ATP-3-09-42 Fire Support for the Brigade Combat Team Download
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1 March 2016 ATP 3-09.42 ix Introduction ATP 3-09.42, Fire Support for the Brigade Combat Team, provides BCT fire support considerations for offensive, defensive, and stability tasks, for Defense Support of Civil Authorities, and for tactical enabling and other tasks. It also describes augmentation of BCT fire support from echelons above the BCT and fire support coordination and planning for BCT operations. Appendices provide supplementary information on attack and sensor systems capabilities; examples of format and content for the fires running estimate; fires portions of BCT plans, orders, and annexes to plans and orders, communications, and fire support at battalion and below. In addition to this manual, FM 3-09 is a must-read for brigade and battalion commanders and staff, because it describes both their supporting field artillery and fire support as key components of successful maneuver operations. FM 3-09 provides background on the capabilities of the field artillery, how it is organized, and how field artillery supports the maneuver commander through the integration of all forms of fires. It also provides a succinct, yet comprehensive discussion of fire support, including topics such as the role of fire support in unified land operations, fire support coordination organizations and key personnel, target acquisition for fire support, fire support attack resources, and fire support planning, preparation, execution, and assessment. This manual differs significantly from its lineal predecessors in that topics of vital interest to the supported maneuver commander now appear at the front of the manual and those of professional interest to fire support personnel at the back of the manual. In-depth discussion of fire support coordination measures (FSCM), observed fire, and targeting now appears in FM 3-09, and ATPs 3-09.30 and 3-60 respectively. Chapter 1 briefly describes the organization and capabilities for coordinating fire support and providing indirect fires within the BCT including: • An overview of the BCT’s role, its organization, and considerations for its employment. • Organization for fire support coordination within the BCT. • The BCT’s cannon field artillery battalion, mortars and electronic attack assets. Chapter 2 describes fire support considerations for tactical tasks during BCT operations including: • Offensive tasks – general considerations, movement to contact, attack, exploitation and pursuit, entry operations and the reserve. • Defensive tasks – general considerations, area defense, mobile defense and retrograde. • Stability tasks – general consideration, planning and employment. • Defense Support of Civil Authorities. Chapter 3 describes fire support considerations for tactical enabling and other tasks during BCT operations including: • Tactical enabling tasks – reconnaissance, security operations, troop movement, relief in place, passage of lines, encirclement operations, mobility operations; and urban operations – general planning and targeting, target acquisition and observation, lethal fire support in urban areas, urban operations guide sheets, and legal considerations for fire support in urban areas. • Other operations – air assault operations, fire support while airborne, airborne operations, special operations forces, Marine Corps operations and multinational force operations. Chapter 4 describes augmentation of the BCT’s indirect fire and fire support coordination capabilities with: • Fire support enablers within the BCT – information collection, reconnaissance, surveillance, and fire support sustainment. • Augmentation from higher echelons – fires cells at division and corps, the battlefield coordination detachment (BCD) and fire support augmentation from the field artillery brigade; and Army aviation air-ground operations – including mission planning and engagement.