scope:

Introduction

As the international security situation continues to evolve, different responses from security alliances are required. While military operations utilizing acts of force or threat thereof to deter or coerce an adversary remain necessary, military forces may also be used to support humanitarian goals. NATO forces must therefore be able to employ and coordinate a complex integration of lethal and non-lethal actions in the midst of a variety of threat environments in a wide range of operations.

A well-developed, flexible targeting process is required so that NATO joint forces can successfully carry out actions authorised by the North Atlantic Council (NAC), as directed by the strategic commander (SC) and executed by the JFC. At the operational level, targeting focuses on determining specific actions to take, lethal and non-lethal, to create the desired effects and realize the JFC's operational objectives. While carrying out an action on a target remains a tactical event, the effect must be relevant to the JFC's operational objectives.