Via Policeone.com

Police in this city have added an unlikely tool to their arsenal: a three-wheeled electric scooter that evokes R2-D2, the Star Wars droid.

The $10,663 battery-powered chariot bears Miramar police decals, with flashing lights and sirens lending some heft and authority. Each weekday, an officer will use it to patrol the Town Center, monitoring the parking garage, new library and City Hall as a way to deter crime. But because it reaches only 25 mph, the scooter has yet to prove it’s as agile as it is green.

“I doubt this thing will chase down escaping convicts,” said Phil Rosenberg, the city’s human resources director. “It doesn’t substitute for the things a patrol car can do, but it provides a more direct link between citizens and law enforcement in garages and with outdoor gatherings.”

Miramar began using its first and only scooter earlier this month. If it proves effective in thwarting crime, the city likely will buy additional ones to patrol Miramar Regional Park, in the western part of the city, and other areas.

(Full Article)

Via Policeone.com

Last week, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP) announced a new performance Standard for body armor at the National Institute of Justice’s (NIJ) annual conference in Arlington, Virginia.

These new body armor standards include more rigorous testing and methods that expose the equipment to temperature, humidity, as well as wear and tear – prior to testing performance.

“This important advancement in body armor standards is in direct response to changes in threats faced by law enforcement, advances in ballistic materials and technology, and the need to ensure that body armor performs well when subjected to environmental factors,” said Associate Attorney General Kevin O’Connor. “Body armor standards are needed to ensure that law enforcement and corrections officers’ equipment provides a high level of safety and protection.”

The new standards were established in response to concerns from the law enforcement community about the effectiveness of body armor currently being used by officers. NIJ developed the enhanced testing program in partnership with the National Institute of Standards Technology, Office of Law Enforcement Standards.

The NIJ is encouraging all officers to continue to wear their body armor even if their current vests don’t meet the new standards.

“Just because they’ve come out with a new Standard doesn’t invalidate the current Standard,” Matt Davis, President and CEO of Armor Express says. “The reason they came out with an updated Standard is to ensure that the law enforcement community is adequately protected from the threats they face. As the threats constantly change, so does the need to have newer standards for body armor.”

(Full Article)

Via USAToday.com

It took nearly three years for the Army to understand the damage to Army Sgt. Chad Joiner’s brain after a roadside explosion left him unconscious in a Humvee on June 28, 2005.

He finished his tour and returned home, struggled with headaches and memory loss, went back to Iraq and survived another bombing in February that aggravated his symptoms.

Only after arriving here at the Army’s Landstuhl Regional Medical Center with an ankle injury in February did a new and aggressive screening program finally identify Joiner’s brain injury and lead to treatment. “I’m just in shock that somebody is figuring out what’s wrong with me,” says Joiner, 26, who says his gratitude for the treatment outweighs any bitterness over the delay in diagnosing his injury.

The Pentagon debated for years whether to systematically screen troops for brain injuries such as Joiner’s. A recent study by RAND Corp., a research group, says such injuries could have affected 320,000 Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans. Uncertain how aggressively to identify a wound that is still largely a mystery, the Pentagon initially resisted calls to screen all servicemembers coming out of the battlefield. Under pressure from Congress, the Pentagon in March ordered all military branches to screen for traumatic brain injury (TBI).

(Full Article)

Via Foxnews.com

It looks more Star Wars than Iraq War, an unmanned aerial killer ready to fly its first combat mission in Iraq. But the MQ-9 Reaper is more than just a stunning sight — it may represent the future of combat aviation.

The Reaper’s streamlined form stands out in its hangar in Balad Air Base in central Iraq, now the busiest in the world for the Department of Defense, with F-16s and cargo planes taking off and landing every few minutes.

The Reaper looks like its predecessor, the Predator drone, which was originally built as a reconnaissance plane and is already widely in use in Iraq and Afghanistan in support of troops on the ground.

But the Reaper was built with offense in mind. It can carry four Hellfire missiles (the Predator carries only two), and it is equipped with a pair of 500-pound laser-guided bombs.

(Full Article)

Companies are hard at work developing the next generation body armor technology. Techeblog.com recently highlighted a couple of the more recent developments in modern body armor technology.

Click for full article.

