Intelligence drives combat operations and their outcomes.
Gathering and then understanding knowledge about the enemy - his capabilities and limitations - plays a major role in determining the outcome of an operation.
"Intelligence drives our requirements, how we execute a mission that provides intelligence to higher command," commented Capt. Jason Harrington in the pre-dawn darkness last Thursday morning at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.
Over the past week, the 201st Battlefield Surveillance Brigade has put that thought to the test as it has engaged in Operation Gryphon Longsword.
"This is the largest exercise of its kind to date," commented Col. Daniel Soller, the 201st's commander.
The exercise ends at the end of this week.
>>> Landing at LZ Owl, 4th Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment begin their assault on a nuclear reactor building at the SATSOP site during Operation Gryphon Longsword. Photo credit: J.M. Simpson
>>> 4-23 Inf. Reg. soldiers advance toward an objective at the abandoned SATSOP nuclear power plant during the 201st Battlefield Surveillance Brigade's training exercise dubbed Operation Gryphon Longsword. Photo credit: J.M. Simpson
Last February, the 201st designed Operation Gryphon Tomahawk in order to certify the 109th and 502nd Military Intelligence battalions. At the time, Tomahawk was the largest exercise of its kind ever conducted at JBLM.
"We've surpassed that," Soller commented. "We've gone to the next level."
>>> Sgt. 1st Class Adam Jaffe, 112th Chemical Reaction Detachment, 1st Special Forces Group, confers with 1st Lt. David Taylor, 1st Platoon, A Company, 3rd Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, as they move toward a nuclear reactor building. Photo credit: J.M. Simpson
>>> After soldiers assigned to the 112th Chemical Reaction Detachment checked to see there we no toxic agents in a nuclear reactor building, 4-23 Inf. Reg. soldiers entered the building. Photo credit: J.M. Simpson
Operation Gryphon Longsword's training extended from JBLM to the Yakima Training Center to the abandoned SATSOP nuclear power plant outside of Elma, Washington.
Designed to test the brigade's capacity to conduct multi-disciplined intelligence collection, surveillance and reconnaissance operations in support of a higher command's combat objectives; the exercise is a choreographed combination of "seizure" and "exploitation."
"We work in a highly collaborative environment," continued Harrington, commander, Charlie Company, 502nd Military Intelligence Battalion. "The infantry will seize the objective; we will exploit it for intelligence."
Lt. Col. Justin Haynes commands the 502nd.
Our objective last Thursday morning - code named Gallipoli - was the abandoned nuclear reactor building at the SATSOP power plant.
Initial reports provided by a long-range surveillance, or LRS, team assigned to 3rd Squadron, 38th Cavalry Regiment, indicated that a chemical weapons plant was located on the site.
"Our assault on the reactor building will be controlled and deliberate," said Capt. Walt Gouldin, commander, Alpha Company, 3rd Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, as he pulled on a Mission Oriented Protective Posture (MOPP) suit used to protect personnel in a toxic environment.
Lt. Col. Jeff Bryson commands 3rd Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment.
Joining Gouldin's soldiers were soldiers from the 112th Chemical Reaction Detachment (CRD), 1st Special Forces Group.
Using a Joint Chemical Agent Detector (JCAD), three to four soldiers from the 112th were assigned to each of the three platoons Gouldin would lead in seizing the reactor.
A two pound plastic box loaded like Santa's sleigh with the ability to analyze a range of chemical, biological and toxic threats, the JCAD would allow the special forces soldiers to test for toxic agents before Gouldin's infantry entered the building.
"This training is good for us," continued Gouldin. "In seizing this particular objective it furthers how we understand and operate in type of operations we may engage in."
Once the two Chinooks had cleared LZ (landing zone) Owl at the very windy SATSOP site, Gouldin's soldiers began the slow, hard and very wet work of moving toward the objective.
"The infantry loves the rain," one senior enlisted soldier cheerfully said to me as it fell in sheets.
"It loves it just a little too much," I replied not so cheerily.
Joking aside, the advance was deliberate but sustained.
"You guys move over to the right; take the CRD with you and see if we can enter there," ordered 1st Lt. David Taylor, as he and the rest of 1st Platoon paused about 50 yards from a doorway at the base of the reactor building.
Sgt. 1st Class Adam Jaffe moved forward; the other three members of his CRD provided cover as he used the JCAD to check for toxic agents.
"Clear!" he yelled.
An instant later the door was opened and Taylor's 20-plus soldiers poured into the dark, cold but dry environment of the reactor building.
That's when unshirted hell broke loose.
Waiting for us in the labyrinth of darkened concrete corridors was a determined number of opposing force (OPFOR) soldiers determined to keep Taylor's soldiers from finding the chemical weapons or capturing them.
A significant force, they made their intentions clear with the amount of gunfire directed toward Taylor's soldiers.
Not surprisingly, the infantry responded in kind.
Gunfire and the sound of brass rattling around on the cement floor filled the air as the soldiers worked their way through the hallway to a stairway that led two stories down into a labyrinth of hallways and rooms.
>>> Two soldiers engage an enemy combatant during a clearing operation deep inside a nuclear reactor building. Photo credit: J.M. Simpson
>>> The deserted nuclear reactor building - a maze of hallways and room - proved challenging the infantry assigned to 4th Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment sought to seize the building and capture materials and enemy soldiers. Photo credit: J.M. Simpson
Progress was made, but the OPFOR made sure it was slow, hard work. Communications between Taylor's soldiers proved especially difficult; mistakes were made.
Bryson, who noted everything, stopped the exercise at one point to quietly but firmly impart several words of wisdom.
With a clear understanding of what was expected of them, Taylor's soldiers resumed the training.
As the infantry moved through the objective, they killed and captured a number of the OPFOR's soldiers, as well as took into possession any materials - computers, cell phones, et cetera - the OPFOR used.
The captured individuals and their equipment were then turned over to Harrington's soldiers for exploitation.
In other words, Harrington's soldiers wanted to know what the detainees know.
While not able to observe the actual exploitation of an individual or the items taken from them, Harrington had explained to me the two major avenues by which intelligence would be gathered.
On the one hand, the 502nd's Multi-Functional Team (MFT) would analyze all documents, cell phones and computers for any intelligence they may contain.
"We begin to winnow out what is important and what is not," Harrington said.
Supplementing the MFT's work, on the other hand, is the much more nuanced work of the Human Collection Team (HCT).
Sometimes referred to as the collection of human intelligence, or HUMINT, the HCT gathers intelligence through interpersonal contact with individuals of interest.
It is painstaking work that requires patience, persistence and the ability to sort through the intelligence provided by a number of different individuals.
"The goal is to exploit the site and the detainees for intelligence in order to further our combat objectives," Harrington added.
In other words, intelligence determines the victor.
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