The Spot Report is a guide to assist with reporting threatening or potentially threatening activity that you or someone you know have observed. Designed as a tool to aid soldiers in reporting observed enemy activity, this can be adapted to report criminal activity, invading military forces, or forces of an oppressive regime. This is a combination of two reporting formats (SALUTE & 5W’s). Fill everything out as soon and as accurately as possible.
S – ize
A – ctivity
L – ocation
U – nit
T – ime
E – quipment
Who
What
Where
When
Why
How (How Many)
Who:
Who are you (Code name)? Did you witness this yourself? Who did? Is this person credible/reliable? Who did you speak with? Who told you this? Did you get his/her contact information?
What:
What happened? What did you see? What did you hear? What did they say to you? What was the end result? (CREATE A TIMELINE, in Chronological Sequence)
Where:
Same as ‘L’ (Location) in the SALUTE report. Where did this happen/is this located? What direction? Location of first and last observation?
When:
Same as ‘T’ (Time) in the SALUTE report. Time/Date and duration.
Why:
Explanation given for activity (yours & theirs), if any. Why were you there and why did you have access to this event/ information? (Passerby, Observed, participated, solicited, coerced, detained, etc.)
How Many:
How do you know? How did they treat you? How did you react? How were they carrying out this activity? How many people, trucks, tents, crates, trailers, antennas, backpacks, etc.