Vol. 18, No. 2, June 2016 June 2, No. 18, Vol. DÉPÊCHES LEÇONS RETENUES APPLICABLES AUX SOLDATS Le génie militaire en Afghanistan Military Engineers in Afghanistan in Engineers Military LESSONS LEARNED FOR SOLDIERS FOR LEARNED LESSONS DISPATCHES Vol. 18, nº 2, juin 2016 LESSONS LEARNED FOR SOLDIERS Military Engineers in Afghanistan Colonel Howard G. Coombs, OMM, CD, PhD THE ARMY LESSONS LEARNED CENTRE CFB Kingston (613) 541-5010 Extension XXXX CSN 271-XXXX Director—ALLC Lieutenant-Colonel R.C. Rankin | [email protected] | ext. 4909 Analysts—ALLC Major S.R. Rankin | [email protected] | ext. 5117 Analysts—ALLC Major B.P. Baker | [email protected] | ext. 4816 Analysts—ALLC Major K. MacKinnon | [email protected] | ext. 5440 Disclosure Statement Dispatches are targeted at disseminating information and increasing the knowledge of the soldiers and leaders across the Canadian Army and the Canadian Armed Forces. The discussion is a snapshot of relatively current issues or procedures in a specific operating environment. Dispatch articles may not reflect doctrine, but articulate evolving ideas based on the recent operational experiences of our deployed forces. The information contained within this Dispatch is UNCLASSIFIED but sensitive in nature and distribution should be controlled. Understanding the potential sensitivity of anyone being omitted, RCACS will not take responsibility for anyone being forgotten as each Regiment was consulted to ensure accuracy for their own members. Distribution Some of the material in this document may be considered sensitive in nature and is not for general distribution. Recipients of this document should carefully consider the necessity or requirement to distribute this document outside official Canadian Armed Forces Chains of Command or it’s designated ABCA partners. If unsure of the distribution of this material, please contact the Army Lessons Learned Centre. NDID—B-GL-050-000/FT-007 © 2016 Department of National Defence Cover Source: Combat Camera AR2010-0047-09 DIRECTOR ROYAL CANADIAN ENGINEERS Military Engineer operations in Afghanistan represented the culmination of previous decades of Cold War training and peace support operations. The changing situation and unique environment of Afghanistan provided harsh and unforgiving conditions for the conduct of engineer operations. Moreover, it allowed us to learn, as well as refine, much about how we fight and support combat. This Dispatches covers a wide breadth of engineer-related topics, but it does not cover them all. The primary area of focus was our combat engineer experiences in the Kandahar region. Despite that, the contributions of Engineers throughout the entire Canadian Military Engineer Branch are mentioned or acknowledged wherever possible. “Military Engineers in Afghanistan” represents the collaboration of many different contributors who are to be commended for giving unstintingly of their time in the research contributing to this report. After reviewing this Dispatches, one will see that significant lessons have been identified through Canada’s experience in Afghanistan. As a result of this campaign, our ability to operate in the current and future security environments has advanced considerably. It is now up to all of us to ensure that these lessons identified become lessons learned. CHIMO! J.E. Goodman Colonel Director Royal Canadian Engineers MILITARY ENGINEERS IN AFGHANISTAN | DISPATCHES 18.2 i DIRECTOR ARMY LESSONS LEARNED CENTRE The Commander of the Army and Commander CADTC recognized the need to record the main lessons identified and lessons learned from the Army’s collective experience of operations in Afghanistan before those memories disappear. As such, it was directed that a series of Dispatches be dedicated to capturing the major lessons from our Kandahar operations by Corps and Capability. The Royal Canadian Artillery Corps published the first of the series in 2011, followed by Combat Service Support and the Royal Canadian Infantry Corps in 2014 and the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps in 2015. This edition of Dispatches is the fifth in the series and is dedicated to capturing the main lessons garnered by Canada’s Military Engineers while operating in southern Afghanistan. Military Engineer operations in Afghanistan spanned the full spectrum of conflict, challenging Engineers to continuously adapt to achieve success in a variety of missions—from humanitarian assistance through stabilization to combat. The insights offered in this review capture some of that experience and are crucial to ensure that the Army “advances with purpose” by building on our operational experience. R.C. Rankin Lieutenant-Colonel Director ii DISPATCHES 18.2 | MILITARY ENGINEERS IN AFGHANISTAN TABLE OF CONTENTS Part 1 – Introduction ........................................................................................................ 