Small Wars Journal

Army Defends Battlefield Social Science Program

Fri, 03/29/2013 - 6:33am

Army Defends Battlefield Social Science Program by Tom Vanden Brook, USA Today.

Army Secretary John McHugh defended the use of military social scientists on battlefields despite some initial "command, training and personnel challenges" with the program in its early years.

McHugh sent a letter recently to Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., a member of the Armed Services Committee who had raised concerns with McHugh about the Human Terrain System after USA TODAY reported that an internal Army report had found team members falsified time sheets to inflate their pay and had engaged in racial and sexual harassment. The program, launched in 2007 with civilian social scientists, was aimed at helping commanders understand local populations and avoid antagonizing them...

Read on.