Chapter 1. New age of warfare: How digital forensics is reshaping today’s military

Not since the use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) by the Irish Republican Army in the United Kingdom have we seen extensive use of IEDs as we have during combat operations against American and coalition forces in Iraq and Afghanistan as a primary force multiplier and sometimes tactical advantage. These IEDs have been taken to a level of use in modern warfare that has shown to be effective for an enemy with inferior technology or organized modern army. From homemade explosives to modified military ordnance, IEDs have become the preferred weapon of choice for insurgents operating in Iraq and Afghanistan. Weapons technical intelligence (WTI) is being developed daily on today’s IED components so that tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) can be developed to thwart activities directed at U.S. ground forces as they move about the battlefield. Weapons intelligence teams (WITs) are being fielded to further WTI collection as well as the exploitation of IED materials and electronic digital media. With so much emphasis on all realms of forensics, Baghdad has become the hub for battlefield evidence collection and relevant in prosecuting the war. Military intelligence and evidence have merged as a vehicle to capture and prosecute enemy combatants taking full advantage of modern technology to root out actionable intelligence through digital forensics, thus creating battlefield cops out of everyday modern soldiers.