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The Development of Human Geography as A Defence Enabler
Jean Smith MBE, former Assistant Director of Research, Defence Geographic Centre
The author would like to thank Alex Reading, Assistant Director Research, Defence Geographic Centre, and the DGC Human Geography team for their support in reviewing, updating, and contributing to this article.
Commanders throughout history have employed Human Geography, but its use in defence became ignored mainly after the 1950s. Until then, Human Geography played an important role in military strategy, particularly during the First and Second World Wars and in later “Hearts and Minds” campaigns, in Malaysia and Vietnam in particular. Recognition of the importance of studying and understanding populations then lapsed until relatively recently, and often overlooked was its value as a strategic tool. However, many personnel who served in Northern Ireland have commented that Human Geography approaches were used, if not publicised as such.
The definitions of Human Geography, as agreed by the leading producing nations, are as follows:
An interdisciplinary approach to describing spatial and temporal patterns of human behaviour in the context of their environment (physical geography). US National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.
The study of the world, its people, communities, and cultures with an emphasis on relations of and across space and place. It includes humans and objects in their interactions across a multiplicity of social sites. Dictionary of Human Geography (US)
The characterisation of cultural, anthropological, and ethnographic information about the human population and interactions with the joint operational area. JDN 2-04
In general, Human Geography was “reinvented” in defence in 2006, emerging from the approaches applied by the USA General David Petraeus, Commander at US Central Command (CENTCOM), in Iraq and Afghanistan. He had achieved stabilisation successes in Iraq by developing alliances with the tribal leaders who were supportive of the Coalition forces and was thus extending his practice into Afghanistan. The UK Defence Geographic Centre’s (DGC) participation developed as a result of early collaborative work with CENTCOM.
The Defence Geographic Centre’s (DGC) capability was initiated in response to a tasking by the Chief of Defence Intelligence (at that time Air Vice Marshall Sir Stuart Peach, a keen geographer and military historian). He wanted to consider the approaches adopted in previous Afghan Conflicts – 1839 - 1842, 1879 and 1919 and the Soviet Campaign (1979 - 89) and to investigate, from a geospatial perspective, possible similarities between historical conflicts and Taliban activity during the early days of Operation Herrick. The DGC Geographic Research team who, fortuitously, had a military historian among its ranks, undertook this analysis in the summer of 2006. The team concluded, unsurprisingly, that the modus operandi the Taliban were using in Helmand Province was very similar to the approach adopted by Afghan fighters in the earlier campaigns. The local combatants, who understood the terrain better than their adversaries, were more likely to gain the advantage.
The investigation demonstrated that a geospatial approach provided a different and useful perspective to the analysis. Data was collected on locations and timings of attacks and plotted on map bases using Geographic Information System (GIS) software. And several patterns started to emerge, the strongest indicating that there was an association between locations of attacks and the distribution of tribal groups in Helmand. The analysis showed that a significant proportion of insurgent activity took place in areas belonging to the Pashtun ethnic group. The Taliban drew their support mainly from the Pashtun tribes.
Other nations engaged in similar pursuits reached the same conclusions. The US invited DGC to work with US partners to develop the findings. A Human Geography team was formally established in 2008 as part of the wider Geographic Research team.
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