Page:United States Army Field Manual 3-13 Information Operations.djvu/17

 INFORMATION SUPERIORITY

1-36. The Army defines information superiority as the operational advantage derived from the ability to collect, process, and disseminate an uninterrupted flow of information while exploiting or denying an adversary’s ability to do the same (FM 3-0). This definition differs slightly from the joint definition. While joint doctrine considers information superiority a capability, Army doctrine establishes it as an operational advantage. For Army forces, information superiority describes the degree of dominance that commanders have over the part of the information environment that affects their operations, and over the adversary. Commanders measure it in terms of information- based activities. Gaining and maintaining information superiority creates conditions that allow commanders to shape the information environment and enhance the effects of other elements of combat power. Commanders direct three interdependent contributors to achieve this goal:

• Information management. • Intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance. • Information operations (including related activities). INFORMATION MANAGEMENT CONTRIBUTIONS

1-37. Information management is the provision of relevant information to the right person at the right time in a usable form to facilitate situational understanding and decisionmaking. It uses procedures and information systems to collect, process, store, display, and disseminate information (FM 3-0). Information management (IM) consists of INFOSYS (see paragraph 1-6) and relevant information (RI). Relevant information is all information of importance to commanders and staffs in the exercise of command and control (FM 3-0). The G-6 exercises primary staff oversight for IM. The G-6 maintains the status of INFOSYS and ensures the C2 system provides relevant information to the commander and staff based on the priorities the commander establishes. 1-38. IM is integral to C2. Commanders drive IM by establishing commander’s critical information requirements (CCIR). CCIR tell the staff which RI is most important to the commander. This RI is given priority for processing within the C2 system. FM 6-0 discusses the role of IM in C2, including providing support to achieving situational understanding, decisionmaking, and execution information. 1-39. An important IM enabler is network operations (NETOPS). NETOPS provide the collaborative, integrated management of networks, information systems, and resources that produce the common operational picture. NETOPS is performed from the strategic to the tactical extension of the GIG. It includes network management, information assurance, and information dissemination management. Effective NETOPS ensure that networks and INFOSYS are available, protected, and able to pass RI throughout the AO. INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE CONTRIBUTIONS

1-40. The G-3 synchronizes intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR). ISR is an enabling operation that integrates and synchronizes all battlefield operating systems to collect RI to facilitate the commander’s decisionmaking.