• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Intelligence101

Knowledge is Power

Online Intelligence Training – Become a Certified Intelligence Analyst Today

  • Get Started Here
  • HOMETake me back
  • ABOUTWhat We’re About
  • All-Source IntelligenceSee All Our Blog Posts Here
    • Analytical Tradecraft
    • All Source Intelligence
    • Criminal Intelligence
    • Human Intelligence (HUMINT)
    • Imagery Intelligence (IMINT)
    • Intelligence Agencies
    • Measurement and Signature Intelligence (MASINT)
    • Military Intelligence
    • Open Source Intelligence
    • Psychological Operations (PSYOPS)
    • SIGINT
    • Spying and Espionage
    • Surveillance
  • RESOURCESTools of the Trade
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Ebook
    • Open Source Intelligence Masterclass
    • Intelligence Analysts Bookshelf
  • CONTACTGet in contact

Intelligence Case Study; How Taliban Insurgents Exploited Our Standard Operating Procedures

By Ben Stark on November 13, 2016 0

Tactical Intelligence Identified a Taliban Trend.

When I was 22 years old I deployed to Afghanistan on my first overseas mission.

I remember scrambling off the Black-Hawk quickly due to the very real threat of Rocket Propelled Grenades. I was located in a remote combat base somewhere in Southern Afghanistan and I was the only intelligence analyst living with a platoon of 30 men.

With intermittent internet, and patchy voice communications, our best source of information came from the local population…

It didn’t take us long to realise, we were in a dangerous part of the world.

Within the first two weeks of our deployment our Sniper team leader received a gun shot wound to the thigh and was evacuated. Good intelligence was going to be crucial to having a tactical edge against these insurgents.

Every time our patrols would leave the wire enemy communications would spike, and Taliban insurgents would report on our location, troop numbers and patrol routes.

About two months into the deployment, I started to notice a trend, the Taliban insurgents were beginning to adapt their tactics. They were starting to use our standard operating procedures (SOPs) against us.

Up to this point, whenever we identified a Improvised Explosive Device (IED), we would remain in location until the bomb disposal team would be dispatched to our location to render the bomb safe. According to our own rules, we weren’t allowed to leave the IED in case civilians were injured by it.

Taliban insurgents identified this, and began to exploit our SOPs by emplacing fake IEDs along our patrol route. This would cause  us to stop and wait in location. They used this tactic to fix us in location.

The Taliban would take up firing positions in the villages and attack us while we were vulnerable.

It took a few instances before we identified it as a new tactic by the Taliban insurgents. Providing this information to our command, we were able to change our tactics, to adapt to the threat.

Key Lesson: Know the environment and know the enemy. 

Having a detailed understanding of the enemy allowed us to quickly identify changes in their tactics.

ied

Primary Sidebar

Best of Intelligence101

  • Simple (and Powerful) OSINT Geolocation using Google Lens
  • The ULTIMATE Guide to Writing Intelligence Reports…(Complete with Templates & Examples)
  • The ULTIMATE Guide to Structured Analytical Techniques: How to Process Information and Create Actionable Intelligence
  • Ghosts In The Machine (PSYOPS SpyGame)
  • How Do I Get An Intelligence Job? 18# FAQs for Intelligence Careers.

Get Our Newsletter

INTREP: Do You Want To Be A Better Intelligence Analyst? Want Weekly Intelligence Tips and Techniques? Join Our Mailing List Below...

100% privacy. No games, no B.S., no spam. When you sign up, we'll keep you posted with one an email per week.

Categories

  • About Intelligence 101 (3)
  • All Source Intelligence (5)
  • Become A Better Intelligence Analyst (24)
  • Bias (2)
  • Cipher & Crypto (1)
  • Counter-Intelligence (1)
  • Criminal Intelligence (1)
  • Cyber Intelligence (Hacking) (1)
  • Geolocation (1)
  • Human Intelligence (HUMINT) (2)
  • Imagery Intelligence (IMINT) (1)
  • Intelligence 101 (11)
  • Intelligence Agencies (5)
  • Intelligence Case Studies (2)
  • Intelligence Cycle (1)
  • Intelligence Dissemination (2)
  • Intelligence Operations (2)
  • Intelligence Resources (4)
  • Intelligence Training (7)
  • Interview Series (2)
  • Measurement and Signature Intelligence (MASINT) (1)
  • Military Intelligence (1)
  • Open Source Intelligence (3)
  • Political Intelligence (1)
  • Psychological Operations (PSYOPS) (2)
  • Resources (2)
    • Product and Service Reviews (1)
  • Scenarios (1)
  • Security Intelligence (1)
  • SIGINT (1)
  • Spying and Espionage (1)
  • Surveillance (1)
  • Uncategorized (10)

Intelligence Analysts Bookshelf_ Essential Reading For Intelligence Professionals
99 of the BEST Intelligence Resources
The 10 Intelligence Analyst Commandments
Intelligence101 Foundation Training Online Intelligence Course
So, Who (or What) Are Intelligence Analysts?
Intelligence Target Packs and Intelligence Profiles (Plus Templates You Can Download)
  • About
  • Privacy Policy, Terms and Conditions
  • Get Started Here
  • Intelligence Frequently Asked Questions
  • Blog Posts
  • Revealed: Spy Game Questions Answered – How’d you go?

Copyright © 2023 · Smart Passive Income Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in