Counterinsurgency and the
Education of the GEOINT
Professional
Todd S. BacastowProfessor of Practice for Geospatial Intelligence
John A. Dutton e-Education InstituteThe Pennsylvania State University
August 5, 2008
U.S. Army Spc. Roger Rich visits with an Iraqi child during a stop in a village near the city of Musayyib, Iraq, while on a civil affairs mission, June 12, 2005. Rich is assigned to Scout Platoon, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, part of the 155th Brigade Combat Team. U.S. Navy photo by Chief Petty Officer Edward G. Martens.
“Counterinsurgency is military, paramilitary, political, economic, psychological, and civic actions taken by a government to defeat insurgency.”
Joint Pub 1-02/ FM 3-24/MCWP 3-33.5, p. 1-1
COIN 101 - Principles
Iraq, Jan. 30, 2005: An Iraqi man shows off his ink-stained finger after casting his ballot at a polling station in Jisr Diala on the southern outskirts of Baghdad, Iraq. (AP Wide World Photo/John Moore).
COIN 101 - Phases
Source: RAND, 2008
COIN 101 – Intelligence
Source: RAND, 2008
What’s education?
• Education is concerned with the development of the intellect
• Training deals with learning specific skills
• Education is a personal activity• Training is developing skills for
others
What’s geospatial intelligence?
Title 10 U.S. Code §467
Brigadier Nick Rigbyformer Director of Intelligencefor the UK Ministry of DefenseG
EO
INT
Geo
spat
ial
Inte
llig
ence
Geospatial intelligence
Cholera outbreak in Soho, England, in 1854
Geospatial intelligence professional
Broad competency areas
After:Building the Geospatial WorkforceCyndi H. Gaudet, Heather M. Annulis, and Jon C. CarrURISA Journal • Vol. 15, No. 1 • 2003
PSU Geospatial Intelligence Program
PSU vs ABCA Report
# 10 - Legal
# 9 - Geospatial Forensics
# 8 - Language/Communications
http://www.armchairgeneral.com/rkkaww2/maps/keymap/chapter2_1.pdf
Soviet era map symbols
# 7 – Organizational
map of NATO PRTs in Afghanistan, valid as at 20 April 2007. [23]A full-size version of this map is available at: http://www.nato.int/ISAF/media/pdf/placemat_isaf.pdf
# 6 – Working with open source
# 5 – Working with data
Iraqi survey data collectors speak with a village elder during the course of the first phase of the Landmine Impact Survey. http: www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/pix/b/91052.htm
# 4 – Add to the toolset
A Social Network Analysis of the Iranian Government, [November, 2001]
# 3 – Ethics education
# 2 – Culture
Fairfax County Police,www.fairfaxcounty.gov/police/police31.htm
# 1 – Geospatial analytic thinking
We recommend the following GIS workflow:
1. Define the problem or scenario.2. Identify the deliverables (mostly maps) needed to support the decision.3. Identify, collect, organize, and examine the data needed to address the problem.4. Document your work:
a. Create a process summary.b. Document your map.c. Set the environments.
5. Prepare your data.6. Create a basemap.7. Perform your analysis.8. Produce the deliverables, draw conclusions, and present your results.
Our World GIS EducationLevel 4: Making Spatial Decisions, ESRI
Geospatial analytic thinking
• The geospatial professional should:– Understand the cognitive biases and fallacies
– Apply appropriate geospatial techniques for creating and testing hypothesis
• rational choice theory• utility theory• game theory, etc.
– Evaluate temporal-spatial trend analysis and spatial correlation
– Apply forecasting methods in the geospatial domain• decision tree analysis• analytic hierarchy process• alternative scenarios/futures• Delphi technique• Lockwood Analytical Method for Prediction (LAMP)
Summary
Physical Human
Open terrain Closed terrain
Data Evidence
Top down Bottom up
Individual Team
Descriptive Predictive
Workflows Analytic process
U.S. Army Maj. Robert Holbert takes notes as he talks and drinks tea with local school and Andar Special Needs School administrators during a cordon and search of Nani, Afghanistan, on June 2, 2007. Holbert is attached to the Human Terrain Team, 4th Brigade Combat Team. DoD photo by Staff Sgt. Michael L. Casteel, U.S. Army. (Released)
Key References
• Counterinsurgency Warfare, Galula, 1964
• The Changing Face of War: Into the Fourth Generation, Lind, 1989
• Field Manual 100-7, Decisive Force: The Army In Theater Operations, 1995
• Military Operations Other Than War Briefing Slides and Script, J7, undated
• The Information Edge: Imagery Intelligence and geospatial Information in an Evolving National Security Environment, NIMA, 2000
• Developing the Geospatial Workforce, Gaudet, 2001
• GIS & T Body of Knowledge, DiBiase, 2003
• Learning to Eat Soup with a Knife, Nagl, 2005
• Army-Marine Corps Counter Insurgency Field Manual, January 2007
• ABBA Report, 2007
• USGIF Accreditation Standards, 2007
• A Conceptual Framework for Facilitating Geospatial Thinking, Golledge, 2008
• Analytic Support to Intelligence in Counterinsurgency, RAND, 2008
• International Association for Intelligence Education Conference, June 2008
• The Future of Intelligence Co-operation between Military Forces and Private Security Companies based on Lessons Learned in Iraq" Strachan-Morris, Mar 2008
• Taxonomy of Structured Analytic Techniques, Presentation, IAFIE Conference, June 2008
• Insurgency/Counter-Insurgency: Does the U.S. Army "Get It," Reynolds, June 2008