This issue of Red Diamond begins with a spotlight on the pending summer 2013 publication of Army Training Circular 7-100.3, Irregular Opposing Forces. This TC focuses on irregular Threats of insurgents, guerrillas, criminal organizations, and terrorists as well as active and passive supporters in complex and uncertain conditions of a dynamic operational environment. The variables of an OE evolve with the interaction among diverse combatant and noncombatant state and non-state actors.
The TRISA Wargaming, Experimentation, Test, and Evaluation Directorate (WETED) provides insights on anti-access operations in its participation as a Red Team with robust and adaptive Threat capabilities in wargames, experiments, tests, and other related Army and joint evaluation requirements.
The tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTP) used by Threats can incorporate fire as a weapon in adaptive ways. Whether a simple diesel-fuel initiated fire or a fuel-air explosive or thermobaric weapon warhead, awareness and understanding of tactical options is one of several ongoing research projects at TRISA-CTID.
A TRISA Threat Report, Series of IED Attacks in Pattani, Thailand, assesses a 20-hour period in early 2013 when insurgents attempted multiple, nearly-simultaneous improvised explosive device (IED) bombings against a governing authority and population. Less than half of the IEDs exploded due to the insurgents’ poor bomb making skills, the vigilance of several civilians, and the skill of government explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) teams to deactivate the IEDs before they detonated.
TRISA-CTID published Student Text (ST) 7-100, The OPFOR Battle Book for the Operational Environment (OE) v1.0. (2013). ST 7-100 provides a student with an overview of the the Decisive Action Training Environment (DATE); operational and tactical level Hybrid Threat (HT) doctrine; types of HT organizations, and characteristics of key weapons and equipment found in those regular and/or irregular forces.