Hearts and Minds: Gaining Actionable Intelligence

Abstract

Actionable Intelligence (AI) is defined in military terms as: "Any information from a reliable source that may be used by a commander to insure a successful mission or operation conducted with speed and accuracy". In no other time has this been more important than in our current Global War on Terror (GWOT). Even in this era of satellite technology, spy planes and reconnaissance drones, our best source of A.I. will always be word-of-mouth from the local populace. Winning the trust and confidence of the local nationals is and will always be the one of the greatest challenges in all foreign conflicts that the United States will be involved in. The U.S. must make every effort not to alienate themselves from the local population by using techniques of brutality and chastisement to gain information. This will only lead to resentment and non-cooperation and make the objectives of our military extremely difficult or impossible to accomplish. We must use lessons learned from past conflicts to ensure that the same mistakes are not repeated today.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 02, 2008
Accession Number
AD1129315

Entities

People

  • Andrew Bore

Organizations

  • United States Army Sergeants Major Academy

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aerial Cameras
  • Afghanistan
  • Anti-Tank Missiles
  • Artificial Satellites
  • Cameras
  • Combatant Commanders
  • Cooperation
  • Education
  • Guerrilla Warfare
  • Intelligence Collection
  • Joint Military Activities
  • Lessons Learned
  • Middle East
  • Military Training
  • Night Vision
  • Training
  • United States
  • Vietnam War
  • War
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Geospatial Intelligence and Artificial Intelligence Analytics
  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.
  • Military and Counterinsurgency Studies.

Technology Areas

  • Autonomy
  • Autonomy - UAVs
  • Space