This is one way to do it.
A small patrol (4 to 8 personnel) will infiltrate the target area to conduct initial reconnaissance - this is as much to find good surveillance sites as it is to gain first impressions.
This recce may only last a few hours or up to 12 or more hours and typically, the main group stays in a harbour back from the observation post (OP) to provide support should the observer team get into the shit.
The observer team is typically just two people. Notes are taken about the things they observe, range cards drawn up and so on.
Temporary hides are constructed for the OP and harbour so personnel remain hidden from ground and aerial observation.
Based on their observations, a more thorough recce is conducted using the surveillance sites the first group identified (and if they aren't suitable then the second team will need time to find more suitable locations). Team will construct longer term hides for same reasons as above.
This team could also be small or it could be larger and split up to cover more area (i.e. multiple harbours and OPs or one harbour and multiple OPs). Specialist tools may be deployed at this time e.g. microphones, video cameras, ground sensors and so on.
Again a small crew will observe the target area and compile information while the main body occupies a harbour area. Sometimes you may not be able to have a separate observation post and harbour and you may have to combine them in the same hide.
Observation time may be a single day but more likely several days so you can observe such things as main entry/exit points, secondary entry/exit points, daily routines, what time people stop working/go to sleep, what paths sentries take (e.g. do they take the same path every day or a different path each time), water sources, comms capability, vehicles, condition of the vehicles, number of personnel, attitude of the personnel, condition of their equipment, who appears to be in command, fortifications, obvious weak points and strong points and so on.
In regards to point 4, if the information gathered indicates that it is worth the risk, then you could send one or two people into the town to spy out the location but this should always be considered as very high risk and they should have good backup support.
Reconnaissance takes time, sometimes the team could spend four or five days laying up in the area to recce a site and sometimes you might spend several weeks in the area rotating teams in and out as needed.
However you have to base the requirement for extended intel against the amount of time you actually have to collect that intel and also against how much/little time you have to report the information before it is needed.
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