Engineering Geology and Military Operations: An Overview with Examples of Current Missions

Geological investigations in support of military ground operations are intelligence functions which may be categorized as either combat or engineer , and which are related to either tactical or construction operations. Combat intelligence includes the evaluation of geological terrain data such as slope, relief, and soil/rock type, whereas engineer intelligence involves mobility and countermobility operations, sources of construction materials, water supply, camouflage and deception, and siting of facilities. In tactical situations, these intelligence functions are performed cooperatively by troops of two separate U.S. Army Branches, Military Intelligence (MI) and Corps of Engineer (EN) troops at the command echelon of Theater Army, and at its subordinate commands, Corps, and Division. Military Intelligence units have the capability to evaluate remote imagery such as panchromatic aerial photography, multispectral scanner, thermal infrared, and side-looking airborne radar, as well as data derived from passive battlefield geophysical sensors. These evaluations are generally directed toward locating enemy troop and weapons concentrations, as opposed to the analysis of geological data for construction purposes. Most geological information pertinent to both combat and engineer intelligence is collected and evaluated by Engineer troops in Terrain Teams which are part of Topographic Battalions. Engineer intelligence is generally presented to Engineer units in technical report format; combat intelligence, on the other hand, is delivered to tactical commanders in the semi-technical formats of map or photomosaic overlays. Most of the applied geoscience research activities are conducted at Corps of Engineer laboratories and include underground construction, tunnel detection, tactical hydrology, ground-water exploration, hazardous-waste site mitigation, and mobility and countermobility evaluations. All of these activities have civilian applications. As applied military research, the general goal is to increase the mobility and survivability of friendly forces and to decrease the effectiveness of numerically superior enemy forces. Considerable potential defensive advantages have been developed through innovative applied geoscience research. These advantages are largely untested during wartime conditions, but they remain in current American national defense strategy, and will continue so throughout the final quarter of the Twentieth Century.