G. Evan Spencer and Paige F. Wahoff ●
Prior to joining Blank Rome, CPT (Ret.) Paige Wahoff served as a U.S. Army Armor Officer and Judge Advocate, holding a range of Cavalry leadership and staff positions. Her assignments included Scout Platoon Leader for A Troop and Assistant S3 Operations Officer with 6th Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division at Fort Bliss, Texas. Paige is in the general litigation practice group in Blank Rome’s Chicago office, and is available to support the Maritime Group in litigation matters.
In the Army, you are taught that uncertainty is best confronted with discipline, purpose, and established processes. Reconnaissance is traditionally understood as a military activity aimed at reducing uncertainty, shaping decision-making, and enabling freedom of action. It is a purpose-driven activity, tightly calibrated to answer mission-critical questions and shape action in complex, contested, and often austere environments. This doctrine also has potent legal resonance in the maritime industry, which wrestles with overlapping regulatory regimes, dynamic risk landscapes, and heightened enforcement scrutiny.
Contemporary maritime operations are vulnerable to strategic competition, hybrid threats, and regulatory exposure, and the maritime domain is becoming an information environment as much as a physical one. Applying the Army’s reconnaissance fundamentals* to this domain reframes reconnaissance as a form of institutionalized due diligence: a legal, operational, and ethical obligation to anticipate risk, maintain situational awareness, and act responsibly in an interconnected global system. This article translates the Army’s reconnaissance fundamentals into actionable insights for maritime law and liability, using recent examples to illustrate how failure to apply these fundamentals can compound legal exposure.
1. Ensure Continuous Reconnaissance
The Army fundamental of “ensure continuous reconnaissance” means that information collection is never episodic or limited to a single phase of an operation. Commanders direct reconnaissance operations throughout all stages and critical events, and assign assets to best maintain a flow of relevant information. This persistent collection of information allows decisionmakers to identify and seize key terrain, confirm or deny military intelligence, develop courses of action, and maintain the unit’s most strategic position without relying on outdated or incomplete information.
Continue reading “Reconnaissance as Legal Due Diligence: Lessons from Land to Sea”