The F3EAD process is a targeting methodology that has been popularized by the United States Military Special Forces in capturing high-value targets. If you can think of the Navy SEALs as the GUI or frontend of an application, then the F3EAD process is the backend system components, data processing, and circuitry. Just like a well-oiled machine, the F3EAD process drives special mission operations by focusing resources on gathering intelligence on specific targets, and using it so that decision makers can take action and follow-on actions.

The six components of this process can be divided equally between operations and intelligence:

• Operations:
  • Find:
    • What are the priorities for our operations?
    • What is the problem we are trying to solve for our organization?
  • Fix:
    • Where can we find the information that is required?
    • Where are the problems that we've identified?
  • Finish:
    • What is the answer to the problem?
    • How are we going to fix the problem?
    • What is the definition of done to our stakeholders?
• Intelligence:
  • Exploit:
    • Where is all of the information about the operation?
    • What information is essential for us to analyze?
  • Analyze:
    • What did we learn from this operation?
    • What information is required for our stakeholders?
    • How will this information be presented?
  • Disseminate:
    • Who needs to know this information and when?

We can see that F3EAD will be able to integrate with the intelligence process between the tactical and operational levels. This process can be thought of as another option of establishing the main processes for an intelligence capability, a sub-process, or a supporting process within the intelligence cycle:

In the preceding diagram, we can see that the Planning/Direction Process at the Strategic Level and Tactical Level of the intelligence cycle will set the tone of what intelligence information needs to be gathered at the Operational Level. Collection efforts will be tasked down to the operational teams and will begin the Find step of the F3EAD process. As we move through the F3EAD process, once the operational teams Fix onto the specific target, they will complete (Finish step) and then take the lessons learned to Exploit any additional information to send to the Analysis step. Notice that Analysis information will be brought back into the Tactical Level intelligence cycle. At the Tactical Level, multiple analyses from the different teams will be pooled together for review, disseminated to other teams, and utilized at the Strategic Level, Tactical Level, or Operational Level.