ABSTRACT

This paper discusses an approach to better prepare Marines and Soldiers for Counterinsurgency (COIN) operations. Methods in enhanced observation (EO), combat profiling (CP) and operational cultural (OC) need to be systematically combined to better understand foreign human terrains. Advanced EO and CP methods are cunently taught to the Marines as part of the Combat Hunter program. This training begins with an understanding of human perception and identifies the advantages and disadvantages of human sensory systems. Training is also conducted on advanced optics and devices that extend human capabilities. The CP portion of the course relies on human behavior pattern recognition and can be applied to people, events, or vehicles, anywhere in the world. Combat Profiling trains Marines to identity potential cues that fall into one of six categories, or domains for further analysis and how to develop a baseline level of activity for each of these domains. Many of these cues are culture free. However, a critical component of this training is to understand the operational culture to better

recognize the context in which the behaviors occur. The premise is to provide Marines with a method to quickly make legal, moral, and ethical decisions. One goal of this training is to make Marines and Soldiers more aware of their surroundings, better understand the context, and be able to identify oddities as indicators of potential threat.