Understanding the Tempo of Reconnaissance

Fall 2019 Understanding the Tempo of Reconnaissance by CPT Nathan Sitterley The term tempo, as defined by Army Doctrinal Publication 3-90, Offense and Defense, is a rate of speed and rhythm of military operations over time with respect to the enemy. The doctrine should also relate tempo to the capabilities and supporting efforts within an organization. This definition, though different than the definition of the tempo of reconnaissance, does re late. Tempo generally controls or alters the rate of the operation to maintain the initiative for offensive operations. This type of “tempo” is what most Army leaders are familiar with. Visualization is key when it comes to tempo. Field Manual (FM) 3-98, Recon naissance and Security Operations, in cludes an “X” chart that describes the two sets of tempo: rapid and forceful, and stealthy and deliberate. The pur pose of this article is to 1) examine where we can actually apply tempo within reconnaissance operations; and

2) familiarize commanders with a few more reconnaissance tempos that are acceptable to mitigate risks. Before jumping into the reconnais sance tempo, commanders and scouts must identify the framework of recon naissance. This is once again different than the sequence of offensive and de fensive operations. Although not in the doctrine, the framework of reconnaissance builds a reconnais sance mission sequentially. This is mainly used as a planning tool to help sequence and give left and right limits to subordinates from the commander. This overview should help simplify re connaissance planning. Offense / defense operations sequence

• Gain and maintain threat contact;

• Disrupt;

• Fix;

• Maneuver; and

• Follow through. Reconnaissance framework

• Planning and preparation;

• Infiltration/insertion;

• Counter-reconnaissance;

• Transition to security operations;

• Re co n n a i s s a n c e h a n d ove r / information collection; and

• Consolidation and reorganization. This informal sequence illustrates chronological events that must be ex ecuted to accomplish the mission se quentially. Understandably, reconnais sance must allow for flexibility within the plan. It must have decision points for commanders to answer. Reconnais sance tempo will help determine commanders’ decision points if we ap ply it correctly within the framework. Note: tempo operates within the op erational timeline and gives guidance about how much time and exposure scouts have to collect and gather de tailed information. Tempo overall helps commanders as sume risk. However, to understand in herent risks within the operational en vironment, commanders must have sit uational awareness to make calculated decisions. This balances the scale for the art and science of mission com mand when giving the commander’s reconnaissance guidance (CRG) to your subordinates. Commanders should rarely allow platoon leaders to create their own tempo that is not realistic, feasible, calculated nor synchronized with his or her reconnaissance opera tion. This is not the platoon leader’s role. What tempos mean Let’s deep dive into what these tempos mean. There are two axes according to our chart. The Y-axis describes the amount of detail a scout is going to col lect. Detail includes the amount of time it will take for an element to be as thorough as possible and meet all the critical tasks when it comes to certain forms of reconnaissance operations. The X-axis describes the level of co vertness and willingness to fight the enemy to gain this information. Infor mation is the raw data that must be analyzed. This then turns into intelli gence and is shared vertically and hor izontally. The art of gathering and col lecting information has higher risks than forming intelligence. Therefore, tempo helps commanders reduce or mitigate certain risks while his or her scouts collect those information re quirements. Rapid and forceful. This describes the level of information to be more quick ly collected. All information collection should be complete and be in accor dance with the unit reporting standard operating procedures. Rapid also uses the lack of time as a critical factor Figure 1. The Y-axis describes the amount of detail a scout is going to collect. The X-axis describes the level of covertness and willingness to fight the enemy to gain information.

