What is the common objective of a registration?

The common objective of a registration is to acquire a range to the target. This process is crucial in fire support operations because accurately determining the range allows for precise targeting and ensures that artillery, mortars, or other fire support elements can deliver effective fire on the intended target. By registering a target, the fire support team can establish a reliable range estimation that forms the basis for subsequent fire missions, ensuring that they can engage targets with greater accuracy.

While minimizing ammunition usage, achieving effective fire on target, and confirming the zero of the weapon system are important aspects of fire support, they are not the primary focus of registration. Registration specifically aims at establishing accurate range data, which in turn facilitates effective targeting and engagement of threats on the battlefield. Proper registration is a fundamental step that lays the groundwork for the other objectives to be met successfully.