FM 3-18 OPERATIONS SECURITY 2-3. The Army defines operations security as a process of identifying essential elements of friendly information and subsequently analyz- ing friendly actions atmendnnt m military operations and other a¢> tivities to- • Identify those actions that can be observed by adversary intelligence systems. . Determine indicators hostile intelligence systems might obtain that could be interpreted or pieced together to derive essential elements of friendly information time to be useful to adversar ies. • Select and execute measures that eliminate or reduce to an acceptable level the vulnerabilities of friendly actions to adversary exploitation. The Army substitutes essential elements ni friendly information (EEFI) for me joint term mziwz infnrmatrhzn in the joint definition ui OPSEC, Other- wise, the twu definitions are identical. The Army dues not use the term criti- cal informaizhwt. The Army and joint definitions describe identical processes with the same objective: pmtecz information that can impede nr prevent the force from accomplishing the mission. 2~4. JP 3-54 establishes joint OPSEC doctrine, Chapter il establishes Army OPSEC doctrine. Duties of the OPSEC nflicer, a special staff ohicer, are listed in appendix F. OPSEC irdudes cammnilage, concealment, and decoy employment. FM 20-3 discusses how camouflage, concealment, and decoy employment supports defensive IO in the Army and joint environments. FM 20-3 also discusses camouflage tactics, techniques, and procedures (’1"i’i’). Contributions 2Y5. OPSEC ccntiihutes on offensive and defensive IO. OPSEC is offensive when the desired effect is to deny adversaries information about friendly force actions, intentions, and future operations. lt contributes tu uiiensive IO hy slewing the adversary decision cycle and directly affecting the quality of the advcrsmy eummzindez-’s decisions. OPSEC is defensive when the desired effect is to deny advusarics information that could be used tin- targeting cr attacking friendly threes. Effective OPSEC measures based on solid planning starve the adverszuy intelligence system by denying it the information needed to produce inteiligzence. StatT Coordination 2-6. Cmnmanders establish routine OPSEC measures in unit standing operating urocedures (SOPs). The OPSEC officer comdinates additional OPSEC meas ures with G—2, G-3 and other staff and command elements as necessary, The OPSEC officer develops OPSEC measures during the military decisionmaking process (L/H)Ml’) (see chapter 3). The GP2 assists the OPSEC process by num» paving friendly OPSEC indicators with the advcrsm·y`s intelligence eollmtion capabilities. OPSEC measures are published in the OPSEC appendix tn thc 10 annex to plans and orders. The G—7 exercises coordinating stafI resp0nsi~ bility nvcr thu OPSEC cfticcr. 2·2
