Urban Warrior
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Operation Urban Warrior is a United States Marine Corps (USMC) program and exercise meant to test Military Operations on Urbanized Terrain (MOUT), and Urban warfare in general. It was developed in the late 1990s by the U.S. Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory partly in response to growing problem on inner-city fighting, and was especially made urgent following the incident in the October 3, 1993 Battle of Mogadishu.
Recent events in Fallujah Iraq, seem to indicate that these ongoing urban warfare training programs have had a net positive result in the way US Marines operate on the military level, although the social, political, and environmental angles seem to be largely ignored.
[edit] General information
The program is possibly the most important in the United States military; while the U.S. is believed to have one of the best conventional military forces in the world, the majority of its most powerful weapons systems are meant to fight on open territory much like the open deserts of the Gulf War or in forest regions. Cities pose a problem, as most cities are too small to allow large weapons systems like the M1A1 Abrams tank to maneuver in. Secondly, the presence of civilians makes it difficult both logistically and morally to simply bomb a city to defeat enemy troops.
Thirdly, the growing force of unconventional forces such as militia, guerilla fighters, or insurgent forces living within a civilian populace makes it highly necessary to physically enter cities and go from house-to-house to fight. Along with these is the realization that the standard infantryman has not become obsolete in the face of modern weapons and technology, but has in fact become even more important in recent years. (See Land Warrior)
Part of Urban Warrior's purpose is to conduct and refine disaster relief and humanitarian assistance operations for use in the United States and abroad. The Urban Warrior has one primary purpose: to fight enemies in urban environments. In order to do this they often must gain the support and trust of the local population by engaging in humanitarian efforts.
Some lessons learned from Urban Warrior were applied in the 2003 invasion of Iraq as well as the occupation. The fighting in the cities of Najaf and Fallujah have clearly shown that militia often have the advantage of home territory and local support. Religion, ideology, and culture may also play in the favor of the enemy; non-combatants may prefer to side with them on basis of nationalism, tribal connections, or simply a general dislike or even outright hatred of a foreign invading force. This fact was clear in Mogadishu, when civilians chose to support the Habr Gidr militia as opposed to the United Nations and U.S. forces.
An experimental urban-camouflage battle dress uniform (BDU) was developed and used during the 1999 Urban Warrior MOUT exercises. The pattern, sometimes called T-pattern or T-block, consists of three gray tones in geometrical patterns, the idea behind which was as a 'pattern breaker' to make Marine troops harder to hit. Like all modern U.S. BDUs, it is made of a lightweight rip-stop material. The pattern was never officially adopted, and have since been replaced with the new MARPAT camouflage uniforms.
While Urban Warrior is a solid effort in recognizing new and socially volatile areas that the military may be forced to fight in, there still is a need for it to be further developed. Not only by the USMC, but the United States Military as a whole to look into the socio-cultural and ethical impact of urban warfare.
[edit] Quotations
- "Our enemies, having watched Desert Storm on CNN, know they cannot engage the United States with conventional methods. These potential foes view cities as a way to limit the technological advantages of our military. They know that cities, with their narrow streets, confusing layout and large number of civilian non-combatants, place limits on our technological superiority and especially our use of firepower. We have to develop technologies that allow us to win while minimizing collateral damage."
- - Col. Mark Thiffault, Director, Joint Information Bureau, Urban Warrior
