Quote:
Originally Posted by Brush Okie
Native speakers is one of the area your reserve CA/MISO can be an asset. We have several native speakers. The last CA course I was involved in teaching actually had a native Russian speaker. As for time before a computer it does not take a lot of time. The soldier doing the work can check in a few minutes throughout the day using a smart phone if they need to. Start taking a look at reserve assets more than you do. While many times they may not be as tactically proficient they may have a skill set you need. It used to be that to get into CA you had to bring something to the table. I got in due to my medical training, Combat engineer MOS and I used to work with my grandfather drilling wells. That sadly is not the case anymore.
As for communicating on line it is another tool in the box. You still need to walk and talk, drop leaflets for the MISO and other ways of communicating. I think the Army and even SOF has lost the point that people are the key. We have always been good at kicking in doors and shooting bad guys in the face we forget that communicating with PEOPLE, be they civilians, HN officials or even the enemy has many benefits. SN is just another way to enact that principal.
An example I would like to use is from the book SAS Secret war. Required reading at the British War College. They were operating in Oman in a COIN operation. Long story short they were doing a MEDCAP mission and they allowed one of the guerrillas to watch the mission. He was openly an insurgent. They knew etc and under ROE could have taken him prisoner. They didn't. They allowed him to watch and talked to him. A few days later he came over to their side bringing someone else with him.
Here is a link to the book. Very good info and like I said used to be required reading for the Brits. May still be on their list.
http://www.amazon.com/SAS-Secret-War.../dp/0004708997 |
Great points BO! I especially like the story from the SAS Secret War.
From what I am gleaning from this and other threads, there is and has been a tendency towards overspecialization whether it is MOS or unit mission focus. (Would you believe this is the 4th time today that I have had a conversation with 4 different people on 4 different issues that ended up making this same point.)
I see the same problem in business/industry/academia. IMHO, successful COIN or UW requires generalists to successfully plan and execute. Skilled in various disciplines/arts to be sure, but capable of seeing and operating in the bigger picture. At the end of the day it always comes down to human-human interaction and the basics (hierarchy of needs).
The story from the SAS Secret War exemplifies that point exceptionally well and I can assure you is not unique. Most of the time our decision base is intuitive anyway. All of the other inputs into the intelligence matrix are framing the environment. SM is just one more tool in the kit, IMO. A potentially important and useful tool, but a tool nonetheless.
I think the focus of the SOCOM mission on the Human Domain is precisely the right direction and emphasis. That is where all future conflicts will be won or lost and how many many more conflicts can be averted.