{"id":46697,"date":"2018-03-11T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-03-11T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/03\/11\/how-much-longer-will-us-and-partner-forces-own-the-night-in-combat\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T03:51:35","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T03:51:35","slug":"how-much-longer-will-us-and-partner-forces-own-the-night-in-combat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/flashpoints\/2018\/03\/11\/how-much-longer-will-us-and-partner-forces-own-the-night-in-combat\/","title":{"rendered":"How much longer will US and partner forces \u2018own the night\u2019 in combat?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Filmed through the tinted green of night vision goggles<\/a>, a February video<\/a> by the Taliban depicts their assault on an Afghan security forces<\/a> outpost in Kandahar province.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After police abandoned the base, the Taliban were free to roam and collect the weapons and vehicles left behind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The use of NVGs by enemy fighters<\/a> in situations like this appears to be growing, with reports from November indicating that the Taliban\u2019s \u201cRed Unit\u201d<\/a> used rifle-mounted lasers<\/a> and night vision optics to quickly overrun multiple checkpoints and police bases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This proliferation of night vision capability across the battlefield may be unstoppable in the long-run, and could change the way U.S. and partner forces fight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In looking into the issue, Military Times spoke with retired Army Col. Steven Bucci, a visiting fellow at the Heritage Foundation<\/a> who served 28 years as a Special Forces officer with a stint on the staff of former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bucci said the proliferation of night vision capabilities<\/a> and other optical devices is \u201ckind of inevitable.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen we do these kinds of missions, we basically try and buy [local forces] the same kind of equipment they already have,” Bucci said. “But, you know, we are trying to upgrade these folks and give them an advantage, so we do introduce them to things like night vision devices and maybe longer range optics for weapons, and you run the risk that they’re going to fall into enemy hands.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Marine Raiders with Marine Special Operations Company Charlie, 1st Marine Raider Battalion, U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Special Operations Command, call in Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance air support to identify a target during a notional direct-action night raid, a part of a Company Collective Exercise, Oct. 20, 2015, along the Arizona-California state line.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Speaking on behalf of U.S. Forces-Afghanistan, Navy Capt. Tom Gresback confirmed that \u201cthe Afghan National Army Special Operations Command and General Command of Police Special Units are equipped with night vision goggles.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For security reasons, Gresback wouldn\u2019t provide specific details. However, he did add that \u201cthe Taliban uses its criminal network of couriers and middlemen to purchase and transport high-end, over-the-counter military equipment such as [NGVs].\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That supply line makes sense to Bucci. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

State actors, like Iran, Russia and especially North Korea, could be willing to exchange hard cash for battlefield tech, with the added benefit of causing headaches for U.S. officials, Bucci said.<\/p>\n\n\n