🪖 Recognition of OSINT and GEOINT in the US Army and Special Operations Forces.
Part II.

(Part 1 here)

Let's continue our review of the US Army and Special Operations Forces manual on using OSINT and GEOINT for military purposes. I would like to add a small remark that the Americans have previously used open sources in intelligence, but such detailed manuals have not been noted before. With the development of social networks and AI, their importance has increased so much, which is demonstrated in this multi-page manual.

The second chapter is devoted to the planning of the intelligence process by Civil Affairs (CA) units, as an important necessity for the methodical collection and analysis of open source data, which consists of several consecutive points:

1. Task planning, i.e. military personnel or civilian personnel are assigned directions in which they should work and search for the necessary information.

2. Then commanders who are interested in receiving up-to-date information define the issues that interest them, while necessarily taking into account the possible risks when conducting reconnaissance activities. Apparently, we are talking about using civilians to observe the area of ​​interest.

3. One of the main aspects for these units is called the assessment of the influence of terrain, weather conditions and enemy tactics in the area of ​​assignment. This probably concerns primarily infantry units and special forces units that operate on combat missions.

4. The command also requires that analysis be conducted taking into account the terrain, country, and mentality, as this plays an important role in planning operations. It is important to provide data in a timely manner, identify signs of enemy activity and non-standard behavior of the local population.

In general, the process looks like this:

- assessment of the terrain based on existing data
- assessment of the resources that need to be used to obtain up-to-date information
– preparation of a work plan, determination of priority goals
– the manager or deputy approves the work plan
– then a report is generated with the number of forces involved, including agents and sources on the ground
- carrying out the operation
– assessment of the effectiveness of the measures taken and preparation of a report
- providing information at different levels depending on importance

At the same time, the manual also specifies conditional criteria for determining the effectiveness of the conducted operation to collect data from open sources, which are divided into “performance indicators” and “ effectiveness indicators” .

In the first option, this could be the rapid implementation of humanitarian projects, a reduction in the number of crimes, or the establishment of stable ties with the leadership of the country where the operation was carried out. In the second option, this is a positive perception of the work done, which, for example, led to the end of unrest, or an adequate attitude to American intervention.

These criteria are quite conditional, but clearly show the goals of the operations, which, looking at the text, are not limited to collecting and analyzing information, but also represent a whole complex of tasks for infiltrating a particular area to assess the prospects for US intervention or organizing unrest. And this is only a brief overview of Chapter 2 of this manual, which is recommended for study by all army units.

Архангел Спецназа
⚡️ Two Majors

Russian Ministry of Defense:

Over the night, 34 Ukrainian aircraft-type UAVs were shot down. 27 UAVs were destroyed over the territory of the Kursk region, four UAVs were intercepted over the territory of the Lipetsk region, two UAVs were shot down over the territory of the Belgorod region and one over the territory of the Oryol region.

✨ We note that the department did not report on the use of ATACMS in Kursk Oblast yesterday evening, as in the case of the STORM SHADOW strikes.

⚡️ Two Majors