An Cosantóir

20 | track that is temporarily lost; recognition of common counter-tracking techniques; and determining the age of a track. The combat tracker works as part of the combined C-IED mechanism. ���Combat tracking is part of the holistic approach in ���attacking the network���,��� explained Pencari director Dean Williams. ���On the last course we taught personnel how to read ���sign��� to spot potential IEDs. Now they will learn how to track the insurgent by using ���sign���.��� While it might appear difficult to track someone who may have planted an IED several days before, that is not necessarily the case. Depending on the type of IED, the person who set it may have had to remain in the area to set off the device by means of a command wire or to set a timer. So, often when ���sign��� is picked up the target may not be that far away. Naturally, there is no guarantee that a tracker will catch the insurgent each time but as Dean explained, ���You are always building up a bigger intelligence profile. Each ���sign��� the tracker finds, each piece of an IED, all adds to a profile.��� A lot of common sense is used in reading ���sign���. In one simple exercise trackers were asked to analyse the ���sign��� they found. Bits of broken grass and boot-prints found in one location indicated the direction of flight. In another area the students found a piece of red wire, tea and coffee sachets, and disinfectant cream. When asked for his analysis, one of the students told Dean, ���It looks some sort of a layup area where the insurgents were making tea and coffee while constructing an IED. One of them may have cut themselves in the process, hence the cream.��� Of course it���s not always that easy. Trackers can be faced with a number of obstacles that can put them off the track, like a ���foul sign��� for example. This is where the track passes through a congested area such as a market place or a cattle crossing. ���In such cases the trackers learn to look An Cosant��ir April 2013 www.dfmagazine.ie out for key ���sign���,��� said Dean. ���This could be something as specific as the particular pitch of a boot. Armed with this, an experienced tracker faced with a congested area can often jump ahead and pick up the track on the far side.��� Tracking in a natural environment is one thing but what about an urban area? Away from areas where targets can be tracked by broken blades of grass and boot-prints on soft ground, the challenges are different but not unsurpassable for the trained tracker. Because urban areas can be full of ���foul sign��� caused by vehicles, concrete pavements, and people, trackers often rely on ���track traps���. These could be areas where windblown dust and dirt accumulate and allow for ���sign��� to be left. In built-up areas there are also a lot of people the tracker can question as to what, and who, they have seen. Dean told us, ���When students complete the urban phase their confidence goes way up and when they go back to a rural scenario they tend to fly along.��� The natural progression from ground-sign awareness and combat tracking is advanced situational awareness training (ASAT). All people, events and vehicles give off certain signals when they are measured against context, relevance and the societal baseline. ASAT identifies these signals as anomalies. ASAT, which has been successfully introduced into ISAF, is a scientifically-validated and battlefield-tested training programme that allows individuals to cognitively make sense of highly complex situations. It is an experientially-based, predictive, tactical problem-solving system that improves environmental awareness. It is hoped that in 2013 a trainthe-trainer ASAT course will be run in the Ordnance School. The Ordnance Corps has also submitted a ���food for thought��� proposal on the future of C-IED up to 2018 to the EDA.

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