The Order of Engagement

If you have developed a flawless plan, which the enemy resolutely cooperates with, then the topic of this section is moot. You will already be engaging the enemy in the order desired. The frequency of this occurrence, however, is too infinitesimal to be measured. As stated previously, war is a dynamic process. As such, you must be capable of altering the existing battle plan on the fly and redefining the order of engagement instantaneously. To do so, you must evaluate the threat of each new contact in terms of potency and immediacy. Potent threats are those forces which, if left unchec ed, are capable of precluding mission accomplishment. !aturally, there are varying degrees of potency within this grouping. "ome units may be eminently capable of executing the threat, others only noteworthy on a good day with a lot of luc . #ither way, it is the commander$s tas to examine every new contact against the enemy %%& and assess the degree of threat it offers to friendly forces. Immediate threats may or may not be capable of precluding mission accomplishment, but they do pose a clear and immediate danger to friendly forces, usually stemming from the fact that they have already attained weapons launch positions. 'emembering that the commander has already been cautioned to now the enemy, platform specific guidance as to the level of threat will not be presented here. Indeed, the number of variables inherent in such an analysis would require volumes for all the ships, aircraft and submarines depicted in (arpoon II. Instead, the player should employ their nowledge of sensor and weapons ranges to categori)e each contact within the threat class hierarchy depicted in Table *. The appearance of a +lass ,A- threat is occasion to drop everything else and eliminate the interloper. +lass ,&- threats also require swift action, but one should prosecute them without pulling assets off the main tas ing. +lass ,+- threats should be the naval commander$s bread and butter, as they are detected before they have achieved launch positions. This allows for a methodical massing of force over the hori)on to destroy them or, if their defenses are too strong, then enough time has been purchased to maneuver to avoid the threat. +lass ,.- threats are also nown collectively as targets of opportu/nity. Their destruction can aid the overall effort in some way, but it is not essential to success by any stretch of the imagination. Please note that firepower is not the only criterion for threat

classification. An ocean/going tug can be a class ,A- threat if it is providing targeting data to one or more shooters somewhere over the hori)on. "imilar concerns must be exhibited with flag merchants of the hostile nation. 'emember to assess enemy capabilities rather than intentions.