6-152. When deciding where to place the reserve, commanders decide whether to orient the reserve on its most likely mission or its most important mission. Commanders and staffs ensure the commander can effectively use the reserve when needed. Commanders ideally locate the reserve within the AO where it can employ the road network to rapidly displace in response to the greatest number of opportunities or contingencies. Commanders consider terrain, routes, enemy avenues of approach, and probable enemy penetrations when positioning the reserve. Commanders may initially position the reserve in a forward location to deceive the enemy and obscure subordinate unit boundaries, especially those of dissimilar units such as armored and dismounted infantry.