text: Chapter 1
  PROVIDE ACCURATE AND TIMELY INFORMATION TO THE OPERATIONS PROCESS
  1-7. Accurate and timely reporting allows the BCT to seize and retain the initiative and to concentrate
  combat power at the right time and place. The BCT commander requires accurate and timely information on
  enemy, terrain, and the civilian population as they affect the mission. To understand, visualize, describe,
  direct, lead, and assess combat operations, the BCT commander relies on information collection units and
  capabilities, including national intelligence sources, military intelligence units, special purpose
  reconnaissance, unmanned aircraft systems (UASs), aviation, electromagnetic warfare, cyberspace operation
  platforms, and any unit in contact. These units and capabilities support intelligence preparation of the
  battlefield (IPB), the operations process, and adjustments during operations. During IPB, the staff considers
  how the adversary or enemy utilizes cyberspace and the electromagnetic spectrum (EMS) to achieve their
  objective. The commander and staff’s best means of visualizing and understanding their area of operations,
  if battlefield circulation is not possible, is through reconnaissance operations.
  1-8. Commanders require timely and accurate information during the execution of operations to maneuver
  and direct combat operations against the enemy. The primary source of information for the commander
  during battle is the reconnaissance and security organization—the Cavalry.
  1-9. Cavalry units—
  * Detect and counter enemy tactical deception efforts.
  * Provide a capable means of assessing terrain.
  * Operate actively not passively. Cavalry not only finds the enemy but can also develop the situation
  and force the enemy to reveal more information including enemy intentions and fighting ability.
  * Disseminate relevant information immediately to commanders.
  * Develop recommendations to seize, retain, and exploit the initiative.
  * Answer priority intelligence requirements (PIRs).
  * Shape the battlefield.
  1-10. A key task for the Cavalry is to shape the battlefield. In this context, shaping is to set conditions for
  the success of the supported commander’s plan through effects on the enemy, other actors, and the terrain.
  Shaping occurs in all domains and can have physical, cognitive, and informational effects. For example, in
  security operations the Cavalry may vary the engagement and disengagement criteria of their battle positions
  to shape an advancing enemy formation into the supported commander’s chosen engagement area. In
  reconnaissance operations, the Cavalry may use different levels of aggressiveness on different avenues of
  approach to shape the enemy’s decision-making regarding where to array their defense. Shaping the
  battlefield is rarely a specified task but is an implied task that occurs during all operations. Cavalry
  commanders must balance the implied shaping effect with the achievement of specified reconnaissance and
  security tasks.
  1-11. To shape the battlefield, the Cavalry commander must understand the supported commander’s scheme
  of maneuver and decision points. However, the supported commander may not have completed their plan
  before the Cavalry commences their reconnaissance or security operation. Therefore, the Cavalry commander
  must be prepared to extrapolate the desired shaping effect from the available information, as well as be
  prepared to adapt their plan during execution.
  1-12. The desired shaping effect may change which type of reconnaissance or security the commander
  selects. For example, a Cavalry commander may elect to conduct a guard rather than a screen to maximize
  their ability to shape the enemy’s avenue of approach. Commanders must also consider the shaping effect
  when creating reconnaissance and security guidance. In particular, varying engagement and disengagement
  criteria is key to shaping enemy maneuver effectively.
  OPERATE AS COMBINED ARMS AIR-GROUND TEAMS
  1-13. Cavalry organizations are combined arms teams that, when paired with aviation units, form air-ground
  maneuver teams that utilize appropriate combinations of mounted, dismounted, and aerial operations to
  accomplish their mission. Air-ground operations are the simultaneous or synchronized employment of
  ground forces with aviation maneuver and fires to seize, retain, and exploit the initiative. The organization is
  equipped, organized, and trained to identify enemy locations to improve the BCT’s situational awareness and