"This field manual (FM) is intended to help company-level leaders understand the principles and techniques of camouflage, concealment, and decoys (CCD). To remain viable, all units must apply CCD to personnel and equipment. Ignoring a threat's ability to detect friendly operations on the battlefield is shortsighted and dangerous. Friendly units enhance their survivability capabilities if they are well versed in CCD principles and techniques."-From the Preface.

This is the latest edition of an important U.S. Army field manual (FM 20-3) covering the vital military tactics of camouflage, concealment, and decoys. According to this manual, ?CCD is the use of materials and techniques to hide, blend, disguise, decoy, or disrupt the appearance of military targets and/or their backgrounds. CCD helps prevent an enemy from detecting or identifying friendly troops, equipment, activities, or installations. Properly designed CCD techniques take advantage of the immediate environment and natural and artificial materials. One of the imperatives of current military doctrine is to conserve friendly strength for decisive action. Such conservation is aided through sound operations security (OPSEC) and protection from attack. Protection includes all actions that make soldiers, equipment, and units difficult to locate. CCD degrades the effectiveness of enemy reconnaissance, surveillance, and target acquisition (RSTA) capabilities. Skilled observers and sophisticated sensors can be defeated by obscuring telltale signs (signatures) of units on the battlefield. Preventing detection impairs enemy efforts to assess friendly operational patterns, functions, and capabilities. CCD enhances friendly survivability by reducing an enemy's ability to detect, identify, and engage friendly elements. Survivability encompasses all actions taken to conserve personnel, facilities, and supplies from the effects of enemy weapons and actions. Survivability techniques include using physical measures such as fighting and protective positions; nuclear, biological, chemical (NBC) equipment; and armor. These actions include interrelated tactical countermeasures such as dispersion, movement techniques, OPSEC, communications security (COMSEC), CCD, and smoke operations (a form of CCD). Improved survivability from CCD is not restricted to combat operations. Benefits are also derived by denying an enemy the collection of information about friendly forces during peacetime. Deception helps mask the real intent of primary combat operations and aids in achieving surprise. Deception countermeasures can delay effective enemy reaction by disguising information about friendly intentions, capabilities, objectives, and locations of vulnerable units and facilities. Conversely, intentionally poor CCD can project misleading information about friendly operations. Successful tactical deception depends on stringent OPSEC.?

This field manual aims to provide techniques to assist planners in planning, coordinating, executing, synchronizing, and assessing military deception (MILDEC). While the means and techniques may evolve over generations, the principles and fundamentals of deception planning remain constant. FM 3-13.4 applies to all members of the Army profession: leaders, Soldiers, Army Civilians, and contractors. The principal audience for this publication is Army commanders, staffs, and all leaders. Commanders and staffs of Army headquarters serving as joint task force or multinational headquarters should refer to applicable joint or multinational doctrine concerning joint or multinational planning. Trainers and educators throughout the Army also use this publication as a guide for teaching MILDEC. Commanders, staffs, and subordinates ensure their decisions and actions comply with applicable U.S., international, and, in some cases, host-nation laws and regulations.