JSTARS Detects IED Attacks

StrategyPage ^ | March 26, 2006 | Joachim Hofbauer

[Cannoneer No. 4]

[GnL]

I often wonder how well this war would be going if publishers didn't print our military strategies at every opportunity.

[hershey]

You have a point.

[DarthVader]

ping for later.

[Old Sarge]

With apologies to Cannoneer #4, Old Sarge will not be posting to this thread.

Sarge is currently self-administering stress relief, in the form of bashing his head on the corner of the table, due to the utterly futility of the acronym, "OPSEC".

Sarge will return to duty, once the meds kick in and the work order for the table repair is submitted.

Thank You. We now return to our FReeping already in progress.

[bill1952]

What is the MSM for, if not to subvert the American military at every opportunity?

[CBart95]

"such information could make it easier for the terrorists to deceive the JSTARS."

You tech-weenies might remember that those terrorists are really out to kill everyone. This "tech-boasting" can easily be used by those bastards.

These aren't ordinary camel jockeys off the "Arab Street".

[alfa6]

Greetings No. 4 and thanks for all the pings :-)

Regards

alfa6 ;>}

[DeuceTraveler]

It's ok. I just quit the military recently, but was an operator on the JSTARS. StrategyPage gets many of its articles 'mostly' right, but are still a bit inaccurate when it comes to tactics. Closer than the MSM, however.

[91B]

I don't think that many people who post on FR understand that we have a lot of countermeasures against IEDs (without getting into specifics). But Haji is not stupid, he adapts his tactics as he sees us have success in dealing with IEDs. Thus the development of pressure activated devices buried under dirt roads with some provocation intended to draw us in.

JSTARS is the bees knees BTW. We were on patrol one night when they were overhead and they saw something suspicious. They directed the QRF right to the spot. They weren't supposed to be scanning that area in particular and it turned out to just be some farmers out working in their fields (Iraqi farmers like to work at night because of the heat), but it impressed me that they had that kind of capability.

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

"the US Air Force has not released any information about the effectiveness of this new applied tactic over the last year. This is probably because such information could make it easier for the terrorists to deceive the JSTARS

. . . which is why we reveal it now." </sarcasm>

[USNBandit]

In the last couple weeks a lot of the counter IED strategies have been leaked by the Air Force News Service. It's driving me nuts.

[reagan_fanatic]

Why don't we just give the terrorists a direct real-time feed of our intelligence data while we're at it.

Geez louise.

[rustyncrusty]

bttt

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

JSTARS is the bees knees

As a Grumman employee I had a tangential acquaintance with the program and was proud of the reports of its effectiveness back in Gulf War I. I believe it was General Swartzkopf who said that the Army would never again willingly plan to fight without J-Stars capability.

[Cannoneer No. 4]

I don't think that many people who post on FR understand that we have a lot of countermeasures against IEDs.

You're right. That's why I posted this.

[Wombat101]

"I don't think that many people who post on FR understand that we have a lot of countermeasures against IEDs."

Best countermeasure is still a well-armed, trained infantry-man (or is it infantryperson now?), available in numbers large enough to ensure a higher level of security by their mere presance.

What? You mean we don't have enough of those in the inventory? My bad...

While I'm sure the JSTARS has some utility in this regard, I'd feel better about it if we had some more boots on the gorund.

[Cannoneer No. 4]

StrategyPage gets many of its articles 'mostly' right, but are still a bit inaccurate when it comes to tactics.

Deliberate inaccuracy, perhaps?

Maybe Mr. Dunnigan and COL Bay and Mr. Masterson know more about OPSEC than some give them credit for.

[A.A. Cunningham]

Things must be slow at "Strategy Page":

23 June 2005 INTELLIGENCE OPERATIONS: JSTARS and Tracking Terrorists in Iraq

[Cannoneer No. 4]

Thanks. I missed that one back then.