Appendix A
Establishing and
Prioritizing Intelligence Requirements
- During wargaming, your S2/G2 develops a set of IRs for each
friendly COA. Each is linked to a specific enemy action that requires
a friendly response.
- PIRs are those IRs critical to the accomplishment of your
mission. Wargaming will dictate which IRs will become PIRs as
the mission runs its course.
- As the commander you must always selector approve the PIRs.
Below are some guidelines to follow.
(1) Every IR must be situationally templated and wargamed.
(2) The collection manager should not accept or propose an IR until he fully
understands and can track the friendly action the IR is designed to support.
(3) The S2/G2 should nominate PIRs for approval ONLY
FROM THE LIST
OF ALREADY PLANNED AND COORDINATED IRs.
(4) Information that will answer a PIR must be able to be
collected and you must
understand how your S2 intends to collect to satisfy your PIR.
(5) You must restrict your PIR to only your most critical
requirements because
there are limited collection assets available.
Examples of poor
PIRs
The following is an
often seen but still poor PIR:
"Will the enemy attack? If so, how, when, where, and
in what strength?"
The criticisms of this
PIR:
- First, the PIR contains five significantly different questions.
Which of these five questions is the priority? Unless your S2/G2
gives more guidance, the individual collection asset must determine
which part of this "PIR" to work on.
- Second, your S2/G2 probably knows more about the situation
than "the enemy might attack somehow, sometime, somewhere,
and in some strength." The PIR as presently stated might
prompt some collection assets to collect information that is
already known.
- Third, even for the issues that your S2/G2 doesn't know, the
enemy can only select from a limited range of COAs due to terrain,
weather, politics, etc. If the PIR takes IPB into account, the
S2/G2 through more specific tasking, will minimize the chance
that collection assets will look for the enemy where he is not
likely to be.
- Finally, when your staff wargames they may find some aspects
of this question to be irrelevant to your present situation. For
example, your defense may be fully capable of defeating an enemy
attack regardless of when they actually attack. Why waste collection
assets on a question you really don't need answered?
Examples of good
PIRs
There is no "set" of PIRs we can present that will
be useful for all tactical situations, any more than there is
a set of maneuver paragraphs that you can plug into any OPORD.
Below are some examples of the TYPES of PIRs you should expect
to see from your S2 for your approval. Because your intelligence
needs will change over time, most PIRs will only be important
during certain times. Referring to PIRs as "time phased"
is redundant. They are dynamic just as the battle will be dynamic.
The following are examples of good PIRs.
EXAMPLE
MISSION: 2d
Bde atks in zone at 270430 May 92 to destroy enemy forces on OBJ
JOHN (WK2395). Establish hasty defenses on OBJ JOHN NLT 290600"
May 92 to stop atk of the 43d MRD. On order continue the attack
in zone to seize OBJ BLACK (WK4098).
ANTICIPATED TIME
| PROPOSED PIR
|
230600- 282130
| Will the enemy use chemical agents on our reserve in AA SMITH?
|
230600- 270800
| Will the enemy defend OBJ JOHN using a forward-slope defense?
|
230600- 270900
| Will the enemy reserve tank battalion reach PL BOB before270900 May 92? (Note: PL BOB is 3 km past OBJ JOHN.)
|
271000- 302200
| Will the 43d MRD send its main attack along avenue of approach 2?
|
271000-031200
| What size enemy force is defending OBJ BLACK?
|
291200- 031200
| Are the bridges over the Bodango River intact? (Note: the Bodango River lies between OBJ JOHN and OBJ BLACK and is unfordable.)
|