ATP-3-09-30 Observed Fires Download
Page 13 of 204
28 September 2017 ATP 3-09.30 1-1 Chapter 1 Introduction to Fire Support Fire support is fires that directly support land, maritime, amphibious, and special operations forces to engage enemy forces, combat formations, and facilities in pursuit of tactical and operational objectives (Joint Publication [JP] 3-09). It requires close coordination and integration with maneuver forces. Effective fire support requires an observer that understands the tasks to accomplish and how these tasks support the overall operation. The observer must be able to accurately locate targets, understand which targets to attack, and effectively communicate what is seen to the rest of the fire support community. FIRE SUPPORT EFFECTIVENESS 1-1. Fire support gunnery involves the coordinated efforts of the observer, fires cell, fire direction center (FDC), and firing elements each linked by an adequate communications and computer system. Team members must operate with a sense of urgency, continually strive to reduce the time required to execute an effective fire mission, and strive to achieve first round fire for effect. To achieve accurate first-round fire for effect on a target, an artillery unit must compensate for nonstandard conditions as completely as time and the tactical situation permit. There are five requirements for achieving accurate first-round fire for effect. These five requirements for accurate fires are: accurate target location and size, accurate firing unit location, accurate weapon and ammunition information, accurate meteorological information, and accurate computational procedures. The observer is solely responsible for the first requirement. Failure to provide accurate target location and size may require adjust fire missions resulting in increased ammunition expenditure, decreased effects on target, and an increased risk of detection by hostile Target Acquisition (TA) assets. (See FM 3-09 for greater discussion of the five requirements for accurate fires.) “Additionally, trusted Army professionals are expected to make right decisions (i.e., ethical, effective, and efficient) and take actions consistent with the moral principles of the Army Ethic. Fire support execution is enhanced through the proper applications of planning, coordination, synchronization, and execution of lethal joint fires and nonlethal actions in order to create desired effects. Finally, targeting of fires in decisive actions requires the judicious use of lethal force balanced with restraint, tempered by professional judgment.” OBSERVER 1-2. The observer serves as the "eyes" of indirect fire systems, detects and locates suitable targets within the area of observation. To ensure that the first requirement of accurate fires is met, the observer must use the most accurate method of target location available. To attack a target the observer transmits a call for fire and when necessary, adjusts the fires onto the target. An observer provides surveillance data pertaining to fires. FIRES CELL 1-3. The fires cell and its elements integrate the fires warfighting function into operations. It has resources to plan for future operations from the main command post and to support current operations from the tactical command post (when deployed). Additionally the cell has the limited capability to provide coverage to the command group and the deputy command group when deployed. The fires cell is the centerpiece of the targeting process, focused on integrating both lethal and nonlethal effects. The fires cell thus collaboratively plans, coordinates and synchronizes fire support, to include joint fires.