Adapting the Army: Institutionalizing Counter-IED Training Efforts
Abstract
The success of U.S. forces during the early phases of combat in Afghanistan and Iraq provides testimony to the competence of American Soldiers, the superiority of their equipment, and the exceptional quality of their training. However, after the conclusion of conventional combat operations, our Soldiers faced a resilient and adaptive enemy bent on continuing the fight and hindering any transition to peace, democracy, and public order. To do this, our enemy had to change the conditions of the battle and nullify or defeat elements that gave us superiority. For instance, to defeat our long-range weapons and standoff capabilities, he hid among the populace and attacked us at close quarters. He avoided force-on-force combat by employing improvised explosive devices (IEDs) plus hit-and-run tactics against convoys and units to inflict casualties. He buried explosives to attack our vehicles from beneath and attempted to emplace explosively formed penetrators to defeat U.S. detection and neutralization systems.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 01, 2010
- Accession Number
- ADA560120
Entities
People
- Dorian D'aria
- Tahnee L. Moore
Organizations
- United States Army Engineer School