Enabling Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Effects for Effects-Based Operations Conditions

Intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) is key to the Joint Forces Commander’s (JFC) successful prosecution of contingency operations. Colonel Johnson states that ISR processes are at least as challenging, if not more so, than the targeting process used to place a bomb on a target The JFC cannot continue to ignore this reality if he or she wants to properly employ ISR-intensive effects-based operations (EBO) to achieve overall campaign objectives—that is, to provide unity of ISR effects in support of the campaign plan. Hence the author asserts that there is a requirement for the JFC to establish an ISR “strategy-to-task” methodology to set EBO conditions as they evolve. This will better enable theater and national ISR to provide measurable effects under the strategy, planning, execution, and assessment war-fighting construct in support of the campaign plan.