JP 3-60, page 90
Joint Targeting
Joint Publication: Joint Targeting
31 January 2013 public edition
Searchable page text (OCR / PDF)
Appendix A
A-4
JP 3-60
communication the enemy is using, or may use as alternate lines of communication, in order
to reinforce or resupply his or her forces.
(9) Military Advantage. Military advantage refers to the advantage anticipated
from an attack when considered as a whole, and not only from its isolated or particular parts.
The advantage need not be immediate. For example, the military advantage in the attack of
an individual bridge may not be seen immediately (particularly if, at the time of the attack,
there is no military traffic in the area), but can be established by the overall effort against
bridges in order to isolate enemy military forces on the battlefield. Similarly, military
advantage is not restricted to tactical gains, but is linked to the full context of war strategy. It
may involve a variety of considerations, including the security of the attacking force.
5. Separation of Military Activities
a. General Information. The law of war gives civilians protection from attack during
armed conflict. Civilians may lose this protection based upon specific warlike acts. Once
civilians take a direct part in hostilities, they become lawful targets for such time as they
directly participate in the hostilities.
(1) The parties to a conflict are obligated to remove their own civilian population,
individual civilians, and civilian objects from areas or locations where military objects are
located.
(2) Under the law of war, safety zones or demilitarized zones may be created by or
between the warring parties. While the creation of such zones rarely occurs, if created, they
must only be used for their intended purposes. Examples are open cities, civilians, prisoner
of war (POW) camps, hospitals, etc.
(3) Similarly, the law of war requires that combatants wear uniforms, insignia, or
other clearly identifiable markings. Facilities such as hospitals and POW camps must be
clearly marked as required by the Geneva Conventions. To the maximum extent feasible, the
law of war requires combatants to locate their military facilities away from protected civilian
objects, such as hospitals and schools.
b. Result of Failure to Separate Military Activities. When an adversary places
military objectives in or near a populated area, this failure will weaken effective protection of
their nearby civilian population and constitutes a violation of the law of war.
6. Precautions in Attack
a. When conducting military operations, positive steps and precautions must be taken to
avoid excessive incidental civilian casualties and damage to civilian property. The extent of
danger to the civilian population varies with the type of military target attacked, terrain,
weapons used, weather, and civilian proximity.
b. Threats to civilians depend on engagement techniques, weapons used, nature of
conflict, commingling of civilian and military objects, and armed resistance encountered.
Precautions include the following: