Army Beefs Up Non-Lethal Capabilities

FORT DRUM, N.Y. --- U.S. soldiers are trained to use non-lethal force as much as possible. But until recently, not every soldier had the right mix of tools and capabilities to meet those goals, an officer said during exercises here last week.>> Tom Martins, non-lethal munitions specialist, teaches 10th Mountain Division soldiers uses and techniques of a spike-strip net during non-lethal capabilities training Nov. 20, 2008, at Fort Drum, N.Y.>> The more capabilities we give the soldiers to operate in the non-lethal realm, the less likely theyre going to have to resort to lethal force, said Army Maj. Thomas Aarsen, a close combat systems project officer for the Defense Department's Program Executive Office Ammunition.>> [The Army] has been asking soldiers to do this for a long time, but now they have the tools to do so, Aarsen said during a Non-Lethal Capabilities Set fielding and training for two 10th Mountain Division brigade combat teams.>> The Army has been improving its non-lethal capabilities since 2000 in response to U.S. actions in Kosovo. The Army needed something to use before resorting to lethal force, Aarsen said. There were variations of non-lethal packages before. But until now, there hasnt been a system available to soldiers with the amount of tools the latest set provides, Aarsen said.>> Non-lethal capabilities have definitely been an evolving process, he said. Technology and equipment continues to keep getting better, and we continue to keep learning more and becoming more innovative. I think now we have about the right mix of what the brigades will need. Though there may be times when they need more or less, its a good solution at this point.