BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF CFET.

 

INFORMATION HERE IS UNCLASSIFIED AND VERY LIMITED WRT THE ACTUAL MISSION OF CFET.

 

CFET WILL BE ADDRESSING THE NEED FOR INTELLIGENCE IN :

  1. COUNTERINSURGENCY
  2. ANTITERRORISM
  3. POLICING
  4. TACTICAL OPERATIONS

 

THE PRESENT IS FREQUENTLY WITNESSING ASYMMETRIC WARFARE , TACTICAL BATTLES AND CONVENTIONAL FULL SCALE WAR OR MAJOR CONFLICTS ARE RARE.

 

WE ARE NOW MORE CONCERNED WITH BATTLES THAN WARS.

TACTICAL OPERATIONS ARE NOW DISTRIBUTED OVER A WIDE BATTLEFIELD , A BATTLEFIELD WHICH CAN BE AN URBAN CITY WITH INNUMERABLE PHYSICAL OBSTRUCTIONS LIKE STRUCTURES , HOSPITALS , MOSQUES AND PASSAGEWAYS , ALLEYS ETC.

 

SIMILARLY LIKE IN THE INDIAN NORTH EAST WE HAVE AN AREA OF OPERATIONS WITH DENSE FORESTS , WATERWAYS,HILLS,SNOW, AND THE ELEMENT OF LOCAL POPULATION AND POLITICIANS WHO ARE IN PART MAY OR MAYNOT BE SYMPATHIZING WITH THE ENEMY.THE PHYSICAL AND HUMAN TERRAIN DOES NOT ALLOW FOR THE CONVENTIONAL INTELLIGENCE PREPARATIUON OF THE BATTLEFIELD WHERE WE ASSESS THE ENEMYS STRENGTH , ORDER OF BATTLE , TOE , ORGANIZATION ETC AND PRIMARILY HIS INTENT , WHETHER OF ROUTINE TACTICAL MOVES OR THE MOST IMPORTANT ELEMENT IN ANY SCENARIO—THE PRIME KNOWLEDGE  REQUIREMENT OF THE COMMANDER –SURPRISE.

 

IN SUCH A DIVERSE ENVIRONMENT , BE IT URBAN , RURAL OR JUNGLE TERRAIN , TECHNICAL INTELLIGENCE ASSETS AND OVERHEAD SURVEILLANCE PLATFORMS CANNOT FUNCTION WELL—FOR EXAMPLE CONCRETE BUILDINGS AND DARK NARROW ALLEYS IN BETWEEN OR THE THICK FOLIAGE/CANOPY IN A JUNGLE ENVIRONMENT DOES NOT MAKE A GOOD LINE OF SIGHT AVAILABLE TO OVERHEAD SENSORS.

 

THE NEED OF THE HOUR IS THE SOLDIER ON THE GROUND—WATCHING , OBSERVING , LISTENING , CASUALLY ELICITING FROM THE LOCALS ANY INFO, QUESTIONING AND INTERROGATING , WITH HIS TEAM PROBING FURTHER IN ENEMY TERRITORY ACCOMPANIED BY PSYCHOLOGICAL AND FIRE SUPPORT TEAM FOR TARGET DETECTION , NOMINATION.WE NEED HUMINT.WE NEED CI.