Thread: Lessons Learned from OIF

Originally Posted by JCT

That major combat will not be confined to rural areas as we might have wished for and trained for, but will often be centered inside urban areas. We should equip our units with this in mind, i.e., assault breacher kits should be issued down to the squad level, increased use of optics on rifles, more personal radios, etc.

IMHO this is a lesson that has been understood by many over the last 15 years, but not generally taken to heart. We have not put the resources into developing the training facilities required until very recently. The scope and size of the mock-up Iraqi towns at 29 Palms and the SASO facility at March ARB are steps in the right direction. (I’m sure there are others now, but I do not have personal knowledge of them.) The concrete MOUT villages at our major installations were good tools for teaching platoon to company level urban ops, but were too small for anything larger. The larger ones being developed now are necessary for battalion ops.

In my experience, MOUT facilities have always been in high demand and therefore often hard to schedule. Hopefully the increase in the number of such facilities will increase the training time available for MOUT training.

My unit was already here as of 2002, and the Army is there for the most part now. As far as facilities, Fort Lewis and a handful of other installations were getting BN(+) sized facilities.

Originally Posted by JCT

The concrete MOUT villages at our major installations were good tools for teaching platoon to company level urban ops, but were too small for anything larger.

That's what we had at Fort Sill. It was good enough for the basics of MOUT, but i agree, was definitely lacking in trying to mimic a real city fight in a big area.

Originally Posted by shek

MNF-I just changed to this policy. Hopefully, it will result in more dead insurgents and force convoys to actually pick out targets instead of hosing down their flanks and running, leaving pissed off Iraqis to the units that actually own the territory. I can't tell you how many times I had to answer questions about other units doing f'ed up shiznit in my AO, and I'm sure they motivated a soul or two to fight my guys. You wouldn't sh!t in your own backyard, so why do it in another's?

Could'nt have said it better Sir

My second lesson is that greater HUMINT capabilities are needed. This comes in the form of Tactical HUMINT Teams (THT) that work for the commander and provide the following capabilities:

1) language
2) interrogation
3) network linking

By having the THT capabilities, leaders no longer need to be directly and actively involved in interrogation, tying them down to a particular site and causing them to lose situational awareness of their unit. The language capability would supplement the unit's own organic language capabilities.

The screening/interrogation capability is absolutely critical, as you can prevent having to haul back suspected insurgents to languish at a detention center, preventing hostility from building through unnecessary detentions and possibly insulting the honor of the entire family, putting more people in the bad guy column when they turn against you. Because of having a THT capability, I was able to prevent unnecessary detentions.

The network linking is even more critical, because the THTs, through their screenings and interrogations, can build the relationship networks that become critical to unraveling an insurgent cell. Because they work with these everyday, they will be more likely to pick up on a detail that a commander/platoon leader ever could because their attention is spread out across both understanding the intel AND running their unit.

Lastly, the THTs can concentrate more on interacting with the local populace during patrols vice soldiers/team leaders/squad leaders, who must be ever vigilant and can provide the security and protection to allow the THT to do their jobs.

Fortunately, the Army is creating more THT capability within the transformed brigades. Hopefully, these THTs will become very integrated with the maneuver units and be the asset that they have the potential to be.

Originally Posted by M21Sniper

Well in the speedy advance battle that happened I would've used a dedicated reinforced Bde of motor infantry to patrol the primary LOCs and secure the key chokepoints and intersections. They would roll up behind the vangaurd- ahead of the supply vehicles, and fallout in platoon strength to take up defensive/overwatch positions at somewhat irregular intervals along the entire axis of advance. I would've further augmented them with sufficient MP and Signals forces to ensure proper traffic control and signage.

Snipe,
I knew you were a closet Stryker fan!