Importance of Knowing the Ideals of Warzone Audition in Urban Combat Zones

By Jeremy Cobb

Basic Ideals and Usefulness of Audition

The bottom line basic ideal of audition is to be able perceive sounds and dictate what that sound is, what is making it, and where it is coming from. Audition is being used by humans everyday even when we are unaware it is in use, when this happens, these noises we are unaware of are referred to as noise pollution. As we mature our brains and develop, auditory sounds are recognized and stored in our brains through experiences we have had with them. Once we have come into contact with those sounds several times over, our brain conditions itself to recognize similar sounds and expand upon what we already know. Through accordance with holding the knowledge of audition though experience, we are able to create a sort of, as Raymond Schaefer defines it, soundscape of the area we are in, allowing us to use this knowledge to dictate several elements in our environment. Dictations of our environment can help us determine characteristics of what our environment is like in its present state, for example, it is hostile, inviting, noisy, quiet, exciting, populated, etc.. Using Schaefer's concept of soundscapes, we are able to draw-up a visual perception of ur environment Drawing from these ideals of how humans use audition in everyday life to determine certain qualities of their environment, we can see how audition can play such a key role in urban combat. 

Forming Soundscapes in Urban Hostile Environments

Raymond Schaefer is one of the leading brains behind the idea of soundscapes. According to him, soundscapes are noises that can be heard in a particular area, which are then compiled into a whole giving us an idea of what surrounds us. Taking each noise that we hear, and then adding what additional information we already know about our surrounding area, allows us to be able to map out our environment without being able to see the entire space. If we think about our ability to form a soundscape, and refer it to the characteristics of urban warfare, we can come upon several reasons why this ability can play such an important role in our awareness and perception of the warzone:

1.In urban warfare, you are surrounded by numerous buildings which obscure your line of sight from  being able to see very far. Why would this make forming soundscapes so important? Because          having the ability to map out an area based off the strongest and farthest reaching sense you have gives you an upper hand on enemy combatants that may otherwise be unaware of, or ignorant to the fact of locations of enemies or friendlies. Knowing the positioning of enemies is a huge upper advantage in wartime and can be the factor that decides your fate.

2. Soundscapes can give an idea of how populated the area is, and allow a rough estimation of whether those individuals are friendlies, enemies, or civilians. This can be important by giving us a sense of what you will be facing in terms of numbers, and the threat level of the current area you are in.

3. Finally, forming soundscapes has the ability for us to be able to block out noise pollution and focus in on the sounds that are important. Noise pollution can play a big role in obscuring the threat level of the area you are in and can also lead to becoming lost in a foreign area you are not accustomed too.

Knowing What to Listen For

Soldiers are trained both by their faction and through experience, to be able to pick out certain sounds that are of importance, and ignore those sounds that are there to distract. In J. Martin Daughtry's book "Listening to War: Sound, Music, Trauma, and Survival in Wartime", he explains the importance of having the ability to listen for the sounds that matter. In urban environments, when your visual perception is at a minimum, you are mostly reliant on your auditory abilities. It is not only the part of picking out the correct sounds, it is also understanding what those sounds are. For example,  Daughtry points out the ability of trained and experienced soldiers to be able to differ between friendly gunshots and enemy gunshots. This is possible through audition allowing the soldier to gather the sound of the shot, and dissect it all the way down to the caliber of the round and the specific weapon that was used to fire it. Experienced soldiers in the U.S. military know that the standard issued firearm for a U.S. soldier is an M4 assault rifle firing a 5.56 caliber round. These soldiers having so much experience with this certain weapon, would be able to pick the sound of its firing out of other firearms of different calibers firing. Here is a link going into detail about differences and comparisons of the M4 rifle and AK-47 rifle https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpLYsziJE-k. This can be such an important tool in urban warfare because it gives you the ability to be aware of who is around you, since urban environments allow for little visual perception, being able to hear an enemy before they are too close, being able to advance towards an enemy that's location is unclear, or being able to recognize friendly troops in such a hectic environment gives those able to implement this tactic a clear advantage.

Techniques of Inattention

In a modern day urban combat zone, invading soldiers will not be accustomed to all of the noises that go on in this foreign place. There will be things that they are not used to hearing, things they will hear that they do not understand, and sounds that will make them uncomfortable, both of these tie into noises that are considered to be obnoxious. For this section I will refer to an article written by Brian Larkin, which is titled "Techniques of Inattention: The Mediality of Loudspeakers in Nigeria", this holds similarity in our discussion of warzone audition in that it refers to sounds that can be very similar to that of current active combat areas that U.S. troops are deployed in. Nigeria which is predominantly Muslim, make use of giant loudspeakers which sound out messages and chants referring to practices followed by the Muslim religion. U.S. troops deployed to countries in the Middle East, which are also predominantly Muslim, are forced to listen to the same types of things over a loudspeaker everyday. These messages can cause those who are foreign to the fact to be uncomfortable, annoyed, and distracted during times where these traits can be the difference between life or death. There have been times where enemy insurgents recognized how distracted and vulnerable the loudspeakers made U.S. troops, so they would coordinate their attacks in unison with the soundings of the loudspeakers. Using techniques of inattention, soldiers allow themselves to completely ignore these distracting sounds that are being blasted through these speakers. Inattention of these sounds allows for a better hold on sanity and to listen for the sounds of war that are important in recognizing if there is imminent danger approaching.

Here is an example of how loud and distracting these sounds coming from the loudspeakers can be if you are not accustomed to its intensity and frequency. Both sides of the war effort have found ways to get under the skin of one another while engaged in the warzone, having control of an enemies comm network can cause mass confusion and hysteria amongst the enemy combatants. This takes away their ability to strategize and can demoralize them to a point of utter helplessness. This is why techniques of inattention can prove to be so useful in areas of combat.

Conclusion

We have covered some great points regarding how important auditory skills can be in an urban combat warzone. Being an auditory expert can give you an upper hand in various dangerous situations and can mean the difference in life or death in some as well. If we take this stance on how important being able to listen can be in a warzone, then maybe we can use it to show how important being able to listening is in normal everyday life. Taking time out of the day to just sit and listen and test your auditory skills, this can lead to several positive outcomes like improved relaxation, calmness, and awareness. These are important features that everyone needs to improve on/ reinforce, having great auditory skills is not only to keep you alive in combat, but can also lead you to a healthier soul, body, and mind. Which is also a very important feature in soldiers during combat in the middle of warzones!