MENTAL PREPARATION FOR CIVIL DISTURBANCE OPERATIONS

LEARNING OBJECTIVES: Explain the importance of mental preparation for civil disturbance operations. Describe how control force members should react to stress. Explain how psychological influences impact on control force members themselves.

A special need exists to prepare individuals for the mental and physical stress of civil disturbance control operations. Training in this subject area should be

Figure 9-5.-On guard position.

oriented both toward understanding crowd and mob behavior and toward preparing units to control their own actions and emotions. Typical causes of civil disorders should be studied to give individuals a better understanding of why they maybe called upon to control civil disorders. Group behavior should be sufficiently discussed to show individuals what to expect. Further, personnel must be made aware of the influence of psychological factors upon their own behavior.

INDIVIDUAL RESPONSE TO STRESS

Masters-at-Arms engaged in civil disturbance operations will be subjected to noise and confusion created by large numbers of people facing them. Individual MAs may be shouted at, insulted, and called abusive names. You must learn to ignore these taunts and not allow personal feelings to interfere with the execution of your mission. In addition, you can expect objects to be thrown at you; however, objects must never be thrown back. You must subdue your emotions and carry out orders with determination and with "controlled aggression" whether in formation, patrolling, or posted as sentries.

MAs must be emotionally prepared for unusual actions, such as members of the crowd screaming and rushing toward them, or persons tearing off their own clothes or deliberately injuring or maiming themselves. You should understand that the well-disciplined execution of orders is the most effective force applied against rioters. Personnel must be indoctrinated in all aspects of self-control so that they are mentally prepared for participation in civil disturbance operations.

An effective way to familiarize MAs with the stress

of confronting a mob is to conduct an exercise

employing part of the unit as violent demonstrators, with

the remainder acting as the control force. Have the "mob" harass those acting as the control force in a

manner as realistic as possible, consistent with safety.

PSYCHOLOGICAL INFLUENCES

Just as the crowd may be swept into violence by the psychological influences of anonymity, impersonality, suggestion and imitation, emotional contagion, and release from repressed emotions, the control forces reaction may be inappropriate because of the effect of such factors on them. Both the leader and the control force members must be made aware of these factors so that they can cope with them in the civil disturbance environment.

The cumulative effect of these psychological factors may be an excessive response by control force personnel, who are often thrust into situations with little time to brief them about the situation. They may be confronted by individuals who express personal hostility in a manner that they are not prepared to handle unless they have been properly conditioned. It is extremely important that control force personnel be fully oriented, conditioned, and sensitized so that they can better cope with these problems in a civil disorder environment.

The fatigue factor must also be taken into consideration in determining the ability of control force personnel to deal with provocation and temptation, abusive language, taunts, invitations to seduction, offers of food and drink, physical missiles, tracts, and leaflets. Studies of recent disorders reveal that control forces tend to suffer strain, anxiety, and fatigue when they are kept on duty for extended periods of time. Rumors of violent acts committed against fellow members of the force also increase tension. After a while, they may begin to believe that they are in a war, and that all dissidents are their enemies. Sniping incidents tend to confirm their suspicions and provide assumed justification for revenge by excessive use of force or retaliation with massive firepower.

In situations where the control forces become emotionally involved, the force commander may lose control over the actions of their personnel. The control forces must be made fully aware of the reasons for which they have been committed. If they are not fully aware and prepared for the situation, they may act improperly or fail to act on command. Official reports stress the importance of training to develop self-discipline and teamwork.

SUMMARY

In this chapter, we pointed ^{out the agency} responsible for civil disturbances and described categories of intervention. Collective behavior factors and how they impact on various groups was also considered. Next, we looked at the psychological influences on crowds, the factors that affect crowd behavior, and how crowds are affected by panic. Then we looked at some incidents that might occur in a mob action and those incidents that a mob might take against a control force. Management of civil disturbances and principles of control were also considered. The application of force was examined, and the principles relating to nondeadly and deadly force were outlined. Operational techniques for choosing force options along with various crowd control options were discussed. Next, we considered the various techniques for crowd and mob control. Three types of formations used in crowd control were described, followed by a discussion of formation weapons and carry positions. Finally, mental preparation for civil disturbance operations, individual response to stress, and the psychological influences on a control force were covered.