Kill box: the newest FSCM

FA Journal, July-August, 2005 by Karl E. Wingenbach

Most of the information in this section, "Kill Box Basics," was either taken directly from or a paraphrase of FM 3-09.34. A copy of the approved FM may be downloaded from Reimer Digital Library, requiring an Army Knowledge Online (AKO) account: http//www.train.army.mil. Another source for ".mil" domain users is the ALSA Homepage: https://wwwmil.alsa.mil/index.html.> Kill Box Doctrine Development. In the last year, the service doctrine centers worked to resolve differences and answer the following questions: What is a kill box? Is a kill box an area reference system? Is it an FSCM? Is it used to facilitate air-to-ground attacks? Does it indicate component commander responsibilities? These may seem like simple questions, but joint and service doctrine has differed and combatant commanders have developed similar, but distinctive SOPs.

The development of specific, detailed doctrine and tactics, techniques or procedures (TTPs) for kill boxes began in March 2004. Much of the early discussion centered on whether the kill box was an FSCM, an ACM, both or a new hybrid measure with specific attributes. Many SMEs argued that it could be any of these, depending on a color code, similar to the various theater SOPs. However, the joint working group decided that the kill box was most closely related to FSCMs, although it had ACA attributes.

Joint Publication 1-02 (JP 1-02), Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms defines a kill box as "a three-dimensional area reference that enables timely, effective coordination and control and facilitates rapid attacks." (1) The joint pub includes little description and no TTPs.

Air Force Doctrine Document 1-2 (AFDD 1-2) Air Force Glossary defines a kill box as "a generic term for a preplanned ACM and (or) an FSCM used by the joint force to integrate and synchronize air and surface operations and deconflict joint fires in an expedient manner or on an asymmetric battlefield." (2) The term is not officially defined in Army, Navy or Marine Corps doctrine.

Reviews of combatant command SOPs yielded more kill box definitions and uses. In Korea, there are several restrictive and permissive kill box types. Some are essentially restricted fire areas (RFAs) protecting friendly troops, while others are ACAs focusing air assets on an indicated area. (3) In US Army Europe (USAREUR), kill boxes are ACMs used to enable joint fires. (4) In Central Command (CENTCOM), the kill box interdiction/CAS (KI/CAS) concept of operations uses kill boxes to indicate areas for rapid air-to-ground attack, CAS and where ground forces are located. (5) Color coding is used to indicate the type of kill box (for example, green for areas where ground forces are located, red for restricted areas and black for special operations forces locations).

For those familiar with the definitions of fire support and ACMs (6) and their attributes, all these definitions and uses may seem confusing and overlapping. How can one kill box allow air assets to attack ground targets without coordination (permissive), while another protects friendly ground troops from those same fires (restrictive)?