Editing Reconnaissance (section)

{{Short description|Military observation of enemy activities}}
{{About||other uses|Reconnaissance (disambiguation)|and|Recce (disambiguation)|and|Recon (disambiguation)}}
{{Not to be confused with|Renaissance}}
{{More citations needed|date=February 2012}}

[[File:US Marines on reconnaissance exercise 2003.jpg|thumb|300px|[[United States Marine Corps|U.S. Marines]] on a recon mission during a field [[Military exercise|training exercise]] in 2003]]
In [[military operation]]s, '''military reconnaissance''' /rɪ'kɒnɪsəns/ or '''scouting''' is the [[exploration]] of an area by [[military]] forces to obtain information about enemy forces, the [[terrain]], and civil activities in the [[area of operations]]. In military jargon, reconnaissance is abbreviated to ''recce''{{efn|{{Wiktionary-inline|recce}}}} (in British, Canadian, Australian English) and to ''recon''{{efn|{{Wiktionary-inline|recon}}}} (in American English), both derived from the root word ''reconnoitre'' / ''reconnoitering''.<ref>{{cite book|title=A Dictionary of Aviation |first=David W. |last=Wragg |isbn=0-85045-163-9 |publisher=Frederick Fell, Inc. |publication-place=New York |date=1974 |edition=1st American |page=222}}</ref> 

The types of reconnaissance include [[patrolling]] the local area of operations and [[long-range reconnaissance patrol]]s, which are tasks usually realized in the United States of America by [[U.S. Army Rangers]], [[cavalry scout]]s, and military intelligence specialists, using navy ships and [[submarine]]s, [[Aerial reconnaissance|reconnaissance aircraft]], [[satellites]] to collect raw intelligence; and establishing [[observation post]]s. Moreover, [[espionage]] is different from reconnaissance, because spies work as civilians in enemy territory.