Isolated Personnel Guidance (IPG) refers to country and regional information products used to prepare for military isolation and captivity within the US personnel recovery system. The Joint Personnel Recovery Agency provides IPGs and IPG Summaries for this purpose. They help personnel at risk and PR planners understand conditions in the operating area and prepare possible actions in the event of isolation.
Area knowledge for personal decisions
IPG is used alongside intelligence assessments, cultural briefings and country studies. Preparation includes knowledge of the adversary threat, the local population, friendly forces and the resources available to support survival. This informs decisions about movement, places to remain and contact with others. Country information has to be related to the specific mission situation: the distance to friendly forces, control of an area and usable routes can change during an operation.
One particular function of IPG is preparation for unplanned contacts. Knowledge of individuals, groups and organizations in the operating area helps a person assess an encounter with potentially neutral people or friendly forces. An isolated person may, for example, need supplies or directions and must weigh the potential benefit against the risk of making contact. Approaching others reveals their presence and may place them under someone else’s control. Knowing a group’s name does not establish the motives of the people actually encountered. Area knowledge and observed behaviour must agree; otherwise, remaining concealed or choosing another route may be more appropriate.
The possible duration of evasion also changes the importance of information. During extended isolation, distances to friendly forces, travel restrictions, security checks and border crossings become more significant. A short route on a map may pass through controlled crossings; an alternative may require more time and supplies than the person can afford. Possible routes and destinations are therefore assessed together with the person’s condition, equipment and consumables. A workable plan also records intentions if injured, such as a different place to remain or limited movement, rather than assuming the walking capacity of an uninjured person.
Before the mission: turn knowledge into personal intentions
Preparation starts with the PR guidance applicable to the operating area and the mission. The person establishes how they are to recognize isolation, which immediate actions are intended, which routes or destinations are relevant and how possible contact is to take place. This includes checking the communications and signalling equipment actually carried against the planned procedures.
Where required for the mission, personal intentions are recorded in an Evasion Plan of Action. Area knowledge, command guidance and the person’s capabilities are brought together: intended routes and places to remain, actions if injured, available equipment, and planned contact options. This includes the intended place to remain initially or destination to move towards if contact is not established. This information is passed to the responsible command before the mission. It later helps potential recovery forces interpret the person’s movement and behaviour. A change in task or conditions also requires a review of the previous intentions. A plan based on a different route or equipment can direct a search the wrong way.
During isolation: assess the actual situation
Once isolated, the person compares their situation with the prescribed isolation criteria and carries out the prepared actions. They check whether a planned route or place to remain is still usable. Enemy pressure, injury or lost equipment may require a departure from the plan. The person chooses a feasible alternative with the resources remaining and attempts to communicate the changed situation and new intention if a suitable connection is established.
Until then, the intentions already passed to others remain their known starting point. This is a reason to avoid unnecessary changes without persisting with an obviously dangerous action. A signal is used according to the applicable instructions and the actual threat: it is intended to reach the required recipient but can also reveal the person’s location to an adversary. The agreed recognition procedures apply to planned contact with friendly or recovery forces. The receiving forces authenticate the isolated person’s identity. Knowing that a particular organization operates in the area establishes neither the identity of a person who appears nor their authority to conduct recovery.
ISG and coalition procedures
Within the US Army, commanders translate their PR guidance into Isolated Soldier Guidance (ISG). This gives personnel operations-specific recommendations on isolation criteria, immediate actions, reporting and link-up with friendly forces. IPG provides area knowledge for preparation; the EPA communicates personal intentions developed from that knowledge and other instructions. Preparation therefore involves understanding the area, knowing the procedures applicable to the mission and recording intended behaviour in advance.
In NATO operations, joint commands provide guidance for the joint operations area; participating nations are responsible for their personnel’s appropriate training and equipment. Before the mission, the person therefore needs to know the procedures intended for recovery by another nation’s forces. Differences in equipment or recognition procedures affect the actual ability to establish contact. A US country product can support preparation with area knowledge, while the national and joint instructions established for the specific operation determine how personnel report, are recognized and are recovered.