text: Reconnaissance
  enabling them to conduct reconnaissance on denied and hostile areas normally inaccessible to other forces or
  assets. Special reconnaissance activities include—
  * Environmental reconnaissance.
  * Armed reconnaissance.
  * Target and threat assessment.
  * Post-strike reconnaissance.
  See ATP 3-18.4 for additional information on special reconnaissance activities.
  RECONNAISSANCE STAFF INTEGRATION
  12-68. The performance of reconnaissance operations contributes significantly to each commander’s
  battlefield visualization. Staffs develop Annex B (Intelligence) to the base plan or order to support their
  commander’s decision-making process.
  12-69. Commanders make judicious, yet aggressive, use of their available reconnaissance assets.
  Reconnaissance planning ensures that available reconnaissance assets produce the greatest results.
  Commanders set priorities for their reconnaissance assets as time and the assets themselves are limited.
  Generating many unfocused missions rapidly wears down these assets, making them less effective and
  potentially leaving enemy vulnerabilities undiscovered.
  12-70. Commanders ensure the coordination and synchronization of all subordinate echelons for the
  reconnaissance effort. Since the need for information gained by reconnaissance is integral to all elements of
  operations and warfighting functions, reconnaissance operations demand an integrated approach to planning,
  preparation, and execution. The two habitual participants in the reconnaissance planning process are the
  operations and intelligence staff officers. Operations staff officers have primary staff responsibility for
  reconnaissance planning, allocating, and tasking resources. Normally, they are responsible for ground and
  aerial reconnaissance assets, which include manned aviation, small UAS, engineers, CBRN, and artillery.
  Intelligence staff officers have primary responsibility for ground surveillance systems, larger UAS, and
  special electronics mission aircraft. Civil affairs operations staff officers have primary responsibility for
  planning civil reconnaissance, civil engagement, and the analysis, evaluation, and integration of civil
  information into the common operational picture. Commanders ensure their staffs adopt an integrated
  combined arms approach to planning, preparing, executing, and assessing reconnaissance as an integral part
  of their information collection plans.
  INFORMATION COLLECTION PLAN
  12-71. Units coordinate their reconnaissance efforts with other higher echelon and lateral units to maximize
  information collection. Staffs, primarily intelligence staff officers, identify gaps in available intelligence,
  based on their initial IPB and their commanders’ critical information requirements. The IPB process identifies
  factors that impact their information collection efforts, such as—
  * Avenues of approach that support friendly movement and exploit enemy weaknesses.
  * Key terrain, choke points, obstacles, and hazard areas.
  * Enemy positions, especially exploitable flanks.
  * Observation points.
  12-72. The performance of reconnaissance tasks (part of their information collection efforts) and the IPB
  process are interactive and iterative, each feeding the other. (See FM 3-55 for more information on the
  information collection process and ATP 2-01.3 for more information on the IPB process.)
  12-73. Intelligence and operations staff officers develop their initial synchronization plans to acquire
  information to help answer PIRs based on available information collection assets. These plans assign specific
  information collection tasks to specific units for action. They integrate information collection into the
  operation order and appropriate annexes.
  12-74. Operations staff officers use these synchronization plans when they prepare Annex L (Information
  Collection) to the operation orders. This annex provides for the flexible execution of reconnaissance
  operations, including the provision for adequate synchronization of fire support, sustainment, and other