The Army wants to give U.S. military forces and Homeland Security better options for controlling mobs and marking suspects - while decreasing the odds of deadly consequences in the process.

Fort Benning's Maneuver Battle Lab conducted an experiment on a new 12-gauge nonlethal shotgun cartridge June 1-5. Fifteen Soldiers - five from the 209th Military Police Detachment and 10 with 2nd Battalion, 29th Infantry Regiment - took part in the testing at Krilling and Pool ranges.

Rob Harbison, lead project officer for the Maneuver Battle Lab's Soldier team, said an assessment was done on the round's accuracy and the effectiveness of a paint and marking compound within it.

"We are analyzing the data, but initial insights indicate the cartridge met all of the performance parameters," he said.

Officials said the round, known officially as the 12-gauge nonlethal extended range marking munition, can be used during noncombatant hostile situations in combat zones and in the United States as authorities continue to engage terrorist threats.

It's especially helpful in detainee operations, crowd control, or marking a suspect vehicle or individual, officials said. The cartridge can identify targeted personnel at a range of more than 50 meters.

LTC Alfred Jackson, firepower branch chief for the Soldier Requirements Division, said the round enhances battlefield operations by minimizing widespread destruction of people, assets, infrastructure and the environment. Fiscal 2012 is the earliest it will be ready for use.

"This capability allows the tactical commander the option to tailor a response to situations when a lethal response is not the best option," Jackson said. "The Infantry Center is developing (nonlethal) capabilities that will not only protect our forces but also limit collateral damage and reduce noncombatant and friendly force casualties."

Harbison said the Army's requirement document calls for it to augment the currently fielded M-1012, a 12-gauge round with an effective range of only 10 to 20 meters. Troops will gain the ability to maintain a distance outside the reach of hand-thrown objects and rocks - lessons learned from past civil disturbances, he said.

"This combines blunt impact with marking effects, enabling the warfighter to target a specific individual or individuals in a crowd, unlike other crowd-control munitions which produce area effects," Harbison said.

The extended range in excess of 50 meters is unavailable within current nonlethal munitions, he said.

During the experiment, Harbison said, evaluators looked at Soldiers' ability to accurately engage human-sized targets, identify the marking residue left on the target by the projectile, and visually and by touch distinguish the nonlethal round from lethal cartridges, or buckshot.

"(The new cartridge) allows for greater standoff and reactionary gap between you and the subject," SPC Jarrod Palmer of the 209th MP Detachment said in a survey taken during the experiment.

SPC Amos Elam, also of the 209th MP Detachment, had a similar impression.

"The round is easy to use and does its job," he said. "The round will do what it's designed to do."