S.W.E.T. and BLOOD: essential services in the battle between insurgents and counterinsurgents.(1st Place: DePuy Writing Competition)(sewage disposal, running water, electric power, and trash removal)(Essay) From: Military Review | Date: November 1, 2007| Author: | COPYRIGHT 2007 U.S. Army CGSC. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan.  All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group.Copyright information

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IN DECEMBER 2006, the U.S. Army published a new field manual, FM 3-24, Counterinsurgency (COIN). This FM identifies "the ability to generate and sustain popular support" as an insurgency's center of gravity. (1) Consequently, the FM emphasizes the importance of providing essential services (ES) to the population as a way to attack this center of gravity. To focus efforts concerning ES, the operational design for COIN includes a logical line of operation (LLO) dedicated entirely to the provision of ES (hereafter called LLO ES).

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