Welcome to the Tactical Technology section of the Warrior Science Group web portal! In this inaugural edition we answer the question, “what is this doing here?  We will discuss what types of things you will see here in the future and some of the topics that will be highlighted.

So, what does tactical technology have to do with Warrior Science and the other more obvious topics contained within?  The answer is really quite simple, kind of.

First, we will be discussing, specifically, the tactical environment or arena in which tactical teams operate.  However, that does not mean that our discussion will apply solely to established or organized teams, but also to groups of officers which are required to operate in such a stressful environment.

If you recall, one of the basic tenets of improving performance under stress is rooted in the concept of being able to “accurately” predict the behavior of the adversary so that the implications of the “startle effect” can be eliminated or least minimized. A component of which is being able to be “predatory” instead of “prey”.  Successful management of the startle effect will reduce the psychological and physiological manifestations of stress. This in turn allows operators to make better, more tactically sound decisions and allows motor skills to be performed with increased precision.

Much is typically known in an average situation. For instance, the confines of the problem, perhaps the number of suspects and their armament, maybe even the obvious reason(s) that have required the response of such a team might be known. Sometimes, the suspect has made known what he intends to do, or at least what he wants you to know. But since we know that sometimes bad guys lie to us, it is wise to be able to gain independent knowledge of such things. This is called intelligence. While there are many kinds of intelligence and many ways to acquire it, few are as good as being able to see and hear what the bad guy is saying and doing without him knowing that you are watching and listening. Tactical technology facilitates our ability to do just that.

Therefore, as a definition, tactical technology involves the use or deployment of technological devices or solutions that allow operators, negotiators and commanders to hear, see, visualize, map, increase situational awareness or ascertain facts that may have an impact on the tactical resolution in a given situation.

In upcoming editions, you can expect to find information regarding products ranging from to thermal imagers to laser microphones, from robots to throw phones and everything in between.  We will also discuss tactics, deployment methodologies, tips, tricks and all kinds of related stuff.  All designed to help reduce your liability, to minimize the impact of survival stress on operators and to help you go home safe at the end of every deployment.  So, stand by, this is going to be fun!

Ray Rheingans currently serves with the Scottsdale, AZ. Police Department SWAT Team.  He is a PPCT Associate Staff Instructor and has conducted training all over the world.

There are many reasons why law enforcement trainers should learn to teach this subject. Two of these reasons respond to specific needs regarding such training. First and foremost is that women are frequently targets for actions ranging from sexual harassment to murder. They both need and deserve to be trained to defend themselves against such behaviors. Second, with respect to law enforcement involvement, offering such training enhances the role of a police department in terms of community relations. Such an endeavor not only encourages interaction between the department and the community but also acts as a method of crime prevention.

Teaching self defense for women is obviously different than teaching subject control to law enforcement officers, and the instructor must take two of these differences into consideration when preparing a self defense class. First, the goal for subject control is usually custody, but the goal for self- defense can be either avoidance or escape. Second, law enforcement officers go through mandatory subject control training, at least at the academy level. Civilian self-defense classes are strictly voluntary, and they are definitely not conducted in an academy setting.

Perhaps the first logical step of preparation for conducting self-defense for women training would be a review of the literature. There are certainly numerous books on the subject, and how many of them a trainer could review would be limited by that trainer’s time and financial resources. Four of these resources are highly recommended, and they will be noted in this article as well as being listed at its conclusion.

In her book Every Woman Can, the first topic Mary Conroy covers is described as “Eliminate Potential Dangers.” She provides a form for each woman to fill out, listing “. . . the five most dangerous situations that could occur in your life.” Some of the specifics she presents as examples are if you must sleep with windows open, install devices that limit the amount each window can be opened. Another is keeping the car filled with gas and in good working order. She also goes into great detail as the book progresses, covering topics ranging from Know Your Babysitter to Elevator Advice.

Bruce K. Siddle, in his Sexual Harassment And Rape Prevention Instructor Manual, provides numerous examples of such preparation. He refers to them as “Security Procedures,” and he divides this section of the manual into the categories of Home Security, Answering the Door, Calling for Emergency Assistance, Key Security, Vehicle Security, and Security for Traveling. He provides specific preparations and tactics in the woman’s home environment.

