Coordinating Military Deployments on Roads and Highways:
A Guide for State and Local Agencies
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Chapter 6. Special Considerations
The coordination of military deployments on roads and highways has been presented in the previous chapters through the discussion of concepts such as roles and responsibilities, typical military deployment movements, and the availability of technologies to assist in planning and operations. This chapter highlights special considerations which may need to be addressed, depending on the circumstances of the deployment. As such, the topics in this chapter are more typically cross-cutting and require greater deliberation and coordination among agencies. One such topic is force protection during military deployments.
Force Protection
Force protection of military assets is a concept that military strategists and tacticians have long been concerned with. Doctrine, plans, and procedures relating to military asset protection have been formulated to cover the period of time when forces arrive in the operations area until they go into battle. Until recently, there has been little motivation to develop doctrine, plans, or procedures for protecting troops on the move in continental United Status (CONUS). The events of 9/11 have caused the military and national leaders to reconsider how and when critical military asset protection is needed.
Force protection doctrine for convoy operations within CONUS is currently being developed. Guidance for the development of CONUS force protection plans, procedures, and tactics will come from that doctrine. The following factors will require consideration when developing military deployment force protection plans, procedures, and tactics:
- Terrorist targets may include infrastructure (bridges, tunnels, highway overpasses), convoys, military equipment, trains, or soldiers.
- State and local law enforcement agencies may not be able to respond to serious domestic terrorist threats to convoys on the move.
- Available intelligence on threats to specific convoys will vary.
- The sharing of threat intelligence among military and civilian deployment support agencies will be critical to force protection planning and execution.
- Any military solutions to deployment force protection must be accompanied by CONUS-specific training for soldiers performing force protection missions.
- National Guard assets are an excellent source of military expertise, but they may not be available due to other commitments.
- Existing threat conditions must be considered and applied when developing actions for protecting convoys.
