text: FM 7-100.1________________________________________________________________________________
  • Sustainability. Reconnaissance forces must be able to sustain them-
  selves wherever they are operating, without relying on others for
  transport or subsistence.
  • Security. A reconnaissance asset should be as secure as possible dur-
  ing operations. This means operating in a manner that conceals activi-
  ties and areas of interest at all times. Reconnaissance activity should
  not reveal the parent unit’s plan of action.
  • Communications. Reconnaissance forces must have reliable communi-
  cations. An intelligence organization may successfully gather all necessary
  information, but if it cannot transmit this information to the user (such as
  the maneuver commander or an artillery unit), the entire effort is useless.
  • Reserves. All levels should maintain a reconnaissance reserve to take
  on unforeseen tasks or redeem failure on key missions.
  PRIORITIES
  6-18. Reconnaissance activities must support the information requirements
  of the commander. Therefore, priorities vary at different levels of command:
  strategic, operational and tactical.
  Strategic
  6-19. The highest priority of strategic reconnaissance is to provide indications and
  warning of impending hostilities, as well as targeting information for weapons of
  mass destruction (WMD). However, strategic intelligence can also gather informa-
  tion useful to operational and even tactical commanders. In this case, the informa-
  tion must pass down through reconnaissance staff channels to the potential user.
  Operational
  6-20. The operational commander conducts reconnaissance to locate the most
  critical enemy targets, including the following:
  • Precision weapons.
  • Nuclear, biological, and chemical (NBC) systems.
  • Air defenses.
  • Intelligence-collection assets.
  • Higher headquarters and communications centers.
  • General support artillery.
  • Operational maneuver formations and their movements.
  • Contents of airfields and army aviation forward operating bases.
  • Major concentration areas of reserves.
  • Unit boundaries.
  • Location and extent of defended areas.
  • The enemy’s combat capabilities and intentions.
  Tactical
  6-21. Tactical groups also address more local threats, including the following:
  • Location of direct support artillery and mortars and attack helicopters.