AFDD 2-1.9, page 11

1 Mere tonnage of explosives is a fallacious criterion. In the final analysis, victories are achieved because of the effect produced, not simply because of the effort expended. —Brigadier General Haywood S. “Possum” Hansell, Jr., Memorandum to Army Air Force Chief of Staff General “Hap” Arnold, 26 July 1944 CHAPTER ONE TARGETING FUNDAMENTALS INTRODUCTION Targeting is the process for selecting and prioritizing targets and matching appropriate actions to those targets to create specific desired effects that achieve objectives, taking account of operational requirements and capabilities. Targeting applies to targets, which are areas, complexes, installations, forces, equipment, capabilities, functions, individuals, groups, systems, or behaviors identified for possible action to support the commander's objectives, guidance, and intent. Targeting is a central component of Air Force operational art, forming an essential link between strategy and the tactical application of air and space power. Strategy allows planners and commanders to choose the best ways to attain desired outcomes. It melds ends (objectives and end states), ways (actions and effects of actions leading to the ends), means (resources needed and available to carry out planned actions), and risk (the probable “cost” of attaining the ends in terms of lives, equipment, effort, time, and opportunities). Strategy forms these into plans and guidance that can be used to task specific air and space assets through the tasking process and targeting. Targeting helps translate strategy into discrete actions against targets by matching ways to means. Targeting also explicitly includes force execution and assessment, so it encompasses the processes and procedures that form the core of how the Air Force and the combined force as a whole fight at the operational level. The procedures and processes that comprise targeting form the core of how the Air Force and the joint force as a whole fights at the operational-level of war. Targeting, however, is but one component of an overarching approach to warfare and other operations that emphasizes achieving US objectives by imposing discrete, desired effects within the operational environment (OE). Within an effects-based framework, targeting helps determine the most effective and efficient means of creating desired effects. Outside of an effects-based framework, targeting can quickly devolve into