Conroy’s second area of training is “Recognize and Avoid Dangers.” She learned the importance of being alert and paying attention to one’s surroundings the hard way, as she was robbed at knife-point while attending Columbia University. This was the catalyst that caused her to develop her system of self-defense, and it is one instance where a negative example caused positive results. She also points out that paying attention to one’s feelings can assist people in self-defense. She says, “It may sound strange, but feelings of anxiety can be very helpful if you use them to signal impending danger.”

This general concept is both described and expanded upon in Gavin De Becker’s text The Gift of Fear. This classic work provides a great number of examples of this process, and it also details how the reader can hone the process. He also emphasizes the perceptual differences held by men and women regarding personal safety. His explanation is as follows:

Women, particularly in big cities, live with a constant wari-

ness. Their lives are literally on the line in ways men just

don’t experience. Ask some man you know, ‘When is the

last time you were concerned or afraid that another person

would harm you?’ Many men cannot recall an incident

within years. Ask a woman the same question and most

will give you a recent example or say, ‘Last night,’ ‘Today,’

or even ‘ Every day.’

Understanding this difference is important to women’s self-defense instructors because they will have to deal with the aftermath of the man in the student’s life telling them that self-defense is a waste of time, it isn’t necessary, they will be there to protect the woman, etc.

When a threat is recognized, Conroy discusses options ranging from simply crossing the street to avoid passing a gang of youths to running away and screaming. Bruce Siddle covers this topic in a section titled “Principles of Avoidance.” He begins by listing these principles which are “Know Your Limitations, Control the Environment, and Control Your Fear.” The personal limitations he refers to can actually be assessed in the first stage of self-defense, that of eliminating dangers through planning. Like Conroy, he emphasizes the individual being alert so that they can regularly assess their surroundings and other individuals. Siddle goes beyond simple avoidance by providing physical skills to deal with both Passive Assaults and Flirtatious Contact.

In Playboy’s Book of Practical Self-Defense, author Joe Hyams provides numerous examples of avoiding danger. He emphasizes avoiding fighting unless it is absolutely necessary to protect yourself. The following experience shows just how creative he could be.

Not long ago in Los Angeles, I was slow making an entrance

Into oncoming traffic. The driver behind me sat angrily on

His horn. Finally, he got out of his car and headed toward

Mine. I locked my doors and rolled up my window to

Within a few inches of the top.

‘Look,’ I said, ‘ you want a fight, that’s okay with me. But

I’ve got a bad back and you’ll have to help me out of my

Car. Then give me a moment to straighten up and I’ll be

Ready.

The man looked at me in disbelief, shook his head, and

walked back to his car.

That is definitely using quick thinking to avoid a physical confrontation. And even thought Hyams is a black belt in karate, he had no idea of the other driver’s abilities or if he was armed. As the expression goes, ‘He used his head instead of his fists.”

In terms of techniques to deal with physical assaults, Conroy, Siddle and Hyams provide numerous possibilities. Mr. Siddle devotes a section to Defensive Counterstrikes, utilizing time tested and proven PPCT skills such as Brachial Stuns, the Front Kick to the Superficial Peroneal, Knee Strikes and the Angle Kick. Both Conroy and Hyams go a further with their physical techniques. They employ kicks to the knee, strikes to the groin, and in Conroy’s case, hand strikes to both the eyes and groin.

There is a true myriad of physical responses to being assaulted, and as an instructor, you will have to pick and choose the most appropriate for your target audience and your time frame. No matter what physical skills you decide to teach, you should obviously follow the Survival Learning principles that are presented in all PPCT courses. If this is to be a class taught over a period of several weeks, you can begin with planning and work through avoidance by being alert, ending the course with physical techniques. However, if this is to be a short presentation and your audience wants physical skills, you will have to abbreviate your planning and avoidance sections. Of course, the converse is true if your group only wants ways to avoid danger as opposed to actual fighting techniques. Fortunately, both Mary Conroy and Bruce Siddle provide any of these areas, all of these areas, and any combination in between. As Mr. Siddle so wisely pointed out when he first developed the SHARP program, you may give a presentation on Prevention and later have the same group request a class on physical skills.

REFERENCES

Conroy, Mary and Ritvo, Edward. Every Woman Can. New York: Putnam Books, 1982.

De Becker, Gavin. The Gift of Fear. New York: Dell Publishing, 1997.

