AFDD 2-1.9, page 71

61 › Operational Assessment: Evaluation of effects generated by tactical actions and other battlespace influences toward achieving component operational objectives and recommendations for future action › Campaign Assessment: The CFC’s broad qualitative and analytical determination of the overall effectiveness of military operations and recommendations for future action › National Assessment: Broad review of the effectiveness of national security strategy and whether national leadership’s objectives for a particular crisis or contingency are being met Tactical Assessment (TA) Tactical Assessment is the evaluation of tactical actions against assigned tactical tasks. “Performance-based” means that it uses empirical, objective, usually quantifiable measures when collecting and analyzing data from tactical actions. TA assessors take this collected data; aggregate, analyze, and archive it; and determine details commanders will need in order to take further action. In many cases, TA assessors may make a recommendation for re-attack, especially if it is clear that a scheduled action was not successful. TA answers such questions as: › Was the intended action accomplished? › Was the intended direct effect accomplished? › Has the target’s status changed? › Is re-engagement, re-attack, or “re-influence” necessary? TA feeds higher levels of effects-based assessment. In the current era of low-level global conflict punctuated by frequent large campaigns, it is also imperative that TA, like all levels of assessment, be able to analyze and perform meaningful evaluations across the entire spectrum of military conflict. TA consists of several component elements: › Physical damage assessment (PDA) estimates the extent of physical damage to a target based upon observation or empirically based interpretation. PDA involves cooperative effort between units in the field and the CAOC. Sometimes it utilizes data from other components or national agencies. Sources such as inflight reports (INFLTREP), MISREP, and weapon system video are commonly used to generate PDA. › Functional assessment (FA) estimates the remaining functional or operational capability of a targeted object or entity. FA is usually inferred from reported physical damage and should include estimates of recuperation or replacement time. Note, however, that targets affected by many IO and other non-kinetic capabilities will often not have physical damage, requiring assessors to perform FA in the absence