Urban Warrior
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Operation Urban Warrior is a United States Marine Corps (USMC) program and exercise meant to test Military Operations on Urbanized Terrain (MOUT), and Urban warfare in general. It was developed in the late 1990s by the U.S. Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory partly in response to growing problem on inner-city fighting, and was especially made urgent following the incident in the October 3, 1993 Battle of Mogadishu.
Recent events in Fallujah Iraq, seem to indicate that these ongoing urban warfare training programs have had a net positive result in the way US Marines operate on the military level, although the social, political, and environmental angles seem to be largely ignored.
[edit] General information
The program may be one of the most important in the United States military. This is because, even though the U.S. is believed to have one of the best conventional military forces in the world, many of the more powerful weapons systems at its disposal are intended to be used for fighting in open places. This was the case in some forested regions of Europe, and in open deserts encountered during the Gulf Wars. Lines of approach through cities tend to be long and narrow, with sharp turns. This kind of environment is one where heavy fighting vehicles like the M1 Abrams can neither manuver well, nor avoid being seen from a long distance by potential hostiles, nor be certain that all ground surfaces will support vehicle weight. The inhabitants may have any of a huge number of possible reactions, with a strong potential for factionalization, disorder, and volatility. Those who are friendly may be desperate for assistance, increasing the risk of stampedes and other problems. Those who are hostile are likely to be on their home ground, likely to have superior familiarity with the terrain, and likely to feel that there is little to lose. Furthermore, those who use unconventional warfare will tend to have great success in camoflaguing themselves among the other inhabitants.To use options like airstrikes, artillery, and mortars against cities will frequently have too high a cost in missed targets and collateral damage. History records many military operations involving cities, of which a large number degenerated into torturous situations. Stalingrad and Saigon are two modern examples, but the extreme risk involved in attacking cities was well known even to ancient strategists, including Sun Tzu. (See The Art of War)
As more and more of the world's population becomes concentrated in cities, current and future fighting will be more and more likely to take place within them. This means that there will be an increase in the demand for infantrymen, on account of the fact that infantrymen are uniquely able to enter built-up areas, clear them, defend them, and even search them. This is one reason why United States military leaders are making plans based on the reasonable assumption that the infantryman's role in combat operations will increase rather than decrease in the coming years. (See Land Warrior)
Part of Urban Warrior's purpose is to conduct and refine disaster relief and humanitarian assistance operations for use in the United States and abroad. The Urban Warrior is seen as having one primary purpose, which is to fight enemies in urban environments. Doing so often involves trying to gain the support and trust of the local population by engaging in humanitarian efforts.
Some lessons learned from Urban Warrior were applied in the 2003 invasion of Iraq as well as to the occupation. Fighting in Najaf and Fallujah has once again made it clear that local irregular forces tend to have the advantage of home territory and plentiful local support. Religion, ideology, and culture may also play in the enemy's favor. Non-combatants may prefer to side with them because of nationalism, ethnic connections, or general dislike, even hatred, of a foreign invading force. For example, this tendency became clear in Mogadishu, Somalia, when civilians chose to support the Habr Gidr militia as opposed to United Nations and U.S. forces.
An experimental urban-camouflage battle dress uniform (BDU) was developed and used during the Urban Warrior MOUT exercises of 1999. The pattern, sometimes called T-pattern or T-block, consists of three gray tones arranged in a geometric pattern, intended as a 'pattern breaker'to make Marine troops harder to hit when in such environments. Like all modern U.S. BDUs, it is made of a lightweight rip-stop material. The pattern was never officially adopted, and it has since been replaced by the new MARPAT camouflage pattern.
While Urban Warrior is a solid effort in recognizing cities as newer, more complex, socially volatile places where the military may be forced to fight, there is still a need for many further developments, including studies of the associated challenges. It seems clear that not only the USMC, but the United States military as a whole, must do more to examine the doctrinal, sociocultural, and ethical impact of urban warfare.
[edit] Quotations
- "Our enemies, having watched Desert Storm on CNN, know they cannot engage the United States with conventional methods. These potential foes view cities as a way to limit the technological advantages of our military. They know that cities, with their narrow streets, confusing layout and large number of civilian non-combatants, place limits on our technological superiority and especially our use of firepower. We have to develop technologies that allow us to win while minimizing collateral damage."
- - Col. Mark Thiffault, Director, Joint Information Bureau, Urban Warrior
