• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Needs Emphasis

TREND 1: Clearance of Fires.

PROBLEMS:

1. The brigade and TF plan did not provide clear graphical control measures to facilitate clearance.
2. No standardized procedures existed for positively clearing fires across the brigade.

RESULTS:

1. The Task Force frequently experienced indirect fire fratricides and indirect fires danger close.
2. The TF suffered excessive delay in mission processing times.

Techniques:

1. Improve clearance of fire procedures by using maneuver graphical control measures, Fire Support Coordination Measures (FSCMs) and clear.
2. Practice procedures to ensure responsive fires without endangering or killing friendly elements.

(TA.2.1.1 Select Target to Attack)

TREND 2: Registration of Brigade Support Area (BSA) targets into TACFIRE. S3s have difficulty getting BSA targets into TACFIRE, especially the critical friendly zone (CFZ).

PROBLEM: The BSA has no coverage from radar or known targets to shift from.

RESULT: Having no coverage from the Q-36 or Q-37 radars causes the BSA to have continuous fires placed on it without the aid of counterfire to counter the OPFOR artillery.

Techniques:

1. Procedures for ensuring BSA targets are registered in TACFIRE should be reviewed and practiced.
2. OPD/NCOPD classes should be scheduled for fire support/Close Air Support (CAS).
3. The BSA should have a mortar track attached in the defense in order to give it the capability to bring quick fires on dismounted troops in the open who are trying to penetrate the BSA defenses. When a BSA has to implement a save plan, the mortar track could be used for quick smoke missions as the BSA moves to the save site.
4. The service battery commander must be held accountable to produce an overlay with targets and target reference points (TRPs) and the task and purpose of fires in the fire support annex. This information needs to be passed down to the lowest level.
5. The computer printout should be shown to the Forward Support Battalion (FSB) S3 by the service battery commander daily. This will ensure the targets are still in TACFIRE.

(TA.2.1.1 Select Target to Attack)

TREND 3: Combat Observation Lasing Team (COLT) use of Ground/Vehicle Laser Locator Designators (G/VLLDs).

PROBLEMS:

1. COLTs are not deploying forward of the line of departure with a complete (including night sight) G/VLLD system.
2. COLTs are not using their G/VLLDs to obtain refined target locations to obtain first round fire for effect data.
3. When they are not given a specified mission to lase, teams usually opt to leave their G/VLLDs behind at the brigade main.

Technique: COLTs should always carry the complete G/VLLD system, regardless of their assigned task. Based on the COLT's mission to either provide terminal guidance for precision munitions, reconnaissance/surveillance, or as a primary observer for a specified target, the observer must be capable of lasing to refine the target location. The best tool currently available for both day and night is the G/VLLD.

(TA.2.2.1.2 Adjust/Illuminate Fire Support Targets)

Table of Contents

Maneuver BOS

Air Defense BOS