Hyams, Joe. Playboy’s Book of Practical Self-Defense. Chicago: Playboy Press, 1981.

Siddle, Bruce K. Sexual Harassment and Rape Prevention Instructor Manual. Belleville, IL: PPCT Management Systems, Inc., 2005.

John Leonard retired as a Parole Agent after more than twenty years with the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole. Mr. Leonard assisted the Staff Development Division with training for both new and veteran agents. He provided statewide training in Defensive Tactics, Spontaneous Knife Defense, and SHARP (Sexual Harassment Assault Rape Prevention). Mr. Leonard also certified parole agents as PPCT instructors in these three areas. He became a PPCT Staff Instructor in 1990. In addition to Instructor Schools in PPCT disciplines, he provides defensive tactics training for all cadets at the Allegheny County Police Academy, located just north of Pittsburgh, PA. He is court certified as an expert witness in use of force and in edged weapons. More information can be found at www.jackleonardasi.com.

Rounding out the Warrior’s Arsenal
Part 1
Sean McKay, EMT-P / T
This is part 1 of a 3 part series

Today’s warrior is no longer afforded the luxury of only being the master of their one specific trade.  They must continually cross train and hone multiple skill sets, and one of the most critical skills is saving their own life or their buddy’s life.  Our current asymmetric threats leave us no other alternative.

We are all too familiar with the Hollywood paradigm for conducting casualty care during tactical operations. The shot rings out, the vaunted character falls wounded, some well-intentioned teammate yells “Medic!” and the valiant life-saver heroically charges through a barrage of fire to reach the downed warrior to provide immediate medical care just in time to save his life. While such scenes make for exciting entertainment, they are about as relevant for modeling appropriate real-world tactical casualty care as the “Die Hard” series of action movies is for modeling counter-terrorist tactics. Whether the scenario is an armored combat patrol in Afghanistan or a “routine” traffic stop that is met with an un-anticipated deadly force escalation, the threat created by an armed adversary operating within the hostile, and often austere, tactical environment requires the modern warrior to supplement his tactical expertise with a modicum of medical expertise designed to prevent his death or the death of his fellow warriors.

The intent of this article is to provide an introduction to the absolute requirement to augment current daily operations with an appropriate tactical medicine program. Tactical medicine requires a critical analysis of several factors.
Impact on ongoing tactical operations
Medical resource capability and availability
Evacuation capabilities, and environmental factors – to include continuing hostilities – all impact the tactical commander’s decision-making process.
How can we best achieve our desired end state – optimizing tactical success while simultaneously providing the best medical outcome for a wounded warrior?

The answer lies in integrating an appropriate Casualty Response System (CRS) for any organization operating within the tactical environment. A CRS is far more than a simple set of individual skills. An appropriate CRS takes a general set of principles common to all operations within a tactical environment, and tailors the program to the specific needs of an individual organization. See Box 1 for principles that a CRS should address. The CRS enables tactical leaders to more effectively understand the risk that a single casualty poses to their operation, and more importantly, how to mitigate that risk.

Today’s violent tactical environment demands an unconventional approach to rescue and medicine to address the current asymmetric threats.  We must define a Casualty Response System that is effective, efficient (in our specific Area of Operation), executable (under survival stress), evidence-based, and combat proven.  The medic-centric model of tactical medicine must go by the wayside, and improved focused training at the operator level must be implemented.  Enhanced self-aid / buddy-aid (SABA) must be instituted for any warrior when the potential for penetrating injuries exist.  While tactical medics remain an invaluable asset, it is impossible and un-realistic for any organization to field a 1:1 ratio of medics to operators. There are certain life-threatening injuries the operator must be prepared to treat in order to prevent death before a trained medical provider can reach the fallen warrior. A tiered casualty response system adequately addresses medical care that begins at the point of wounding with the operator and proceeds through the tactical medic along the continuum of care to a medical treatment facility.  This casualty response system must also address evacuating the casualty from the tactical scene and moving them to a treatment center.  Since adequate casualty care cannot be rendered until the casualty has been moved to cover, incorporating a specific High Threat Extraction process enables more efficient and expedient care.  The topic of High Threat Extraction will be covered in detail within Part 2.

