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A mechanized infantry or armor unit is not, per its equipment, training, and structure, fundamentally prepared to operate in an insurgency/ counterinsurgency operation, such as the “terrorist hunt” currently underway in Iraq. Instead, it is equipped and trained to fight in a mechanized fight where mechanized scouts and aviators locate or fix enemy formations so they can be destroyed by follow-on tanks, fighting vehicles, or other assets. However, the current number of “hot spots” around the world have established the need for armored and mechanized infantry units (as
well as many others types) to conduct counterinsurgency operations.
Targeting is the biggest difficulty an armored force faces when confronted with an unconventional environment. There are no tank columns or other enemy formations to fix and destroy; the enemy does not use BRDMs and BMPs for reconnaissance. Instead, an armored force is faced with finding enemy operatives hidden with in the general population — a population that may or may not be hostile toward us.
Targeting in this environment requires collecting, sorting, and analyzing a great variety of intelligence media. However, in the insurgency environment, the chief intelligence media (if a commander wishes to maintain the initiative and keep the enemy on the defensive) is human intelligence (HUMINT), more commonly known as “word of mouth.” Unfortunately, the skills needed to collect and use HUMINT are not skills armor and mechanized infantry unit commanders normally have in their intelligence sections...