2-56. SR operations are reconnaissance and surveillance actions conducted by SF, unilaterally or through surrogate or indigenous forces. The objective of SR operations is to confirm, refute, or obtain—by visual observation or other collection methods—information on the capabilities, intentions, and activities of an actual or potential enemy. SR operations may also occur to satisfy nuclear, biological, and chemical (NBC) reconnaissance requirements or to secure data on the meteorological, hydrographic, or geographic characteristics of an area. 2-57. Like DA, the SF SR mission evolved from the UW mission. SR is an extension of the unilateral or surrogate intelligence activities encompassed by UW. Reconnaissance is an integral component of any SF mission. It exposes SFODs to information of tactical, operational, strategic, and political policy- making significance. SF performing UW normally represents a lower risk and less resource-intensive capability for gathering and reporting required information than may be associated with mounting a separate SR mission. When UW assets cannot feasibly gather and report required information, operational- and strategic-level commanders may task SF to infiltrate an operational area, conduct SR, and exfiltrate upon mission completion.
2-58. SF conducts SR unilaterally, in joint operations or in combined operations with foreign personnel. Technical specialists, such as special operations teams A (SOT-As) or NBC personnel, may be attached to enhance the SFOD’s capabilities for a particular mission. SR complements other national and theater collection systems—such as high-altitude imagery or signals intelligence (SIGINT)—that are more vulnerable to weather, terrain masking, and hostile countermeasures.
2-59. SF conducts SR by employing battlefield reconnaissance and surveillance. Battlefield reconnaissance and surveillance involve the use of standard long-range patrolling tactics and techniques outside the main battle area or areas in nonlinear, noncontiguous operations.
2-60. SF conducts SR to provide commanders and policy makers with near- real-time information of strategic or operational significance from a specified operational area. The presence of SF at the point of collection provides a unique military perspective of the ground situation, with human judgment to
provide context to the information as reported. This support can be particularly important in assessing capabilities and intentions, as well as in countering deception.
2-61. SF normally conducts SR missions beyond the sensing capabilities of tactical collection systems to collect and report information of strategic or operational significance. During the critical transition from peace to war, the NCA, Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), and theater CINCs may have PIR that only SFODAs can satisfy. In a conflict, SFODAs may perform SR missions at the theater strategic or operational level. At the theater strategic level, SFODAs collect and report critical information for the theater CINC and component commanders. SFODAs perform operational-level SR missions in support of insurgencies, COINs, and contingency operations. During war, SFODAs can deploy to named areas of interest (NAIs) to collect and report information in response to specific PIR of the JFC and component commanders at the operational and theater strategic levels. SF SR operations occur at these levels because SF is too small and is in too great a demand to address the tactical needs of tactical combat units. SFODAs are a low-density, high- demand capability that cannot be quickly or easily replaced due to the prolonged selection and training process required to produce SF soldiers. Enough SFODAs simply are not available to act as the eyes and ears of tactical commanders in the main battle area. Therefore, whenever appropriate, long-range reconnaissance units assigned to Army divisions should conduct these missions.
2-62. Reconnaissance missions conducted by SF normally have objectives that are either strategic or operational in nature, although they occur at the tactical level. This fact clarifies the difference between the SF mission of SR and the term strategic reconnaissance.
2-63. Other operational activities of SR are target acquisition, area assessment, and poststrike reconnaissance. SF can enhance other reconnaissance objectives through remote-sensor emplacement. SF conducts these activities by employing an appropriate mix of the two broad categories of techniques described previously.
TARGET ACQUISITION
2-64. SF conducts target acquisition to identify and locate targets inaccessible to other sensors, to identify the vulnerability of a specific target, or to determine whether conducting a DA operation on the target is feasible. A target acquisition mission may also determine the means or the types of forces necessary to seize materiel, to capture personnel, or to destroy or damage a target. SR may directly support IO by identifying access points for closed information systems or by providing other information critical to developing an IO concept of operations. In support of CP, SF may conduct SR specifically to verify the presence of WMD or to gather information related to WMD.
AREA ASSESSMENT
2-65. SF conducts area assessments to evaluate the overall situation within an operational or target area, including NBC reconnaissance. Such
FM 3-05.20
assessments include information on the capabilities and intentions of military and paramilitary forces, as well as social, cultural, and demographic data. Area assessments are critical to the commander’s decision-making process. The assessments also include characteristics and capacity of indigenous infrastructure and support systems and any other information of military value or relevance to regional orientation. Area assessment is an integral part of UW and is conducted during activities incidental to other mission taskings. Evaluating LOCs within the target area are conducted to determine the difficulties that may confront a conventional force during future operations.
POSTSTRIKE RECONNAISSANCE
2-66. SF may conduct poststrike reconnaissance—also known as BDA—to determine the effectiveness of an air strike, IO action, or the effects of some other type of standoff weapon. SF normally conducts these missions in an otherwise denied area not easily accessible to another type of sensor. SF becomes the force of choice when other intelligence assets are unavailable for accurate and timely information or when the actual effect cannot be observed absent a human observer at the point of collection.