Fall 2006 - Air & Space Power Chronicle - Air Force Link

54 AIR & SPACE POWER JOURNAL FALL 2006• A rational, iterative process, targeting systematicallyand methodically analyzes, prioritizes,and assigns forces against targets.AFDD 2-1.9 identifies two basic types of targeting:deliberate and dynamic. In fact, all targetingis deliberate in the sense that it requiresplanning, but the new doctrine document describespreplanned actions against targets—actionsdetermined before publication of the airtasking order and before execution begins.The chapter on deliberate targeting explainshow targeting efforts support formal and campaignplanning, as well as the vital role theyplay in the daily battle rhythm. Indeed, AFDD2-1.9 contains the first detailed doctrinal explanationof the air and space battle rhythm,tasking cycle, and specific role of targetingwithin them.The chapter on dynamic targeting addressesthe planning and actions against targetsafter execution begins. This part includesthe first high-level doctrinal use of the findfix-track-target-engage-assess(F2T2EA or “killchain”) methodology used to prosecute timesensitivetargets at the level of the joint forcecommander, based on the recently publishedmultiservice tactics, techniques, and proceduresmanual on such targets. AFDD 2-1.9 expandsthe scope of F2T2EA to include all targets“that are not detected, identified, ordeveloped in time to be included in deliberatetargeting, and therefore have not had actionsscheduled against them” (8), includingboth time-sensitive targets and many others.AFDD 2-1.9 also contains the first doctrinalexplanation of the new Air Force assessmentconstruct, expanding its scope beyond traditionalbattle damage assessment and notingthe existence of four assessment levels: tactical(similar to current joint “combat assessment”),operational (component-commander level),campaign (joint-force-commander level), andnational (secretary of defense and presidentiallevel). The publication also highlightsmany of the challenges the Air Force will faceas it moves toward assessing effects, which canprove much more difficult and subjective thantraditional battle damage assessment.Targeting will continue to evolve as it assimilatesthe insights of ongoing operationsand innovations in fields such as effects-basedthinking and assessment. It will remain centralto the way the US Air Force fights. qWe must understand the potential of air and space power, and be ableto plan and employ it to its maximum, and to articulate it within thecontext of joint operations.—Air Force Doctrine Document 1,Air Force Basic Doctrine, 17 November 2003