FM-3-81 Maneuver Enhancement Brigade Download
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Appendix A A-8 FM 3-81 09 November 2021 A-24. DOD has created several decision support tools to perform criticality assessments in support of the vulnerability assessment process, including mission, symbolism, history, accessibility, recognizability, population, and proximity (MSHARPP) and criticality, accessibility, recuperability, vulnerability, effect, and recognizability (CARVER) (see ATP 3-37.2 for more information on MSHARPP and CARVER)— MSHARPP. The purpose of the MSHARPP tool is to analyze likely terrorist targets and assess their vulnerabilities from the inside out, with focus on the U.S. military mission. Consideration is given to local threats, the probable means of attacks, and variables that affect dispositions of potential targets. After developing a list of potential targets, MSHARPP selection factors are used to assist in further refining the assessment by associating a weapon or tactic with a potential target to determine the efficiency, effectiveness, and plausibility of the attack method and to identify vulnerabilities related to the target. When the MSHARPP values for each target or component are assigned, the sum of the values indicates the highest-value target (for a particular mode of attack) within the limits of enemy known capabilities. See ATP 3-37.2 for additional information on the MSHARPP tool. CARVER. The CARVER matrix is a valuable tool in determining criticality and vulnerability. For criticality purposes, CARVER helps assessment teams and commanders (and the assets that they are responsible for) determine assets that are more critical to the success of the mission. This also helps determine which resources should be allocated to protect critical assets (personnel, infrastructure, and information). The CARVER matrix assesses a potential target from a terrorist perspective to identify what the enemy might perceive as a good (soft or valuable) target. ESTABLISH PROTECTION PRIORITIES A-25. Criticality, vulnerability, and recoverability are some of the most significant considerations in determining protection priorities that become the subject of support area commanders’ guidance and the focus of area security operations. The scheme of protection is based on the mission variables and should include protection priorities by area, unit, activity, or resource. A-26. Although all military assets are important and all resources have value, the capabilities they represent are not equal in their contribution to decisive operations or overall mission accomplishment. Determining and directing protection priorities may involve the most important decisions that commanders make and their staffs support. There are seldom sufficient resources to simultaneously provide the same level of protection to all assets. A-27. Most prioritization methodologies assist in differentiating what is important from what is urgent. In protection planning, the challenge is to differentiate between critical assets and important assets and to further determine what protection is possible with available protection capabilities. Event-driven operations may be short in duration, enabling a formidable protection posture for a short time; condition-driven operations may be open-ended and long-term, requiring an enduring and sustainable scheme of protection. In either situation, the support area commander provides guidance on prioritizing protection capabilities and categorizing important assets. PROTECTION PRIORITIZATION LIST A-28. Protection prioritization lists are organized through the proper alignment of critical assets. The commander’s priorities and intent and the impacts on mission planning determine critical assets. A critical asset is a specific entity that is of such extraordinary importance that its incapacitation or destruction would have a very serious, debilitating effect on the ability of a nation to continue to function effectively (JP 3-26). Critical assets can be people, property, equipment, activities, operations, information, facilities, or materials. For example, important communications facilities and utilities, analyzed through criticality assessments, provide information to prioritize resources while reducing the potential application of resources on lower-priority assets. Stationary weapons systems might be identified as critical to the execution of military operations and, therefore, receive additional protection. The lack of a replacement may cause a critical asset to become a top priority for protection. A-29. The protection cell and working group use information derived from the support area commander’s guidance, the IPB, targeting, risk management, warning orders, the critical asset list and defended asset list,