'''Combat assessment''' evaluates the effectiveness of military force during operations to determine whether objectives have been achieved and what additional actions may be required. <ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2019-03-08 |title=Methodology for Combat Assessment |url=https://www.jcs.mil/Portals/36/Documents/Doctrine/training/jts/cjcsi_3162_02.pdf?ver=2019-03-13-092459-350 |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250816111036/https://www.jcs.mil/Portals/36/Documents/Doctrine/training/jts/cjcsi_3162_02.pdf?ver=2019-03-13-092459-350 |archive-date=2025-08-16 |access-date=2026-01-14 |website=Joint Chiefs of Staff |publisher=Joint Staff |publication-place=Washington, D.C. 20318}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{cite report |url=https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/AD1029823.pdf |title=DOD Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms |last=United States Department of Defense |date=March 2017 |publisher=Defense Technical Information Center |access-date=2026-01-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251112070924/https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/AD1029823.pdf |archive-date=2025-11-12 |url-status=live}}</ref>
== Operational context == In U.S. military operations, combat assessment is the final phase in the joint targeting cycle, providing feedback to inform subsequent planning and targeting decisions.
Guidance issued by the Joint Chiefs of Staff includes the following components to inform reattack recommendations:<ref name=":0" />
* '''Battle damage assessment:''' An evaluation of the physical and functional damage inflicted on a target and its related systems by lethal or nonlethal military action.<ref name=":1" />
* '''Munitions effectiveness assessment:''' An analysis conducted alongside battle damage assessment that evaluates the performance of weapon systems and munitions and may inform adjustments to tactics, methods, or weapon employment.<ref name=":1" />
* '''Collateral damage assessment:''' A review of unintended damage, typically outside the target boundary or to collateral concerns within it.<ref name=":0" />
== Contemporary perspectives == Military scholarship has emphasized the growing complexity of combat assessment.
Recent research has identified challenges in translating high-level assessment concepts into consistent tactical practice<ref>{{Cite web |title=Assessing the Modern Fight |url=https://www.armyupress.army.mil/Journals/Military-Review/English-Edition-Archives/March-April-2023/Modern-Fight/ |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251111141144/https://www.armyupress.army.mil/Journals/Military-Review/English-Edition-Archives/March-April-2023/Modern-Fight/ |archive-date=2025-11-11 |access-date=2026-01-15 |website=Army University Press |language=en-US}}</ref> and the lack of standardized frameworks for operational assessment in large-scale combat operations.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ingram |first=Elijah |last2=Shallcross |first2=Nicholas |date=2022 |title=Enabling Tactical Operation Assessment in Large-Scale Combat Operations |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/27182471 |journal=Military Operations Research |volume=27 |issue=4 |pages=25–36 |issn=1082-5983}}</ref> International military scholarship has similarly highlighted difficulties in assessing operational effectiveness in fast-paced, multi-domain environments—particularly in air and space domains where effects may be indirect, distributed, or difficult to observe.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Poole |first=RM |date=1999-03-01 |title=Combat Assessment – Completing the Cycle |url=https://www.raf.mod.uk/what-we-do/centre-for-air-and-space-power-studies/aspr/apr-vol2-iss1-2-pdf/ |journal=Air and Space Power Review |publisher=Royal Air Force Centre for Air and Space Power Studies |archive-url=https://archive.today/20260115010232/https://www.raf.mod.uk/what-we-do/centre-for-air-and-space-power-studies/aspr/apr-vol2-iss1-2-pdf/ |archive-date=2026-01-14}}</ref> ==References== {{Reflist}}
Category:Military operations Category:Military science