Target Detection is NOT What You Think
Today’s battlefield is constantly changing and requires a unique ability to deal with the civilian populace, decentralized command and control, and the authority and consequences of individual actions—all while fighting an adaptive enemy.
-Codiac Handbook
For the novice sniper, target detection is nothing more than a graded event while attending the US Army Sniper Course. What is often overlooked is how target detection initiates the DIDEA process. Target detection is built upon the detection and identification portions of DIDEA. The sniper can make accurate decisions and understand pre-event indicators, which allow the sniper to stay "left-of-bang." Target detection is nothing more than possessing the ability to identify indicators that help explain the overall situation. An irregular shape or a significant contrast to the background might indicate an object or an area of interest. Much like how people interact around a specific individual or how a potential suicide bomber might have a bulge showing through a jacket, all of which are indicators that lead to a bigger picture. Training your eye to establish a baseline and identify anomalies is how snipers identify a threat or who a threat may be.
How It Works
We must understand how the process works to get the most out of target detection. Observing an area while searching for concealed objects is a method to teach the basic concept of searching and scanning. Target detection is a mindset shift toward learning to pay attention to detail. Once the search area is identified, a baseline must be established. The baseline is everything "normal" in that particular setting—vegetation, buildings, trash, people, animals, etc. The way people interact with one another will also establish a baseline. Establishing the baseline will always come first. The next step is to discover a disturbance in this established baseline.
This disturbance is called an anomaly and occurs when something is added or removed from the baseline. A single anomaly does not mean something is wrong, but the observer should elevate awareness. The anomaly is something that needs to be taken into consideration or analyzed to make an effective decision. Context and relevance take part in the decision to be made. Context is the background information, and relevance is whether the event is significant. For example, rationalize a sudden lack of children. Is something wrong, or is an event occurring? Understanding the culture of your environment will help guide your rationale.
As mentioned, a singular anomaly does not mean something is necessarily wrong. It just needs to be investigated to see if other anomalies are present. Typically, more than one anomaly will be present, and it is up to the observer to decide. Of course, if a significant singular anomaly is observed, then a decision must be made. However, these "clusters" of anomalies will feed the sniper information that will be used to make an informed decision. Another way to visualize this process is by relating it to Boyd's decision cycle, the OODA Loop.
Find Your Process
To be successful with target detection, we need to understand that it requires a systematic approach to search and scan. Take skim reading, for example. Like most parts of the world, we read from the top left corner to the bottom right in a "Z" pattern. We default to searching and scanning in this manner, and this causes us to skip over things. As we gloss over the sentences, taking in enough words to give us the main point, we aim to know enough information promptly. When in a life-or-death situation, skim-reading the battlefield is not sufficient. The first step in the systematic approach is-
Stop, Look, Listen, Smell (SLLS)
Stop: Slow down and make a deliberate attempt to absorb information
Look: Reverse the previous method and search from bottom-up and right to left.
Listen: Use auditory cues, or lack thereof- to concentrate your efforts in a particular direction.
Smell: Use the olfactory cues to discern any threats or anomalies in the immediate area.
Gather information by using all five senses, not just sight or sound. This approach creates a deliberate, allowing our eyes to absorb more information, and the brain can hold onto more details. Once we understand the direction to search, the sniper can apply it to a hasty or detailed search. Once into position, a hasty search needs to take place. A hasty search will help establish a baseline while taking note of anything significant or that stands out—notable concealed areas, roadways, or locations that the sniper would occupy. Negative space should be taken into account as well. The hasty search begins closest to the sniper's position and works outward. The detailed search occurs on all notable items or things in the observation area. Vehicles, buildings, terrain, and woods are systematically searched using the bottom-up right-to-left approach.
Advanced Situational Awareness
...We require the capabilities to identify, locate, track, and engage individual enemies and their networks. Doing so will require greater capabilities across a range of areas, particularly intelligence, surveillance, and communications.
—National Defense Strategy (NDS) 2005
Noticing the target indicators of enemy equipment compares directly to see subtle differences in human behaviors. If you can understand how an RPG-7 breaks the ebb and flow of the woods while partially concealed, you can discern that a person is actively being avoided or a specific location where people gather. The sniper community has coined the observance of people and their surroundings as "patterns of life." Through these observations, snipers can identify who overt leadership is, repeatedly visited locations, or areas of avoidance. One of the many methods to help identify group leaders is the MADE acronym.
Mimicry
Adoration
Direction
Entourage
Possessing the ability to notice subtle differences is one of the many facets that make sniper an invaluable asset. In addition to understanding patterns of life, snipers are aware of heuristics which give a deeper understanding of how people interact. A heuristic refers to an experiential process that allows a person to create a mental shortcut, or file folder, to enhance problem-solving skills and decision-making. This is also known as a "gut feeling." There are five domains of awareness: atmospherics, geographics, proxemics, autonomics, and kinesics. When observed, these domains can draw a reasonable explanation for their occurrence. We achieve advanced situational awareness when the five and heuristic domains are used in conjunction. This set of skills is not commonly practiced, trained, or taught to the average infantry soldier, which makes snipers more valuable.
In Closing
Snipers still search for military-related items in the woods because many don't know the next step. Again, searching the woods or side of a building is a great teaching tool to understand the process. Logical evolution is understanding how to use enhanced observation to constantly flow information on an ever-changing battlefield. Making sense of the environment and understanding indicators will keep coalition forces alive and help the ground force commander(GFC) make informed decisions. The evolution of target detection allows the sniper to become the apex hunter on the battlefield and remain a combat multiplier.
Definitions:
Atmospherics: One of the six domains of combat profiling, atmospherics are concerned with the interpretation of the environmental mood of an area, including the look, sound, taste, smell, and feel of a location.
Biometrics (autonomics): One of the six domains of combat profiling, biometrics is concerned with interpreting physiological reactions, which are autonomic instinctive unlearned reactions to a stimulus.
Context and Relevance: The background, setting, or situation surrounding an event and the meaning or importance of something in relation to the context.
Geographics: One of the six domains of combat profiling, geographics is the study of the physical geography, weather, and human terrain of an area, as well as the interpretation of the relationship between people and their physical surroundings.
Heuristics: One of the six domains of combat profiling, heuristics are rapid methods of mentally imprinting, and labeling observed behaviors. They are “tactical shortcuts” for the brain.
Kinesics: One of the six domains of combat profiling, kinesics involves interpreting body movements, facial expressions, and other nonverbal cues.
Left-of-Bang: Thoughts or actions that occur left-of-bang happen before a critical event. Left-of-bang actions are proactive, occurring before the enemy can carry out his/her violent act.
Mental File-Folder: A set of knowledge and experience about something stored in memory. An organized cluster of preconceived ideas, associated behaviors, and contextual information. Formally called a schema.
Negative Space: The space between the positive spaces; this is the area of shadow and background activity that an untrained observer often overlooks.
Proxemics: One of the six domains of combat profiling, proxemics involves interpreting spatial relationships to determine the dynamics of human interactions. Proxemics is the act of betraying affiliations through the dynamics of proximity.