1 Part 2 – The Move from Kabul to Kandahar, 2005–2006 .............................................. 5 > Command and Control Relationships ..................................................................... 7 > Initial Counter-Improvised Explosive Device Training ............................................... 8 > Information Management – Lessons Retention ....................................................... 9 Part 3 – Supporting Operations, 2006–2011 ................................................................ 11 > Organization ...........................................................................................................11 > Counter-Improvised Explosive Device Equipment ................................................. 14 > The Master Designated Ground Trace and Countering the Improvised Explosive Threat ................................................................................. 15 > Mobility and Counter-Mobility ............................................................................... 18 > Combat Damage Remediation .............................................................................. 19 > Bridging................................................................................................................. 20 > Tactical Infrastructure ............................................................................................ 21 > Construction Engineering ...................................................................................... 22 > Command and Control – Centralization versus Decentralization ........................... 23 > Specialized Engineering Advice and Capability ..................................................... 26 > Engineer Support Coordination Centre ................................................................. 27 > Command and Control – The Engineer Regiment ................................................. 29 > Military Engineering in a Counterinsurgency .......................................................... 31 Part 4 – The Move from Kandahar to Kabul, 2011 ....................................................... 35 > Mission Closeout................................................................................................... 37 Part 5 – Conclusion ........................................................................................................ 41 MILITARY ENGINEERS IN AFGHANISTAN | DISPATCHES 18.2 iii Source:iv CombatDISPATCHES Camera IS2011-2005-04 18.2 | MILITARY ENGINEERS IN AFGHANISTAN “It is a misconception to assume that warfare lessons can be learned only on the battlefield. A great deal can be learned from study and training.1” —CANADIAN ARMY MANUAL OF TRAINING: THE FIELD SQUADRON IN THE INFANTRY BRIGADE GROUP (1960) PART 1 – INTRODUCTION Canadian commitment to a brief combat mission in Kandahar during 2002 was followed by participation in a 2003–2004 stabilization2 intervention, oriented on Kabul. This initial intervention was, in turn, trailed by provincial reconstruction and gradually escalated to a deadly low-intensity conflict in southern Afghanistan in 2006, which eventually cost Canada 162 lives.3 In 2011, Canada’s role transitioned from fighting, primarily in Kandahar, to providing advice and assistance within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Training Mission – Afghanistan (NTM-A), with the preponderance of her forces once again located centrally in the region of Kabul. This advisory mission ended in 2014. Throughout these years, the engineer efforts in Afghanistan reflected the nature of the conflict—constantly evolving and involving a myriad of military and non-military agencies. Command and control, organizations, roles and employment, policies and procedures, equipment and material, as well as individual and collective training, were all affected over the course of Canada’s commitment. This narrative primarily focuses upon Canadian military engineers during the years of the most intense fighting, from 2006 to 2011.4 1. Canada, Department of National Defence, Canadian Army, Canadian Army Manual of Training: The Field Squadron in the Infantry Brigade Group (Ottawa: Army Headquarters, 1960), 1. 2. Stability activities are “tactical activities conducted by military forces in conjunction with other agencies to maintain, restore, or establish a climate of order within which responsible government can function effectively and progress can be achieved”. (Army Terminology Panel) 3. Janice Gross Stein and Eugene Lang, The Unexpected War: Canada in Kandahar (Toronto, ON: Penguin Group (Canada), 2007; reprint 2008), 244–45; and between 2002 and 2011, 158 members of the Canadian