KITAE III: Unit Construction for Effect in Battlespace Helmand
Abstract
This paper examines a counterinsurgency (COIN) organizational concept developed in Helmand, Afghanistan. The participant observations for this study are taken from daily warfighting activities in one of the most violent areas of Afghanistan, the Upper Gereshk Valley (UGV) in Helmand province, which is within the area of responsibility belonging to Task Force Helmand (TFH) and the Danish Battle Group. It focuses on operations with an Afghan special operations unit known as the Afghanistan Territorial Force (ATF) in UGV, Helmand, during the fall of 2010. The objective of the ATF was to assist the Battle Group (BG) with providing access to areas where regular troops unfamiliar with operating within a counterinsurgency environment could not go to assess the state of the insurgency or the local nationals. The objective of this paper is to highlight the advantages of acknowledging the role cognitive concepts can play in the organization of units for use in complex battlespaces. In doing so, it also illustrates that the dynamics of social organization are not only necessary for understanding one's enemies, but they also play an important role in determining how we organize our own military units. The presentation includes briefing charts.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 2011
- Accession Number
- ADA546800
Entities
People
- William G Mitchell