal. If not possible for whatever reason, those items determined by the supported maneuver commander to be "War Stoppers" must be rehearsed as thoroughly as possible.

Marks of an effective rehearsal:

• Confirms the plan
• Uses players, not stand-ins, especially in organizations with little experience in continuous operations.
• Stops and corrects problems as they arise.
• Has built-in checks.
• Parallels the way the plan will be executed; the sequence and execution cues are the same.

Marks of an ineffective rehearsal:

• Does not verify the plan.
• Waits until all plans are complete (which will never happen), and until the last minute.
• Is a "dog-and-pony" show (a rehearsal that concentrates on how it looks instead how it works).
• Fails to monitor and supervise players during the rehearsal.
• Fails to rehearse concurrently at several levels.
• Leaves out crucial players.
• Thinks a plan has been checked when in fact it has not.
• Does not rehearse the plan that will be executed.

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Table of Contents
Section VIII: Establish and Enforce a Cutoff Time for Submitting Routine Changes to the Target List
Section X: FSCOORD/FSO Should be Where He Can Contribute Most to the Success of the Operation