Land Forces Academy Review Vol. XXV, No 2(98), 2020

CHALLENGES FACED BY THE REGARDING TRAINING FOR THE OPERATIONS IN THE URBAN ENVIRONMENT

Daniel SOLESCU “Nicolae Bălcescu” Land Forces Academy, , [email protected]

ABSTRACT The topic addressed in this article is a current one and modern discuss it a lot and many analyses and comments can be made. In the article, the author presents the general framework of operations in the urban environment and starting from the operational requirements mandatory to conduct such operations he analyzes the prospects that such operations have in future military operations and proposes directions for action necessary for the effective training of the subunits within the Romanian Land Forces.

KEYWORDS: urban operations, doctrine, training

1. Introduction We believe that these forces must Today we live in a global adapt quickly by acquiring new military environment increasingly full of technologies, throughthe increasingly technological inventions and innovations, complex training of fighters and by training of fast social and demographic change, and future military leaders who can act on where international security is being future non-linear battlefields, without challenged by an increasingly belligerent having reliable radio links between subunits Russia and the display of China’s economic or with higher echelons, but able to make and military power. correct decisions under uncertain and risky Terrestrial military actions are on the situations. verge of fundamental change. The nature of First, our study proposes our own these actions – how and where to fight and vision of the concept of operations in the with what weapons and tactics – will urban environment from the general undergo fundamental, profound and perspective of the operations of the Land significant changes. In order to meet future Forces. The conceptual delimitation of military challenges, NATO forces must be these specific operations, the analysis of the prepared to engage in cyber , operate way of action of forces in an extreme without satellite-based communications and hostile environment such as cities or navigation, but above all, be able to fight in localities, becomes relevant topics of a complex urban setting. knowledge for future military operations.

DOI: 10.2478/raft-2020-0014 © 2017. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 License.

115 The study aims to demonstrate that, in fighting. operations in complex and a future conflict, in which there is a wide densely populated urban lands are the range of military missions, it is necessary to hardest and bloodiest form of combat and study the military actions that can be will become the norm, not the exception, in carried out in the urban environment and the future. present the directions of action regarding The Land Forces need new training and equipping the subunits capabilities so that they can work in urban within Land Forces to successfully manage operations. Improvements in intelligence these types of operations. and systems are important for identifying targets in a dense and 2. Conceptual Delimitations confusing urban environment, and combat From ancient times the military forces will need to be able to operate strategist Sun Tzu warned that “the worst independently for long periods of time and policy is to attack cities. Attack cities only will need long-range precision weapons. when there is no alternative” (Tzu, 1982, They will also have to strengthen their p. 67). However, alongside Sun Tzu’s electronic systems to defend themselves maxim, there is another, equally revered in against cyber and electronic warfare attacks military circles, adapted from Carl Von or, worse, be prepared to take action Clausewitz, who argues that at the strategic without them. level, the following can be considered as It is possible that logistic supply lines possible centers of gravity: “an economic be largely made up of autonomous systems, resource or a key locality; a strategic such as robots and remotely controlled transport capacity; vital parts of the convoys, to reduce the risk of loss among national territory.” (Tofan, Mateescu & fighters, and “the ability of units to produce Brumă, 2003, p. 21). or purify their own water and to make their In the current , military forces own spare parts with 3D printing can prefer not to fight in the cities for good become a necessity” (Milley, 2017). reasons. With endless enemy locations, Future wars in the urban environment vertical and underground closed areas and will no longer include the comfort and spaces, with a massive number of civilians, stability that exists today in well-equipped most of them children or seniors who may military bases located in areas where be injured or killed, with stressful situations stability and support military actions are of operational requirements, it is no wonder taking place, and the lives of soldiers will that urban battles in the past have been almost certainly be extremely austere. described as a battle in hell. Soldiers will also need to be more In the future, it will be difficult for independent and imaginative, capable of military formations to hide on battlefields intuiting the reality of the battlefield and flooded with sensors, which means that even being independent in the circumstances survival might depend on having smaller when they do not have direct connection and more mobile forces, and military and support from the upper echelon in order actions will move into dense urban areas to successfully carry out their missions. with multiple robotic weapons and a large civilian population in the midst of fighting, 3. Courses of Action a situation that makes the enemy extremely Since 2007, the motto of the training elusive and combines conventional warfare center, within the Land Forces, is with actions of terrorism and guerrilla. “Train yourself today, as you fight This requires significant changes in tomorrow!” (Ciolponea, 2017, p. 92), current methods of thinking, training and meant to ensure that they will develop and

