short-term guidelines for team employment. The team chief thus has a method of determining team
employment on a continuous basis.
OPSEC SURVEY EXIT BRIEFING
Regardless of whether tentative findings are reported to the responsible commander during the course of the
field survey, a survey exit briefing should be presented before the survey team leaves the command. The
purpose of the exit briefing is to inform the commander of the major tentative findings of the survey. Like the
entrance briefing, it can be an informal discussion with the commander or a formal briefing for the commander
and assembled staff.
The tentative nature of the survey findings should be emphasized; even those which appear to be firm may be
altered by the final review of data as the survey report is prepared. Because the preparation of the written report
may take some time, the exit briefing can serve as an interim basis for further consideration and possible action
by the commander for his use. Some commands have found it useful to forward an interim report to the
surveyed commander for comments before preceding with the final version.
ANALYSIS AND REPORTING PHASE
During this phase, the OPSEC team will correlate the data acquired by the individual team members and
information acquired through any empirical studies which may have been conducted in conjunction with the
survey. The product of this correlation, an all-inclusive portrayal or description of the operation or activity
being surveyed, will provide a basis for analysis for the purpose of identifying vulnerabilities in light of known
or projected threat. The description of the operation or activity and the results of the analysis provide the basis
for the OPSEC survey report.
CORRELATION OF DATA
Correlation of Functional Outlines. Each team member will have acquired data relating to their particular
functional area. This data will, in effect, be a chronology of who is doing what, where it occurs, and its time
frame. By correlating the separate functional outlines, the chronology of events of the operation or activity as a
whole will begin to emerge. To an extent, correlation will already have occurred during the field survey phase.
At any time during the field or analytic phase, conflicts of data may arise which, if they are considered
important enough, may require a return to the field to acquire additional clarifying data. Through the
correlation of the information acquired by the individual team members, the distinction between the functional
areas will become blurred as the activities of one functional area merge with another. This is particularly true in
the communication area, since communications figuratively comprise a vast web which is woven throughout
and between virtually all functions.
The purpose of constructing the functional outlines, however, will have been served if the team is able to
describe the time-phased unfolding of the subject operation or activity; to depict the manner in which separate
commands, organizations, and activities, large or small, interact and perform their role in the operation or
activity; and to trace the flow of information through electrical and nonelectrical communications media from
the point of origin to its ultimate recipients. How the team chooses to portray this vast amount of information is
unimportant. What is important is that the team members are able to portray the information in a manner that
facilitates analysis. The net result of the correlation will be a portrayal of the entire operation or activity that
exceeds the comprehension of most of its planners and participants. One reason for this is that the viewpoint of
planners and participants normally focuses upon their individual responsibilities and events within their
particular command, whereas, OPSEC teams view the operation or activity as a whole.
CORRELATION OF EMPIRICAL DATA. In addition to correlating data acquired by the individual tern
members as reflected in their functional outlines, the OPSEC team may also receive empirically derived,
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