# Employment This chapter addresses employment of the attack reconnaissance battalion. The ARB is a versatile organization that can conduct offensive operations and support defensive, stability, and civil support operations. The ARB conducts offensive operations through movement to contact and attack, and supports all missions through tactical enabling operations such as reconnaissance and security. FARP operations and aviation maintenance are aviation specific tactical enablers that allow the ARB to sustain mission support. *** Principles for employment of aviation assets follow these general guidelines― * Fight as an integral part of the combined arms team. * Exploit capabilities of other branches and services. * Capitalize on intelligence-gathering capabilities. * Suppress threat weapons and acquisition means. * Exploit firepower, mobility, and surprise. * Mass forces. * Use terrain for survivability and concealment. * Displace forward elements frequently. * Maintain flexibility. *** The primary missions of the ARB, ARS, and ACS are reconnaissance, security, movement to contact, and attack to facilitate ground maneuver. Each company must be prepared to fight as a part of the battalion as a whole, as part of an ATF, or independently in support of a BCT. The battalion is often used as a shaping force. ARBs are maneuver units that can dominate, but not occupy, terrain for limited periods. The ARC fulfills traditional AH, as well as reconnaissance and security, responsibilities. Advanced sensors, communications equipment, and weaponry enable both independent operations and operations in concert with ground or joint forces. The ARC is effective against massed moving targets, point targets (cave entrances, bunker apertures, windows in buildings), and other hard or soft targets. The ARC enables the commander to mass combat power rapidly shaping the operational environment. --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://229.gitbook.io/229-hub/knowledge/attack-reconnaissance-helicopter-operations/employment.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.