Validating the Enemy (original) (raw)

Story by SSgt. Alan Moore Photos by Spec. Alejandro Cabello

In the 1980s the pop-up targets on Army firing ranges were shaped like a little green communist nicknamed "Ivan." He was a grimacing foe, with a red star on his uniform and an AK-47 in his hands.
Since the fall of the Soviet Union, the face of the enemy is not so clear. Former communist countries are looking a lot less Soviet in their fighting style, with many deviating from or abandoning Soviet doctrine. As a result, opposing forces at combat training centers worldwide are changing the way they wage "war" against America's high-tech Army.
The Army has four locations where opposing forces go up against units on rotation through the combat training centers. The scenarios usually portray the OPFOR as soldiers of Krasnovia, a fictional country hostile toward westerners. There are OPFORs at the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk, La.; the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, Calif.; and the Combat Maneuver Training Center in Hohenfels, Germany.
The fourth is a virtual OPFOR at the Battle Command Training Program at Fort Leavenworth, Kan. The computer-simulated enemy is used to train battle staffs in digitized tactical operations centers.
A validation team from U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command keeps tabs on all four OPFORs by conducting semiannual validation visits to see how well they are "fighting." The team, which falls under TRADOC's deputy chief of staff for intelligence, helps keep OPFOR doctrine current, helps upgrade their equipment and makes sure they are fighting to standard, said Lt. Col. Bruce Dickman, the officer in charge of the team of about six combat developers from proponent schools within TRADOC.
"I don't think many people in the Army realize that someone is keeping an eye on OPFOR units and making sure they fight fair and within prescribed doctrine," said Dickman. The validation team, which has been watching OPFORs since the 1980s, is not a new concept. What is rather new is the introduction of standard OPFOR field manuals, which were distributed throughout the Army in 1995.
During the Cold War the OPFOR was a threat-based sparring partner for American soldiers who were training to fight waves of communists. Doctrine was taken straight from Warsaw Pact manuals. But that threat crumbled with the Berlin Wall in 1989.
Today's OPFOR no longer fights scenarios with template Soviet maneuvers. Instead, the field manuals adopted a capabilities-based approach to mirror current world situations. The validation team members are the shepherds of this OPFOR doctrine standardization.
"We use the former Soviet doctrine as a base, not a bible," said Dickman. "With possible adversaries being smarter than ever, we try to reflect that with a free-thinking OPFOR."
When Walt Williams, now a validation team member, was fighting in the Army against OPFORs, he didn't have the benefit of the new FMs.
"We fought against strict Soviet doctrine," he said, "and against an enemy that fought in lock-step. If you knew the doctrine, it was easy to predict what was coming next. Now, they're not so predictable."
The field manuals were designed to make OPFOR doctrine seamless throughout the Army, Dickman said. The goal is to make the OPFOR at JRTC think and act like the OPFOR at NTC or CMTC.
"All combat training centers try to portray the toughest fight American soldiers will ever face," said Col. Jack Donovan, commander of operations group at JRTC. "That way, when they get into combat, they will apply those lessons learned."
The key to having a modern OPFOR is battlefield complexity, said Col. Timothy J. Reischl, deputy commander of NTC.
"Any country with a little bit of money could buy equipment designed to counter or affect America's digitized Army," he said. "We have to allow the OPFOR to consider that in order to be real opponents. Our OPFOR is constantly innovating or updating so that we're not a predictable force."
To do that, the OPFOR might employ nontraditional communications such as cell phones and civilian radios -- tactics a technologically disadvantaged country like Krasnovia might employ. The validation team determines those boundaries.
With the Army's superior technology, some soldiers might indulge in a dangerous feeling of being untouchable. OPFOR commanders strive to humble soldiers who harbor such illusions, said Col. Guy C. Swan, NTC's OPFOR commander.
"People will find a way to counter your technology," Swan said. "Air Force Capt. Scott O'Grady's F-16 was shot down over Bosnia in 1995 by inferior Bosnian Serb weaponry. I'll take well-trained soldiers over technology any day."
Training realistically is the key. The training centers long offered a sterile fighting environment. But OPFOR commanders are intent on making training rotations feel more like real war.
"We want them to feel like they are drinking from a fire hose," said Swan. "We'll stress their medics and their logistics; we'll pose as many threats and challenges as we can. We'll overwhelm them and, if they are successful, we'll raise the bar."
There are more civilians on the battlefield, there are coalition forces to work with -- all these things are being incorporated into training more than ever, Dickman said.
"Still, the OPFOR lags way behind in technology," said Dickman. "Part of the job of the validation team is to look 10 years into the future to prepare and equip tomorrow's OPFOR."
The AH-64D Apache Longbow and the M1A2 Abrams tank, for example, have no counterparts in the OPFOR arsenal. That might mean combat developers would create fictional OPFOR weapons that can fight the Army's high-tech weaponry.
"Today, there's nothing in the world that can match the Apache Longbow," said Swan. "But just because our possible adversaries don't have a technological advantage doesn't mean we shouldn't be prepared for that possibility. That's why we need a 21st-century OPFOR."
OPFOR soldiers, charged with keeping the world's most powerful military force on track, see themselves as the conscience of the Army.
When taking on the OPFOR, keep in mind that the enemy is no longer Ivan. He's Krasnovian -- ever-evolving, capable and wise in the ways of war.