OAKOC Flashcards

OAKOC Overview

• Analyzes the impact of terrain and weather on both enemy and friendly forces.
• Acronym stands for Observation and fields of fire, Avenues of approach, Key and decisive terrain, Obstacles, Cover and concealment.

Observation and Fields of Fire

• Leaders assess terrain for observation capabilities of enemy movements.
• Fields of fire should consider weapon specifics: effective range, grazing fire, and anti-armor firing parameters.
• Weather conditions affect visibility and effective ranges for both sides.

Avenues of Approach

• Defines routes (air or ground) leading attacking forces to objectives or key terrain.
• Trafficability evaluation helps understand how weather impacts movement capabilities of both friendly and enemy forces.

Avenues of Approach: Offensive

• Leaders must choose routes that offer the greatest tactical advantage for their forces' attack.

Avenues of Approach: Defensive

• Key weapon placements should be along anticipated enemy routes to maximize defensive effectiveness.

Key and Decisive Terrain

• Areas whose capture can significantly benefit either combatant's position or strategy.
• Plays a vital role in planning objectives, support positions, and unit deployment.
• Weather influences the assessment and utilization of this terrain.

Obstacles

• Includes natural or man-made barriers that can hinder or facilitate movement and tactics of both sides.

Obstacles: In the Attack

• Leaders evaluate how terrain restricts their maneuverability when launching an attack.

Obstacles: In the Defense

• Considerations on integrating obstacles with terrain for disrupting or blocking enemy advances while protecting own forces from assaults.

Cover and Concealment

• Leaders seek terrain features providing protection from enemy fires (cover) and from detection (concealment).

ASCOPE Overview

• Framework used for evaluating civilian considerations in operational planning.
• Breakdown includes: Areas, Structure, Capabilities, Organizations, People, Events.