Fall 2019 within the mission variable (e.g., mis sion, enemy, terrain, troops available, time and civilian considerations, or METT-TC). Forceful describes the will ingness to fight and the level of covert ness of the element. Commanders must give aggressive or discreet en gagement criteria to their subordinates to help preserve combat power and avoid decisive engagements. An example of rapid and forceful tem po would be a mounted section con ducting a hasty route reconnaissance using a rapid way of calculating the ra dius of a curve. This allows the com mander to assume risk on certain radii of curves that would or would not per mit the turning radius of their largest supporting vehicle or follow-on units. The reconnaissance framework this falls under is during infiltration/inser tion and at times during information collection based on the mission vari ables. Stealthy and deliberate. At most, scouts should be moving at one kilo meter per hour during this tempo. This is once again based on the command er’s scheme of information collection. During this type of reconnaissance tempo, the commander must be de scriptive in his or her information col lection plan. All lateral routes, key ter rains, ford sites, etc. will be reconnoi tered in accordance with Annex L and his or her scheme of information col lection. This tempo generally fits in during counter-reconnaissance near a named area of interest, target area of interest, obstacles or built-up areas. This is where commanders must break down their priority intelligence re quirements (PIR) according to FM 3-98. Being more descriptive in the informa tion requirements does not hurt your subordinates. It allows him or her to meet your intent when it comes to that specific detail of that particular PIR. Rapid and stealthy. To some this is an unfamiliar tempo. To state it simply, this occurs when moving from Point A to Point B. Collection of information is limited to maintain stealth. Compro mise to the infiltration or exfiltration is unacceptable. It is one of the funda mentals to perform continuous recon naissance. Scouts are going to gather information about certain routes or possible areas of a cache site, but this is not their mission. This is what we like to call little “r” or little reconnais sance in support of the big “R” or big reconnaissance. This part of the mis sion requires little detail-gathering be cause it lacks reconnaissance objec tives and possibly cover/concealment. This generally happens within the infil tration/insertion sequence after cross ing the line of departure. Forceful and deliberate. This tempo may contradict certain subject-matter experts when it comes to reconnais sance. If we examine this carefully, sensitive-site exploitation falls within this tempo. Scouts do go into built-up areas within their capable means. They do cordon off areas to gain deliberate information on the population as well as key infrastructures. Urban operations, no matter how small, are among the most risky oper ations. To mitigate risks, commanders must specify the information require ments as well as enforce the latest time information of value for his or her subordinates. This particular tempo usually occurs during the information collection and consolidation frame work of reconnaissance. Remember, you and your subordinates cannot col lect everything. You must prioritize your information requirements here. This article should explain a little bit of the nuisances of planning for the tem po of reconnaissance within CRG. Com manders must assess the reconnaissance tempo and apply it within the reconnaissance framework. Overall, tempo helps commanders as sume risks and maintains a sense of situational awareness on the battle field. CPT Nathan Sitterley is S-4 of 2-1 Cav alry, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, CO. Previous assignments include com mander, Apache Troop, 2nd Squadron, 16th Cavalry Regiment, 316th Cavalry Brigade, Maneuver Center of Excel lence, Fort Benning, GA; instructor-writer, 2-16 Cavalry, Armor Basic Offi cer Leader’s Course (ABOLC), 316th Cav alry Brigade; platoon leader, 1st Pla toon, Troop B, 3-4 Cavalry, 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team (IBCT), 25th In fantry Division, Schofield Barracks, HI; executive officer, Troop A, 3-4 Cavalry, 3rd IBCT, 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks; tactics officer/instructor-writer, Lightning Troop, 2-16 Cavalry, 316th Cavalry Brigade, Fort Benning; class tactics officer, Class 18-002, 18- 004, ABOLC; and commander, Hawk Troop, 2-16 Cavalry, 316th Cavalry Bri gade, Fort Benning. CPT Sitterley is a graduate of ABOLC, Army Situational Awareness Training, Army Reconnais sance Course, Maneuver Captain’s Ca reer Course, Cavalry Leader’s Course, Airborne School, Jungle School, Ma neuver Leader’s Maintenance Course, Common Faculty Developmental In structor Course, Evaluating Instructor Course, Maneuver Tactics Foundation School and Pathfinder School. He holds Figure 2. A scout from Troop A, 3-4 Cav, scans the horizon in search of the ene my counter-reconnaissance force in Pohakuloa Training Area on the Big Island of Hawaii during Operation Raider Strike 2015. (Photo by CPT Nathan Sitterley)

Fall 2019 Acronym Quick-Scan a bachelor’s of science degree in busi ness administration and marketing from Salisbury University. CPT Sitter ley’s awards and honors include bronze Order of St. George and two-time nom inee for the General Douglas MacAr thur Award. ABOLC – Armor Basic Officer Leader’s Course CRG – commander’s reconnaissance guidance FM – field manual IBCT – infantry brigade combat team PIR – priority intelligence requirement Send Us Your Manuscripts ARMOR magazine’s manuscript suspenses for 2020:

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