116 execute a tough and realistic training. As Land Forces specialists should long as we prepare as we fight, no soldier consider the major implications from a should face a situation or environment in tactical point of view, the advantages and battle for the first time. disadvantages of conducting the whole Unfortunately, this principle is range of urban military operations (especially occasionally ignored. Despite the history offensive and defensive) and why not, even and global trends of urbanization, the Land the fighting of resistance in towns. Forces are not adequately trained for It is necessary to set up a committee operations in urban areas. An approach of experts, officers and non-commissioned aimed at solving our lack of expertise officers to collect and compile all available should include three areas of effort: information on the history of urban a) Defining and developing the operations and to be responsible for the concept of urban operations in an official creation and further development of this doctrine; specific doctrine taking into account that b) Designing and building a training urban warfare is not new. center of a level specifically dedicated to training fighters and subunits b) Designing and building a training in the skills they need to combat and win a center of a battalion level fight in the urban environment; The biggest disruptive factor limiting c) Developing a specialized Kit the development of skills in the field of designed for military actions in urban areas. urban warfare is the lack of special Doing this together with several types polygons for the realistic training of combat of forces involved, has the advantages of skills and the acquisition of specific TTPs. using more resources and experience. Most of the training exercises for operations in the urban environment that a) Defining and developing the the subunits of the Land Forces perform concept of urban operations in an official focus especially on assaulting a small doctrine building and clearing the rooms in teams of Recently, the US military replaced the 2, 3 or 4 soldiers. The training is often term “urban military operations” with performed by improvising a room with “urban operations,” explaining that this panels to represent the walls or even worse, new term, unlike the old one, assumes that with a simple white-red band. urbanized land is populated and that We believe that it is time for this to population must be a major concern. change, and after defining and elaborating The concept of urban operations represents the doctrine of urban warfare, an Urban not only the need to eliminate enemy Operations Training Center must be set up forces, but also the presence and inevitable to prepare soldiers to fight and survive in interaction with civilians in the urban this specific environment and at the same environment. time to offer courses built around the In the particularly complex conditions elaborated doctrine. This would allow of the urban environment we need a new financial resources to be invested in one way of approaching the fight, but the Land place, rather than wasted on inadequate Forces has no doctrine developed for this facilities, within each unit. type of military actions, namely the fight in Training within this center should not the urban environment and no comprehensive be limited to the formation of individual set of TTPs (tactics, techniques and skills; it should also be able to train entire procedures). subunits. Together, individual and subunit

117 training will achieve cohesion and increase challenge the soldiers to use the urban the subunit’s fighting power. facilities in attack and defense. This training center should simulate In order to build this center, we can all the attributes of urban expansion, an take as an example the experience of Israel urban center, buildings with multiple floors, and Germany. Thus, the Urban Warfare roads, alleys, parking areas, underground Training Center of the Israeli Defense channels and municipal offices. The site Forces, located on the Tze'elim Army base, should also support the integration of tanks built in 2005 with the assistance of the and of other means of fire, protected by United States at a cost of 45 million dollars, mobile means with infantry forces, which provides an example of what is possible and proved to be a necessity in urban warfare. offers an impressive demonstration of There are voices who argue that virtual seriousness and commitment to training for simulations can help compensate for the urban warfare. Nicknamed “Baladia” lack of resources needed to prepare soldiers (Arabic for “city”), it is a 7.4-square-mile and subunits for combat in urban areas. training center used to train soldiers in However, even if simulation technology urban warfare techniques and consists of a improves rapidly and steadily, it will never Middle Eastern-style imitation with several be a complete substitute for realistic historic buildings. It has been used to train training. Virtual training is a first step in the various military organizations, including process of training skills with low costs, but the US military and UN security forces. soldiers will still need to use war The project was developed in response to ammunition, know how to efficiently use the need for greater training in the urban the field in which they operate and endure war among the IDF, following the conflict hardships during real training in order to during the Second Intifada (Opall-Rome, train thoroughly for combat actions. Only a 2007). training center with realistic environmental The has started the characteristics can best train soldiers and construction of one of the largest and most subunits to successfully meet the challenges modern urban training centers in the world posed by urban areas. scheduled for completion at the end of The training component of the 2020, and the value of the investment is Training Center should be able to support estimated at 100 million euros. Named units up to battalion level, the basic SCHNÖGGERSBURG, it will include an maneuvering unit of the army. Facilities, industrial area, an old and a new town, observers / controllers and civilians should slums, tall buildings, an airport, a railway be allocated to support complex exercises. and metro station, as well as an artificial The educational component would be river and bridges. In total, 16 km of roads a set of progressive and sequential courses, are being built, from pedestrian alleys to where soldiers would begin with the four-lane urban highways, and urban training of individual and collective skills markets of various sizes, where even a large to shoot, move and communicate in the number of people can gather, are scattered urban environment. Then, in some STXs, throughout the city. As there is no natural they will be introduced to an environment water on the land, a riverbed has been set full of “civilians.” They would learn to live, up for an artificial river called EISER, survive and carry out offensive and which is 22 m wide. Five mobile bridges defensive operations within small subunits. cross the EISER River, with a removable The culmination of the training will be the middle section to carry out demolition execution of 2 LFXs with the group to missions. Underground tunnels connect