Providing sound trauma care during tactical operations is one component of a CRS. Following tactical operations in Somalia in 1993, the U.S. Special Operations Command identified a void in tactical casualty management. Under the direction of the Naval Special Warfare Command, CAPT Frank Butler began the Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC) project with the desired end-state of developing a set of tactically appropriate battlefield trauma care guidelines.  Maintaining the tenet that “good medicine can sometimes be bad tactics, and bad tactics can create additional casualties or cause the mission to fail,” the TCCC project’s principle mandate was the critical execution of the right medical interventions at the right time and place. Butler published these guidelines in a special supplement to Military Medicine in 1996. Subsequently, a standing committee, the Committee on Tactical Combat Casualty Care, was formed to continually review and update these guidelines. This committee is a multi-disciplinary entity comprised of physicians, physician assistants, and combat medics from all components of the Department of Defense (DoD) as well as other Government organizations and civilian agencies.

The TCCC recommendations were “somewhat at odds” with civilian pre-hospital guidelines being taught at that time, but the advantages of having battlefield trauma guidelines customized for the tactical environment was quickly acknowledged.  Since the first course in 1996, TCCC is now utilized DoD wide from the warfighter/operator to the physician.  Many civilian law enforcement and EMS agencies, including the National Tactical Officer’s Association (NTOA) and the National Association of EMT’s (NAEMT) have adopted these guidelines for conducting operations in austere environments where the risk from penetrating trauma is a reality. Insert quote on efficacy A study published in Pre-hospital Disaster Medicine (August 2007) entitled Police Officer Response to the Injured Officer: A Survey-Based Analysis of Medical Care Decisions assessed the responding law enforcement personnel’s capability to appropriately address medical emergencies while under an “active threat” condition. The authors’ conclusions were that our law enforcement personnel’s tactical medical decision-making training is sub-optimal, resulting in disruption to the on-going tactical mission, unnecessary deaths, or both. The study also made point that in the post 9/11 era, development of law enforcement specific medical training is greatly needed.

It is a common misconception from the civilian sector that the TCCC guidelines are only applicable in a 360° military battle space similar to that seen in Blackhawk Down, or in the middle of the streets of Ramadi, Iraq.  The reality is that TCCC addresses optimal casualty care within a hostile environment when there is an unknown or variable evacuation time or potential delay in casualty transport.  The average transport time to a medical treatment facility (MTF) in Iraq can be less than one hour, which is not unlike situations that may be encountered here in the United States.  Weather, traffic, rural response, mass casualty, and ongoing tactical operations against active threats can contribute to longer transport times to definitive care in the civilian environment.  Many also question the relevance of these guidelines due to the epidemiology of “battlefield” injuries compared to injuries likely to be encountered during civilian tactical operations. While military forces face a higher incidence of explosion and fragmentation injuries, penetrating trauma remains the predominant cause of injury and death. A gunshot wound that severs a police officer’s femoral artery is just as likely to cause death from blood loss as a shrapnel wound that severs a soldier’s femoral artery, and both are equally amenable to immediate life-saving treatment.

Reviewing historical tactical operations in which a warrior was wounded or killed, regardless if the injury occurred during a full-scale military combat operation or within the contemporary civilian law enforcement realm, we see that injuries fall into one of three main categories. The first category is the “catastrophic” injury. This injury results in immediate death or is so severe that the wounded warrior will die despite all available medical care resources. The second category is the “minimally wounded.”  These warriors will not only survive their injuries, they will recover well regardless of the medical attention they receive. The third category is the “critical” injury. Warriors with these injuries are likely to die, or have their health deteriorate to such a condition that they are likely to suffer permanent disability if appropriate medical interventions are not rapidly accomplished. Since we cannot save the “catastrophic” casualty, and the “minimal” casualty requires no dedicated medical care, we should focus our efforts on identifying and treating the “critical” casualty.

Based on extensive and quantifiable research of wounding patterns in the tactical environment, the three major causes of potentially preventable tactical deaths are Extremity Hemorrhage, Tension Pneumothorax, and Airway Obstruction. (Preventable death is always caveated with “potentially” within the tactical environment simply because an on-going threat may prevent a rescuer from reaching the casualty.) TCCC is the only medical guideline specifically developed for the tactical environment to receive the dual endorsement of the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma and the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians.  The TCCC guidelines have been included in the Pre-Hospital Life Support (PHTLS) Manual since the fourth edition in 1999.

