A modified version of Flanagan critical incident technique applied to interaction of counterinsurgent forces with an indigenous population.

Abstract

The interaction between indigenous populations and counterinsurgent forces from another country is a topic of both practical and theoretical importance. Although there is a considerable body of material published on such related activity as civic action, there are few empirical data. The Flanagan critical incidents technique was applied to an accidental sample of 25 special forces men, 15 enlisted men and 10 officers. The results were 83 positive and 47 negative incidents (130 incidents in all). The incidents revealed both clustering and diversity. Over half the incidents involved the giving of intelligence by the indigenous population. Commonly, the cause of a given action was unknown. An unexpected finding was the extent to which trades were worked out between the military and local populations. The technique as modified here would be useful in studying other forms of collective behavior.