text: Defensive Considerations in Counterinsurgency
  PROTECTION
  6-15. Protection is the preservation of the effectiveness and survivability of mission-related military
  and nonmilitary personnel, equipment, facilities, information, and infrastructure, deployed or located
  within or outside the boundaries of a given operational area (JP 3-0). The elements of protection are the
  same in concept between conventional operations and COIN. However, one important aspect is that,
  counterinsurgents are responsible for protecting local citizens. By ensuring that the local population
  is secure, counterinsurgents increase their effectiveness in all other tasks and gain allies who will provide
  information and cooperation. This increases the security of tactical units.
  TECHNIQUE CONSIDERATIONS DURING COUNTERINSURGENCIES
  6-16. Individual and small groups of Soldiers, leaders, and civilians are targets for the insurgents. This
  targeting not only includes lethal operations, such as attacks against an individual, but also nonlethal
  operations such as kidnapping, subversion or character attacks. Established individual protection measures
  remain the first line of defense. Basic site-protection operations, a building block to secure the population,
  include the following:
  Static Posts or Bases
  6-17. Each static post has a full-time detachment at the location of the vital asset. The size of the
  detachment is determined by the size of the vital asset, the threat, and the distance to the nearest available
  reserve. Consideration must be given to conserving manpower by employing surveillance devices
  and intruder alarms.
  Observation Post
  6-18. Although an OP has too little combat power to secure the vital asset, it can immediately call
  for support.
  Vehicle Patrols
  6-19. Vehicle patrols may be used to give periodic coverage to many low category vital assets. Timings
  for patrols must be varied to prevent the likelihood of ambush and to retain the element of surprise. Patrols
  should be strong enough to deal with anticipated threats and they must be supported by a local reserve.
  Foot Patrols
  6-20. Foot patrols also give periodic coverage to low category vital assets. Foot patrols will be
  particularly valuable at vital assets where movement is congested, observation is difficult, and concealment
  is easily afforded to enemy forces, such as those in busy city blocks.
  Airmobile Patrols
  6-21. Airmobile patrols may be used as a supplement to vehicle and foot patrols. They will be valuable
  for checking vital assets over extended distances or where access is difficult.
  RANDOM ANTITERRORISM MEASURES
  6-22. One means to disrupt insurgent attack plans is to implement random antiterrorism measures
  (RAMs). These consistently change the look of a security posture to defeat surveillance attempts
  and introduce uncertainty to a site's overall security plan, thereby making it difficult for the enemy
  to accurately predict friendly actions. Examples of RAMs are—
  • Moving Jersey barriers, vehicular barriers, Class IV objects, or objects in other classes to route
  traffic around base.
  • Starting random security patrols in the surrounding blocks.
  • Installing floodlights that operate at random times.
  • Changing guard shift at random times.