5-57. Commanders orient their reconnaissance assets by identifying a reconnaissance objective within an AO. The reconnaissance objective is a terrain feature, geographic area, enemy force, adversary, or other mission or operational variable, such as specific civil considerations, about which the commander wants to obtain additional information (ADRP 3-90). The reconnaissance objective clarifies the intent of the reconnaissance effort by specifying the most important result to obtain from the reconnaissance effort. Every reconnaissance mission specifies a reconnaissance objective. Commanders assign reconnaissance objectives based on priority information requirements resulting from the intelligence preparation of the battlefield (IPB) process and the reconnaissance asset’s capabilities and limitations. A reconnaissance objective can be information about a specific geographic location, such as the cross country trafficability of a specific area, a specific enemy or adversary activity to be confirmed or denied, or a specific enemy or adversary unit to be located and tracked. A reconnaissance unit uses the reconnaissance objective to guide it in setting priorities when it does not have enough time to complete all the tasks associated with a specific form of reconnaissance.