According to
Time Magazine’s website on 27 Mar 2014, Special Operations Forces were seeking
geospatial data on places where data was hard to come by. (see http://time.com/37677/us-special-ops-dark-areas/).
The article
references a Statement of Work (SOW), which can be found at: http://timedotcom.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/fbo_revised_hgis_sow20mar14.pdf.
The initial
data set is described as: Jordan,
Djibouti, Burma (Myanamar), Honduras, Iran, Morocco, Nigeria, Trinidad &
Tobago, Burkina Faso, S. Sudan, N. Korea and China’s Guangdong province.
Among
the data sought is:
Media
outlet locations and coverage (IId)
GSM
tower locations
Internet
café locations and ownership information
At
first I was tempted to put on my MI hat to figure out how this particular list
of countries came about. Of course, that would have caused me to wonder why
there would be geospatial gaps in places you might consider our metaphorical
backyard such as Honduras and Trinidad and Tobago.
Nevertheless,
I am going to avoid that temptation and consider what are the MISO/PSYOP
aspects involved. I’m sure that I have posted about the lack of good media
related data I found when I served in Bosnia and how the traditional CJ2
channels were of no help either. I reasoned that because there was no
commercial interest in the country, advertisers would be scarce and logically
there wouldn’t be a need for data related to media to bolster a non-existent
advertising marketplace.
A
logical starting point for MISO planning would be to determine what military
operations would likely be conducted (if any) and to what extent these
operations might require MISO support. Alternatively a MISO planner would have
to consider which of these countries would not likely host military operations,
but where the influence battle might be fought in the civilian media.
Alternatively,
it would be prudent to consider which of these countries might be the site of
violence and loss of government control to the point where a NEO or
humanitarian/disaster relieve operation may be appropriate.
No
matter what your view, these are exciting times to ponder the future of MISO,
especially in what the Special Ops calls ‘dark’ places and I often refer to as
“off Broadway”
Reader
input invited as always.
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