Lesson 1/Learning Event 1
LEARNING EVENT 1:
DESCRIBE FUNDAMENTALS
OF RECONNAISSANCE
A reconnaissance mission is a mission undertaken to obtain information by visual observation or
other detection methods about the activities and resources of an enemy, or about the meteorological,
hydrographical, or geographical characteristics of a given area. In the case of chemical or biological
contamination, reconnaissance is the term used to refer to an information gathering activity in an
area of operational interest when contamination is not known to be present. Survey is the term used
when contamination is known to exist, and information as to the degree and extent of the
contamination is to be obtained.
Chemical and biological reconnaissance is usually performed by NBC reconnaissance elements.
These elements are not equipped to fight to gain information. They must rely on speed and stealth
to accomplish their missions.
Fundamentals of Reconnaissance
Four fundamentals generally guide NBC reconnaissance unit leaders. The four reconnaissance
fundamentals are:
Orient on the location or movement of the reconnaissance objective.
Report all information rapidly and accurately.
Retain freedom to maneuver.
Develop the situation rapidly.
When reconnoitering, these fundamentals are applied by NBC reconnaissance
elements in much the same way as cavalry units apply similar fundamentals.
Orient on the Location and Movement of the Reconnaissance Objective. NBC reconnaissance
elements maneuver using traveling, traveling overwatch, and bounding overwatch techniques as
described later in the lesson. They orient primarily on the reconnaissance objective. Terrain is
carefully selected to provide the best possible cover and concealment without degrading the unit's
ability to accomplish its mission.
Report All Information Rapidly and Accurately. All information is reported. Information
appearing unimportant may be valuable when used with other information. When chemical
weapons are used, it is just as important to know that certain terrain is not contaminated as it is to
know that other terrain is contaminated. NBC reconnaissance elements report information using the
NBC reporting system.
2
Previous Page
