The effort to defeat improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and roadside bombs in Afghanistan and Iraq is fully explained in this comprehensive two-part encyclopedia compilation, featuring the Convoy Survivability Training Support Package presenting information on enemy tactics, techniques, and procedures for attacking convoys, as well as U.S. measures in effect to counter them.IED REPORT: Updated with the latest information from the Joint IED Defeat Organization (JIEDDO), it also includes the results of Congressional inquiries into jamming the IED assembly line by impeding the flow of ammonium nitrate in south and central Asia. A recent GAO report on the JIEDDO effort is also reproduced. The JIEDDO solicitation of proposals for the development of innovative capabilities to defeat IEDs employed against dismounted U.S. or coalition forces anywhere in the world, but especially in Afghanistan is included. The military is looking for advances in the dismounted detection of buried IEDs and unmanned ground vehicles for dismount support. Buried IEDs are emplaced on or under the ground to be detonated in the proximity of Coalition Forces or other passers-by. IEDs are used on roadways, paths and choke points where intended victims are likely to walk. Devices are frequently emplaced in or near features (e.g. washouts, culverts, gates and bridges) that conceal their signatures and channel traffic over them. Components common to an IED are a switch, an initiator, a power source, and the main charge with container. The main charge is typically a homemade, fertilizer-based, bulk explosive in a plastic or fabric container. The most common switches for buried IEDs are victim operated pressure switches and command wires. IEDs are the enemy's fires system - their artillery. In Iraq and Afghanistan, the enemy delivers these fires through networks that for centuries have formed the sinews of commerce for tribes and factions. IED attacks provide the enemy with a cheap, stand-off, precision targeting system that often provides attackers with complete anonymity. Coverage of IEDs and the JIEDDO includes: JIEDDO Annual Reports (including the newest for the Fiscal Year 2010), Acronyms and Terms, Glossary, DoD Directives, Urgent Needs and Readiness Levels, Technology Readiness Levels, Training for Forensics and Crime Scene Investigation to Battle IEDs, biographies of key officials in the JIEDDO, History of JIEDDO, The Threat, Organizational Structure, Organization Chart, Attacking the Network, Counter-IED Operations Integration Center (COIC), Keyhole, Information Operations, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Recon (ISR), Warrior Alpha, WTI, Constant Hawk, Technology Insertion Process, Identity InstaCheck, Palantir, more.CONVOY SURVIVABILITY TRAINING: Specific areas of instruction include but are not limited to hardening vehicles, defending against attack, consolidation and reorganization, gun truck employment, various reports, battle drills, and basic instructions for setting up a convoy live fire exercise. The document states in part: "During this course of instruction you will learn to: Identify the threat; harden vehicles; conduct convoy briefing; execute motor movement; defend against attack; defend against Improvised Explosive Devices (IED); conduct convoy consolidation and reorganization; conduct actions at the Release Point (RP); describe the purpose and functions of the gun truck; identify gun truck crew duties; harden gun trucks; employ gun trucks; identify emerging enemy trends on the battlefield.

Case studies include lethal and nonlethal missions performed by soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. The events chronicled span the spectrum of participants from officers to noncommissioned officers, and from combat units to support personnel, all in contact with a vicious and unforgiving enemy.

This anthology discusses the converging operational issues of air base defense and counterinsurgency. It explores the diverse challenges associated with defending air assets and joint personnel in a counterinsurgency environment. The authors are primarily Air Force officers from security forces, intelligence, and the office of special investigations, but works are included from a US Air Force pilot and a Canadian air force officer. The authors examine lessons from Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, and other conflicts as they relate to securing air bases and sustaining air operations in a high-threat counterinsurgency environment. The essays review the capabilities, doctrine, tactics, and training needed in base defense operations and recommend ways in which to build a strong, synchronized ground defense partnership with joint and combined forces. The authors offer recommendations on the development of combat leaders with the depth of knowledge, tactical and operational skill sets, and counterinsurgency mind set necessary to be effective in the modern asymmetric battlefield.

Although military policy seems focused on overseas threats, defending the homeland is, of course, the ultimate objective. This guide examines emergent threats to the USA homeland such as speciality weapons, cyber attacks and ballistic missiles and delineates the army's responsibilities.

"This book explores military operations, including indirect support to other interagency actors and functions in dense urban terrain and megacities. Dense urban terrain describes urban areas with high population densities that, in the developing world, often outstrip the capacity of local governance systems to exert formal control. The term megacity describes a city with a population of 10 million or more. These environments define patterns of human settlement. In 1950, only 30 percent of the world's population lived in cities compared to more than 55 percent in 2018. Much of this growth is concentrated in large, urban centers that connect a global flow of goods and ideas. By 2030, there will be more than 40 of these megacities"--

When the U.S. military invaded Iraq, it lacked a common understanding of the problems inherent in counterinsurgency campaigns. It had neither studied them, nor developed doctrine and tactics to deal with them. It is fair to say that in 2003, most Army officers knew more about the U.S. Civil War than they did about counterinsurgency. The U.S. Army / Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual was written to fill that void. The result of unprecedented collaboration among top U.S. military experts, scholars, and practitioners in the field, the manual espouses an approach to combat that emphasizes constant adaptation and learning, the importance of decentralized decision-making, the need to understand local politics and customs, and the key role of intelligence in winning the support of the population. The manual also emphasizes the paradoxical and often counterintuitive nature of counterinsurgency operations: sometimes the more you protect your forces, the less secure you are; sometimes the more force you use, the less effective it is; sometimes doing nothing is the best reaction. An new introduction by Sarah Sewall, director of the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, places the manual in critical and historical perspective, explaining the significance and potential impact of this revolutionary challenge to conventional U.S. military doctrine. An attempt by our military to redefine itself in the aftermath of 9/11 and the new world of international terrorism, The U.S. Army / Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual will play a vital role in American military campaigns for years to come. The University of Chicago Press will donate a portion of the proceeds from this book to the Fisher House Foundation, a private-public partnership that supports the families of America’s injured servicemen. To learn more about the Fisher House Foundation, visit www.fisherhouse.org.

The theme of this volume on systems engineering research is disciplinary convergence: bringing together concepts, thinking, approaches, and technologies from diverse disciplines to solve complex problems. Papers presented at the Conference on Systems Engineering Research (CSER), March 23-25, 2017 at Redondo Beach, CA, are included in this volume. This collection provides researchers in academia, industry, and government forward-looking research from across the globe, written by renowned academic, industry and government researchers.