Targeting Social Network Analysis in Counter IED Operations
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Authors
Giles-Summers, Brandon.
Subjects
Advisors
Gregg, Heather
Date of Issue
2011-06
Date
Publisher
Monterey, CA; Naval Postgraduate School
Language
Abstract
The purpose of this research is to provide insights to Commanders in the field for attack-the-network (AtN) operations in the fight against Improved Explosive Devices (IED). Established in 2006, the Improved Explosive Devices Defeat Organization (JIEDDO) has spent billions of dollars to execute its operational mandate: defeat the device, attack the network, and train the force. JIEDDO has excelled in training the force and defeating the device, but lagged behind in providing necessary information to facilitate attack-the-network operations. To facilitate AtN operations, JIEDDO created a Counter-IED Operation Integration Center (COIC), which provides analysis, but utilizes metrics that are not necessarily intuitive. Rather than metrics, what commanders need is a clear understanding of what attack the network means in order to create lines of operations that undermine networks that use IEDs. The goal of this thesis, therefore, is to define attack-the-network, introduce social network analysis, provide a focused discussion on how to apply social relational information to operations, determine a targeted person's relevance, provide operational commanders with a basic matrix to gain perspective on social interactions of network members, and offer case studies illuminating the difficulties inherent in network targeting.
Type
Thesis
Description
Series/Report No
Department
Defense Analysis (DA)
Organization
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
Identifiers
NPS Report Number
Sponsors
Funder
Format
xii, 51 p. ;
Citation
Distribution Statement
Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.
Rights
This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in the United States.