ATP-3-09-42 Fire Support for the Brigade Combat Team Download
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Fire Support for Tactical Tasks During Brigade Combat Team Operations 1 March 2016 ATP 3-09.42 2-13 Attrite enemy indirect fire assets. Deny or delay the enemy the ability to provide a clear situational picture to their higher command headquarters. 2-59. Units may substitute other types of planned fires for a preparation. Units can aggressively use series, groups, and programs of targets to support each echelon of maneuver throughout the attack. The fire support planners plan these fires to suppress enemy forces on the flanks of the penetration, fix enemy forces away from the penetration, and prevent reinforcement by follow-on forces. These fires help block enemy movement of reserves, destroy threat command and control facilities, neutralize enemy field artillery, and prevent the escape of retreating elements. Echelonment of Fires 2-60. Echelonment of fires is a technique for integrating and synchronizing maneuver and fires. Echelonment of fires is the execution of a schedule of fires fired from the highest caliber to the lowest caliber weapon, based on risk estimate distances (see ATP 3-09.32) and weapons system range capabilities, as the maneuver force moves toward an objective (see figure 2-1). Echelonment of fires helps to ensure that ground forces are able to move to an objective without losing momentum, helps set the conditions for the direct fire fight, and reduces the risk of friendly casualties. Echelonment of fires is accomplished when the maneuver commander wishes to conduct preparation fires on an objective. 2-61. Not all offensive tasks warrant preparation fires. Some considerations for conducting preparation fires are: Will the loss of surprise from the preparation be offset by the damage done to the enemy? Are there enough targets and means to warrant a preparation? Can the enemy recover before the preparation fires can be exploited? Figure 2-1. Echelonment of fires 2-62. Echeloning a preparation is a 9-step process. The process is outlined in Table-2-2 on page 2-14 and described in greater detail in the paragraphs that follow.