Proper Use Of Intelligence Empowers Soldiers

TERROR WARS

The 82nd commander urged the audience to collect and share knowledge instantaneously, saying that actionable intelligence will allow even a platoon to employ overwhelming combat power in today's fight. Photo courtesy of AFP.

by Dennis Ryan
Washington DC (AFNS) Oct 19, 2006
Lt. Gen. James J. Lovelace, deputy chief of staff, G-3, addressed the use of intelligence in the "Actionable intelligence for the command and Soldier" forum at this week's Association of the U.S. Army annual meeting. The general singled out eight individuals out of more than 200 attending the session. He designated them a squad, and said their mission was to find one bad guy in the room.

The analogy demonstrated the difficulties modern Soldiers face when searching for enemies in urban environments, and stressed Soldiers' need for access to the most recent information.

Lovelace explained how a Stryker formation in Iraq, using the latest command and control equipment on their vehicles, was able to make six raids from one piece of information. With the latest data, the leader was able to disperse his troops to a variety of locations to catch 14 members of a terrorist cell.

Lt. Gen. Carl Strock, chief of the Army Corps of Engineers, explained how geospatial engineering is enabling warfighters with extremely detailed urban maps.

"We require much more detail," Strock said. "Special Forces have to know which side the door is hinged on. You must constantly refresh information ... and constantly analyze it."

The general told how information used to be dispersed from the top down, but in today's combat environment the Soldier on the ground serves as a sensor to collect real-time data.

Maj. Gen. David Rodriguez, commander of the 82nd Airborne Division, spoke about the importance of sharing knowledge, likening intelligence knowledge to a library without a Dewey Decimal System. He urged commanders to trust other people's intelligence and to hand over targets to whatever unit can best perform the job.

Soldiers must also understand the strengths and weakness of intelligence.

"Operators have to understand what intelligence really means and what it's doing for you," Rodriguez said.

Command decisions should also be made at the lowest levels to enable troops to take advantage of the "fleeting nature of targets," Rodriguez added.

TERROR WARS

Unconventional Conflicts To Dominate Future Operations

Washington DC (AFNS) Oct 19, 2006
Irregular, unconventional conflicts like those under way in Iraq and Afghanistan are likely to dominate U.S. military operations for the foreseeable future, Army officials agreed this week at the Association of the U.S. Army's annual convention here. "I don't see conventional challenges to be dominant for a long time," said Conrad Crane, director of the U.S. Army Military History, during a panel discussion on irregular warfare and counterinsurgency operations.

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