Content area
Full text
The brigade fire support officer (FSO) looked with bleary eyes at the division planners issuing the division order to the brigade staff. It was 1300. He had been up since 0300, and the brigade combat team (BCT) had fought a defense-in-sector in the vicinity of Whale Gap all morning. The BCT had just issued a new order for a movement-to-contact to the task forces; the planners at the National Training Center (NTC), Fort Irwin, California, were giving the BCT staff an order for a security zone attack.
After receiving the order, the BCT staff members get into their high-mobility multipurpose-wheeled vehicles (HMMWVs) to find the tactical operations center (TOC). The TOC is moving 20 kilometers to Hill 720 for the BCT to initiate the movement-to-contact through the central corridor. The staff arrives ahead of the TOC, but the 53 had sent the plans section forward with the quartering party, and the section is set up for the staff to begin the military decision-making process (MDMP). It's 1430.
Mission Analysis Briefing/Issue WARNO. The S3 allots an hour for the mission analysis and schedules a mission analysis briefing to the BCT commander at 1600. The brigade FSO understands from the white paper "Fire Support Planning for the Brigade and Below" (16 September 1998) that fire support planning must be effective, integrated and executable, and he understands the division's maneuver and fire support plan.
The brigade FSO and the targeting officer dissect the information in the order. They conduct a time analysis, organize facts and assumptions, identify the specified and implied tasks, translate assets into capabilities and, finally, conduct an analysis of the effects of the intelligence preparation of the battlefield (IPB) on fire support. The FSO briefs the mission analysis, covering the topics in Figure 1 on Page 12.
The BCT commander then issues his intent and guidance for fires, including the information listed in Figure 1. The brigade commander also issues guidance for the combat observation lasing team (COLT) platoon leader and reconnaissance and surveillance (R&S) preparations.
Armed with the initial guidance, the brigade FSO issues a fire support warning order (WARNO) to the subordinate units, including the direct support (DS) and reinforcing battalion S3s. The WARNO communicates the outputs from the mission analysis with...