The result is a platoon demoralized by the loss of their PSG and a PL struggling to maintain unity of command, effort and direction of the operation. If the platoon does not track the battle properly, fratricide may result. There are a number of tasks that have to be accomplished to battle track properly. Without proper communications links, battle tracking becomes ineffective. Secondly, operators have to have the proper products and SOPs in place to track the battle.
Battle tracking off scratch paper, napkins or on hand is ineffective and unacceptable.
There is an extremely high volume of information that must be analyzed and disseminated quickly. If SOPs are not in place and validated, teams will not know which reports to send or when to send them. This can also confuse the RTO as to where the report he receives should be sent and how quickly they should be sent. Finally, personnel working within the task force TOC must be cognizant of their surroundings. Personnel in the task force TOC are take in massive volumes of information within a 24-hour day that may be critical to the operation.