airborne operations and other tactics , techniques , and procedures , improving safety and capability .
Currently , three pathfinder companies are assigned to combat aviation brigades in the XVIII Airborne Corps . They are typically tasked with downed aircraft recovery team or protective security detachment missions . Because pathfinder and LRS units are similar , the U . S . Army Infantry School merged the mission-essential tasks during previous efforts to form combined LRS and pathfinder units . While pathfinder elements are not capable of operational surveillance missions because they lack sophisticated communication and training , pathfinder platoons do have an extensive reconnaissance capability . Employed as a platoon-sized force , they are well suited to dismounted reconnaissance missions , rapidly securing downed aircraft sites , assisting in the recovery of LRS teams , and providing security in austere environments as part of stability operations . These capabilities would be better employed by consolidating the companies and aligning a pathfinder platoon each to I Corps , III Corps , and XVIII Corps through habitual relationships .
An OSRB is a no-growth proposal to realize fully the information collection contribution LRS and pathfinder elements can provide . By combining these separate companies , shifting redundant resources within these formations to better support this mission , and re-aligning the companies to better train on specialized skills , the Army will gain a more capable conventional force dedicated to supporting operational-level leaders . These elements have progressed far beyond the days of voice and still-picture reports , and can leverage technology and techniques to increase situational awareness and understanding . Mobility improvements have greatly reduced risk and increased responsiveness both during and after insertion . Lightweight global communication and full-motion video increase the reliability and quality of product delivered . Unity of effort across the Army is needed to realize more than temporary and personality-dependent application of these improvements . The Army ’ s decision to disband these companies and save six hundred positions in exchange for the only dedicated surveillance formation is not a good trade . An OSRB would use Army systems and lessons learned to ensure that LRS and pathfinder companies provide the capability that joint and corps commanders require .
1 . Joint Publication 1-02 , Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms ( Washington , DC : U . S . Government Publishing Office , 8 November 2010 , as amended through 15 February 2016 ), 222 , accessed 8 September 2016 , http :// www . dtic . mil / doctrine / new _ pubs / jp1 _ 02 . pdf . 2 . Name withheld , discussion with the author , 9 October 2012 . 3 . Lawrence Freedman , The Official History of the Falklands Campaign , vol . 2 : War and Diplomacy ( New York : Taylor & Francis , 2005 ), 735 .
4 . Charles Lane Toomey , XVIII Airborne Corps in Desert Storm : From Planning to Victory ( Ashland , OR : Hellgate Press , 2004 ), 299 .
5 . Marcus Luttrell with Patrick Robinson , Lone Survivor : The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10 ( New York : Little , Brown , 2007 ), 247 ; Ed Darack , Victory Point ( New York : The Berkley Group , 2009 ), 161 .
6 . Missy Ryan , “ Air Force Struggles to Keep Pace with Explosion in the Use of Combat Drones ,” Washington Post , 17 June 2015 , accessed 17 August 2016 , https :// www . washingtonpost . com / world / national-security / air-force-struggles-to-keep-pace-with-explosionin-the-use-of-combat-drones / 2015 / 06 / 17 / 5c16213c-14a3-11e5- 9518-f9e0a8959f32 _ story . html ; Thomas Doherty , “ Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance is Greater Than Aerial Surveillance ,” Small Wars Journal website , 18 February 2014 , accessed 17 August 2016 , http :// smallwarsjournal . com / jrnl / art / intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance-is-greater-than-aerial-surveillance .
Notes
7 . Isaac J . Rademacher , “ Advancing the Capability of Long- Range Surveillance Units ” ( thesis , Naval War College , 2012 ), 14 ; see also David P . Anders , “ Long-Range Surveillance Unit Application in Joint Vision 2010 ” ( thesis , U . S . Army Command and General Staff College [ USA CGSC ], 1999 ); Lewis C . Cochran , “ Human Intelligence : Long-Range Surveillance for FORCE XXI ” ( thesis , USA CGSC , 1996 ); Valery C . Keaveny , “ Ensuring the Continued Relevance of Long Range Surveillance Units ” ( thesis , USA CGSC , 1989 ); Michael M . Larsen , “ Organizational Structure for Deep Ground Reconnaissance for Future Divisions and Corps ” ( thesis , USA CGSC , 2006 ); Mark R . Meadows , “ Long-Range Surveillance Force Structure in FORCE XXII ” ( thesis , USA CGSC , 2000 ).
8 . Luttrell , Lone Survivor , 247 . Luttrell documents how his four-man SEAL team relied on standard operating procedures better suited to direct action missions ( such as cutting the fastrope on insertion ), minimal communication equipment , and a single co-located team . Ed Darack , ” Operation Red Wings : What Really Happened ?” The Marine Corps Gazette ( January 2011 ): 62 , accessed 14 November 2016 , https :// www . mca-marines . org / gazette / 2011 / 01 / operation-red-wings ( subscription required ). Darack describes the unused plan of the Marine reconnaissance platoon , which included a larger element and more robust communications .
9 . Force Management System website , accessed 16 November 2016 , https :// fmsweb . army . mil / ( CAC required ).
72 January-February 2017
MILITARY REVIEW