New Army Field Manual Deals With Electronic Warfare

FORT LEAVENWORTH, Kan.-For the first time since the end of the Cold War, the Army is updating its manual for the electronic battlefield-a move aimed at protecting soldiers against roadside bombs and other nontraditional warfare used by increasingly sophisticated insurgents.The new doctrine, produced at Fort Leavenworth and set for release Thursday, provides what many Army leaders say is a much-needed recognition of an evolving enemy.Highlighting that new era is the improvised explosive device, the remote-controlled bomb that has become the premier killer in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan."The war in Iraq began to make us understand that there are a lot of targets that we should be going after in the offensive or defensive mode to protect ourselves," said Col. Laurie Buckhout, chief of the Army's electronic warfare division in Washington, D.C.The 112-page manual, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press before its release at the Association of the United States Army meeting in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., doesn't offer specifics on new equipment or gadgetry but lays out in broad terms the Army's fear that without new equipment and training, U.S. forces may be at a deadly disadvantage.The AP reported Tuesday that President Barack Obama is expected to announce the majority of U.S. forces will leave Iraq in 19 months, but those staying behind and additional forces going to Afghanistan this year will still face these threats."These new technologies are part of an electronic warfare revolution by military forces. Just as friendly forces leverage the electromagnetic spectrum, so do capable enemies...to threaten friendly force operations," the manual states."This reliance requires Army forces to dominate the electromagnetic spectrum with the same authority that they dominate traditional land warfare operations."The manual is the latest step in a larger reassessment by the Army and Defense Department of technology's role in the conflicts and concerns that U.S. forces must become more nimble in their fight against insurgents.
By AP
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