Determining tactical usage of non-lethal weapons for fixed site security of U.S. embassies

Abstract

The 2012 attack on the U.S. Embassy in Benghazi, Libya, exposed a national vulnerability. In response, the Marine Corps established Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Forces Crisis Response elements to support combatant commanders. One of their key tasks is to conduct an embassy reinforcement if required. This research uses modeling and simulation to explore the tactical use of an area fire non-lethal weapon (NLW) on crowds outside of a U.S. embassy. The research explores the following: 1. Is the NLW effective at reducing the lethality of the situation? 2. Are there any tactical insights gained by using agent-based simulation? 3. Is there a tactical benefit to reducing the minimum engagement range for the NLW? The results of this research indicate that having this non-lethal capability does reduce the lethality of the scenario, and all posts should carry at least two NLWs. Additionally, if three NLWs are assigned to each post, the other factors explored have little impact. Finally, reducing the minimum engagement range does present a tactical benefit, but only if reduced to less than 20 meters.