Great and insightful COIN TTPs. You may consider a section addressing how the platoon's actions link with the company and battalion effort; basically some basic insights from one platoon leader to another.

Because battalions and below engage the local community, the ultimate objective is to have the local police assume the security burden. Some manpower (a four-man cadre at the police station) can be devoted to developing the police not only with basic military skills, but also instilling a sense of discipline and values. Most cultures have a basis of values, mostly engendered by the Ten Commandments, so the local police need to be reminded of their importance to the authorities.

The cadres can identify those individuals with leadership potential to attend formal training at the Regional Training Center in order to assume leadership positions upon return. Selecting the next generation of leaders is a subtle process because the local power brokers (police chiefs, mayors, etc.) rely on patronage to secure their position. So, the cadre leader or higher leader has to find ways to have them buy off on selected personell without arousing suspicion.

Because the goal of both the insurgents and counterinsurgents is to gain control of the population, the counterinsurgents must exercise appropriate measures to gain the upper hand. Curfews, census taking, police foot patrols, daily interaction with the people are the initial step. The police should establish a neighborhood watch, cultivate informants, and provide a means for people to report suspicious activites. Trinquier's gridding technique is an excellent way for organizing a neighborhood watch program. In this manner, the authorities can identify recent arrivals of new people into the community and investigate them. In the end, we want the populace to look to their police for security issues rather than the coalition.

Platoon leaders and company commanders can meet with the local authorities to discuss the one project the community needs. Don't ask them what they want because this will result in a litany of deficiencies that will far exceed the capabilities of the coalition. I call this the "one project at a time" approach. The next step, and most difficult, is finding an agency (NGO, UNAM, etc.) which will agree to the project. To make a lasting impact, the agency should provide the skills training, equipment, materials and salaries, while the local populace provides labor. In this manner, the people gain skill sets and pride in ownership. If insurgents destroy the project, they alienate the population automatically. It is also useful to bring in agencies to provide workshops on skills training (e.g., basic electrical, plumbing, mechanical maintenance, carpentry, etc.). In this manner, a local economy is created at minimum cost and the community experiences the benefits of the government. Creating prosperity from below is much better than attempting to create economic development from the national level and hoping it trickles down.

These are just a few thoughts helping the succession of platoon leaders see how their actions contribute to the higher COIN effort and provide continuity of effort from one rotation after another.

Cheers,
Ray Millen