Engineer

MAY-AUG 2013

Engineer presents professional information designed to keep U.S. military and civilian engineers informed of current and emerging developments within their areas of expertise for the purpose of enhancing their professional development.

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A CoIST member briefs a battlefeld circulation team in Afghanistan. approach. There are civilian intelligence analysis systems that can be learned quickly and used by personnel without prior intelligence training. Some of these programs are built to enhance collaboration between the battalion S-2 section and CoISTs. This increases, streamlines, and enables the intelligence warfghting function within the engineer battalion. Field service representatives for those systems are available to conduct training and assist CoISTs during the relief-in-place process. Another useful force multiplier has been the addition of a contracted civilian counter improvised explosive device (C-IED) analyst team that was developed for the Afghanistan theater of operations in 2010. The team provides the warfghter with multiple sources of expertise in C-IED and counterinsurgency analysis and operations. It is usually composed of an all-source analyst, a human intelligence analyst, and a collection manager. While not all teams are fully staffed, the addition of their experience increases the knowledge and productivity of the entire section. The team's combined expertise and knowledge of data-mining systems increase understanding of the dynamics involved along the routes. This increases the capability for predictive analysis, which is fundamental to assured mobility. The presence of the C-IED intelligence analysis team quickly ramped up the organic analyst capabilities of the 20th Engineer Battalion. This resulted from the team method of training the complete process of multidiscipline intelligence operations and the resulting analysis, rather than simply providing a "black box" product. Surveillance is an integral and often contentious component of the intelligence collection process which presents additional challenges for an engineer battalion that provides general support at the regional level. As a multifunctional engineer battalion operating in numerous OEs, the 20th Engineer Battalion was not an OE owner. Therefore, it was near the bottom of the queue for acquiring surveillance assets. Optical change detection assets allow predicative analysis before route clearance patrols conduct missions. Likewise, persistent surveillance and overhead collection platforms allowed the battalion to hold ground by ensuring that routes remained clear for longer times after missions were complete. The extensive experience with collection management and the overall asset awareness of the C-IED intelligence collection specialist allowed the battalion to acquire surveillance outside the experience level of the usual battalion S-2 section. To meet routine surveillance requirements while on patrol, route clearance patrols used theater-provided equipment such as Puma™ and Raven® unmanned aircraft to enhance their situational awareness of the battlefeld. Since these assets are not part of normal engineer company equipment, the operator's introduction to them is usually during a deployment, which means that training must be scheduled and conducted after arrival intheater. While this is an ineffcient method, the dividends to commanders and patrol leaders are worth the investment of time and personnel. Units should ensure redundancy in trained personnel for each route clearance patrol since it is (Continued on page 20) May–August 2013 Engineer 17

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