118 three underground subway stations; and the 1) Sapper tools (axes, hammers, sewerage system, which has a length of wood and metal saws, shovels, spades, 650 m, reproduces the three-dimensional pickaxes, nails and screws of different character of the urban space. The ground sizes, pliers for cutting padlocks, crowbars, facilities include a 1,500 m railway station sledge-hammers, hanging hooks). with junctions, as well as a functional water 2) Items for climbing walls (easy installation and a power plant. In total, stairs – 3 x 11 steps, climbing rope, rope, 180 tall buildings are being built, mostly cat claw, climbing harness, etc.). without interiors. Twenty buildings are 3) Items used for signaling or structurally strengthened to allow the marking (colored chalk, sprays of different helicopter to land. A church, a synagogue colors, chemical lights of different colors, and a mosque are also being built stroboscopes in IR, mirrors for signaling, (Grossman, 2015). beacons for signaling, tactical flashlights, Of course, the amount of money marking tape with a length of 100 m, invested by the two countries is very large marking squares according to SOP, double for the budget of the Romanian Land sided adhesive tape). Forces. Therefore, we consider that it is By making this kit, subunit beneficial to build this center using a commanders can create an effective training location where there was a military unit. program, also following the correct storage, This allows the construction of this training use and inspection of all component items. center with a minimum of expense. 4. Conclusions c) Developing a specialized Kit In the future, the Romanian Land designed for military actions in urban Forces will carry out military actions in areas cities and it is time to commit to preparing Urban operations create specific soldiers for this environment. To do this, it challenges for infantry subunits, as they needs a training center that gives soldiers have to deal with obstacles and dangers that the opportunity to develop the necessary are not present in other combat zones. skills and abilities, to feel the stress of Infantry subunits must make breaches, urban combat and to mentally prepare to break into buildings, clear all rooms in the operate in the toughest combat space. building and then cross the street and the Without a specialized training unit, making open spaces in an urban area. decisions to develop new ways or tools to In order to increase the effectiveness approach military operations in cities is of the subunit and to reduce individual almost impossible. risks, fighters must use special equipment, The training center will become the adapted for the use in the urban proponent of the doctrine of urban environment. When the SOP for the urban operations and will serve to implement operations kit or package is developed, the tactical innovations and the lessons learned LCEM and the tactical SOP of the on the battlefields of yesterday and today. respective subunit must be taken into At the same time, it will provide a place to account. According to the author, this test and experiment the specific weapons package should contain the following and equipment in order to prepare the categories of equipment: subunits for the urban challenges that a wait on the battlefield of tomorrow.

119 REFERENCES

Ciolponea, C.-A. (2017). Instruieşte-te astăzi, aşa cum vei lupta mâine!. Revista Academiei Forţelor Terestre, nr. 1, 92, Sibiu: Editura Academiei Forțelor Terestre “Nicolae Bălcescu”. Grossman, E. (2015). The German Army and Urban Operations, available at: https://militarysimulation.training, accessed on 23 March 2020. Milley, M. (2017). Annual Report. Association of the U.S. Army. Opall-Rome, B. (2007). Marines to train at new Israeli combat center. Marine Times. Tofan, V., Mateescu, Gh., & Brumă, M. (2003). Conceptul de centru de greutate – vulnerabilităţi majore, instrument de lucru pentru stabilirea obiectivelor şi planificarea operaţiei. Revista Academiei Forţelor Terestre, nr. 2, 21-26, Sibiu: Editura Academiei Forțelor Terestre “Nicolae Bălcescu”. Tzu, S. (1982). Arta Războiului. Bucureşti: Editura Militară.

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