text: Considerations for Major Combat Operations
  through 1-39). In the morning hours of 23 March 2003, thirty-three Soldiers of the 507th Maintenance
  Company, including two from the 3d Forward Support Battalion, entered the city of An Nasiriyah with
  eighteen vehicles. Due to a navigation error, enemy forces surrounded the convoy. During a ninety-minute
  struggle to fight off the enemy and return to friendly lines, the convoy divided into three smaller groups.
  Each group had a different personnel recovery experience. The smallest group of six Soldiers in three
  vehicles evaded roadblocks under fire and returned unassisted to friendly control when it met elements of a
  Marine Corps tank battalion. The second group of ten Soldiers in five vehicles fought off attacking Iraqi
  Soldiers, established a defensive perimeter, and treated its wounded. Advancing Marines rescued it in an
  immediate recovery operation. The final group of seventeen Soldiers and ten vehicles was involved in a
  vehicle crash under heavy enemy fire and was unable to move to friendly lines. It became fragmented and
  several members were killed, wounded, and captured. On 1 April 2003, special operations forces supported
  by Marines rescued one Soldier from an Iraqi hospital in an external supported recovery operation. Later in
  April, the remaining captive members of the convoy, and two captured Apache pilots, were recovered when
  word of their presence enabled nearby Marines to execute a deliberate recovery operation.
  ASSESSING PERSONNEL RECOVERY OPERATIONS
  4-24. Commanders drive the operations process. They understand, visualize, describe, direct, lead, and
  assess. They assess during the plan, prepare, and execute phases of the operations process. Likewise,
  commanders assess throughout the conduct of personnel recovery operations to determine the progress of
  the operation and adapt as required. Assessment helps commanders supervise recovery operations to better
  understand current conditions and determine how the operation is progressing. The commander maintains
  overall perspective, comparing the current situation to the one originally envisioned. Commanders use
  information received from subordinates to develop indicators to determine progress toward a successful
  outcome. When assessment reveals a significant variance from the commander’s original visualization,
  commanders reframe the problem and develop an entirely new plan as required.