“In the last decade there has been a strong emphasis from organized medicine to develop “best practices” based on evidence based medicine (EBM).  Simply stated this is to question why we do what we do and to validate our practices by subjecting all we do to objective scientific scrutiny.  Keep in mind that best practices is a dynamic concept, that is, change is expected as technology and the fund of knowledge increases.  What is a best practice today may not be when re-evaluated in the future.”
Dr. Richard Carmona, Former United States Surgeon General

When we identify a requirement – in this case, conducting appropriate trauma care within the tactical environment - we must critically analyze the skills and equipment we select to accomplish the mission. Incorporating an assessment and validation process for skills and equipment is a mandatory aspect of training that is often ignored. The question must be asked “why should I learn this skill and who says it is effective?”

The S.P.A.R.T.A.N. Training System™ utilizes a 3E methodology.  This training methodology was developed with the assistance of Bruce K. Siddle and Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, with the purpose of developing executable high threat rescue and casualty care capabilities in non-linear conflict.  This methodology imposes a three stage stop gate system.  If a skill or piece of equipment fails any of the stop gates it is removed from the system and reviewed or re-engineered.  This validation process is designed for specific skills, equipment selection and product development; however for the purposes of this section it will be focused on skill validation and equipment selection.  The 3E methodology consists of the following:

• Effective – Is the skill or equipment effective in accomplishing the desired result.  Through an aggressive preliminary testing does it perform as advertised?  Can we exploit its strengths and/or weaknesses?
• Efficient – Is this skill or equipment efficient in the area of operation (AO) of its intended use?  Based on the specific AO, a skill and/or equipment requirement list should be performed.  A list of characteristics pertinent to the environment where the skill and/or equipment will be utilized must be compiled.  I.e. Low / no light, temperature extremes, Personal Protective Equipment that will be utilized, altitude extremes, threat level, etc.
• Executable – Having the capability of accurately predicting the physiological and psychological effects of survival stress in the specific AO, will the rescuer even have the capability of performing the skills or utilizing the equipment suggested?  This is a two step process; first identify predictable stress levels during application based on AO and/or phase of care.  Second, utilize the above information to determine technique / equipment /skill selection.  Utilization of the Inverted U Law and Thom’s Catastrophe Theory will assist in selecting the appropriate motor skill capability.  Compatibility of skill selection to the AO and subsequent sympathetic nervous system response (SNS) is critical.  The situational paradox we are maneuvering within innately activates SNS response; integral understanding of the body’s response and capabilities will drive the Rescue Human Factors™ Engineering Process.

We first need to recognize and admit that we are not going to utilize a tactical combat casualty care skill set under optimal conditions.  If we are in a position to apply life-saving self aid/buddy aid skills, our situational report is suboptimal.  Our reality is that once this situation has occurred, our sympathetic nervous system will probably be in full swing.  What does this mean?  We will no longer be smart, precise, and deliberate, but rather, fast, strong, and probably dumb.  The implications of SNS dominance is catastrophic to the vision, cognitive processing, as well as fine and/or complex motor skill performance.  How does this correlate to the AO, phase of care, and/or skill sets we expect to employ?  On the surface, at large, we need to be capable of choosing techniques and equipment that can be employed mainly with gross motor operation (extremely difficult considering most of these skills require precision).  For those skills and equipment that are absolutely vital or our only options, we must focus our training at specific neuro-muscular programming under the replicated stress of the situation.

TABLE 1: Essential Elements of a Casualty Response System

Casualty Response System components

Education

• How people die in tactical operations
• Other medical threats
• Basic Medical principles and skills
• Tactical Combat Casualty Care
• Tactical Environment limitations
• Resource availability
• Personal Protection Equipment
• Individual Medical Equipment
• Team Medical Equipment
• Tactical Medic capabilities
• Other local medical resources

Training

• Individual Medical Skills
• Individual skills assessment/validation
• Unit casualty drills
• Casualty movement techniques
• Rescue/extraction techniques/equipment
• Scenario-Based Training events

Mission Planning

• Resource availability
• Evacuation procedures
• Local medical facility capability
• Treatment capability/location of medical assets by phase of the mission
• Resupply
• Communications