From Alpha to Omega: A Milsim Tactical Primer and Training Manual (Modern MILSIM)

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FROM ALPHA TO OMEGA A MILSIM TACTICAL PRIMER AND TRAINING MANUAL CRAIG R. WHITE

Copyright © by Craig R. White, 2019. All rights reserved. While every reasonable precaution has been taken to ensure the reliability and accuracy of this book and its contents, neither the author not the publisher assume any responsibility for the use or misuse of information contained herein. Suggestions and advice provided herein are only offered to provoke independent thought. In no event shall the author or publisher be held liable for any incidental, consequential and/or indirect damages (including but not limited to, damages based on loss of profits, business interruption, loss of information, etc.) caused by the use of this book. This book is for informational purposes only.

To Nan, Ethan and Peyton for their patience in allowing me to pursue this crazy hobby.

“THERE ARE NO SECRETS TO SUCCESS. IT IS THE RESULTOF PREPARATION, HARD WORK, LEARNING FROM FAILURE.” COLIN POWELL “IF YOU FIND YOURSELF IN A FAIR FIGHT, YOUR TACTICS SUCK.” JOHN STEINBECK “OUT OF EVERY ONE HUNDRED MEN, TEN SHOULDN’T EVEN BE THERE, EIGHTY ARE JUST TARGETS, NINE ARE REAL FIGHTERS, AND WE ARE LUCKY TO HAVE THEM, FOR THEY MAKE THE BATTLE. AH, BUT THE ONE, ONE IS A WARRIOR, AND HE WILL BRING THE OTHERS BACK.”

HERACLITUS “NEVER TELL PEOPLE HOW TO DO THINGS. TELL THEM WHAT TO DO AND THEY WILL SURPRISE YOU WITH THEIR INGENUITY.” GEORGE S. PATTON, JR.

TABLE OF CONTENTS FROM ALPHA TO OMEGA TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION PART I – BASIC CONSIDERATIONS, FIELDCRAFT AND TEAM ROLES/ RESPONSIBILITIES ALPHA: BASIC OVERRIDING CONCEPTS SITUATIONAL AWARENESS: MAINTAINING INITIATIVE: EFFECTIVENESS: SIMPLICITY: IMPORTANCE OF SAFETY: BETA: WHAT ARE PROCEDURES (TTPs)?

TACTICS,

TECHNIQUES

AND

PSYCHOLOGY: POSITION: TIMING: GAMMA: FIELDCRAFT, BASIC SKILLS AND STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES SITUATIONAL AWARENESS: WEAPON ACCURACY: SLLS CHECK: SMOOTH, STEALTHY MOVEMENT TO CONTACT: NOISE DISCIPLINE: LIGHT DISCIPLINE: SCAN WHILE MOVING:

SCANNING: INDICATORS: AVOID PROVIDING INDICATORS TO ENEMY: FIRE AND MOVEMENT/BOUNDING: FLANKING: TACTICAL PATIENCE: COVER VS. CONCEALMENT: HUGGING COVER: STACKING TREES: WORKING COVER: CONTACT WITH ENEMY: MUZZLE AND TRIGGER DISCIPLINE: HEAD, BODY, WEAPON: DISPLACEMENT: AVOID CROSSING OTHER TEAM MEMBERS’ FIELD OF FIRE: STAY OUT OF THE FATAL FUNNEL: THIRD EYE: NIGHT VISION PROTECTION: FINDWORK TO DO: RIFLEMAN: SUPPORT GUNNER: FIRE TEAM LEADER: SQUAD LEADER: SNIPER/DESIGNATED MARKSMAN: ANTI-TANK/GRENADIER: SUBMACHINE GUNNER: SPECIALIST: ONE WAY OF FIGHTING: TEST YOUR GEAR EXTENSIVELY BEFORE FIELDING IT AT AN OPERATION: EQUIPMENT SPECIFIC PREPARATIONS: ERGONOMICS: DEFINITION OF CHAIN OF COMMAND:

STRUCTURE OF CHAIN OF COMMAND: SUCCESSION OF COMMAND: FOLLOWING CHAIN OF COMMAND: SHOOT, MOVE, COMMUNICATE: MAINTAIN OBJECTIVE FOCUS: GUN UP: EYES ON SECTOR (EOS): BUDDY PAIRS: TARGETING DURING INITIAL ENGAGEMENT: FINISH THE GUNFIGHT: DO NOT MUZZLE FLASH TEAM MEMBERS: ORDERS: NO SANCTUARY: AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY: CORNERING: MAXIMUM USE OF COVER: AVOID FLAGGING: LACE REPORT: SOLAR COLLECTION/SKYLIGHTING: ISOLATE OBJECTIVES: CLOCKRAY METHOD OF IDENTIFYING POSITIONS: FRESH MAGAZINES: MAGAZINE CHANGE PROCEDURE: MEDIC PROCEDURES:

ENEMY

PART II – COMMUNICATIONS DELTA: COMMUNICATIONS HAND COMMUNICATIONS RADIO COMMUNICATION PROCEDURE: RADIO PROWORDS: PHONETIC ALPHABET: NUMBERING:

STANDARD

OPERATING

ACRONYMS: SQUAD AND FIRE TEAM LEADERS: RIFLEMEN, SUPPORT GUNNERS AND SPECIALISTS: CHALLENGE WORDS/PASSCODES: MATH CHALLENGE: RUNNING PASSWORD: OPERATIONAL CODE WORDS: PART III – ROOM CLEARING TACTICS AND PROCEDURES EPSILON: CLOSE QUARTERS BATTLE – ROOM CLEARING SPEED SURPRISE VIOLENCE OF ACTION CLEAR THE DOORWAY AND IMMEDIATE AREA CLEAR THE CORNERS DOMINATE THE ROOM CONTROL OCCUPANTS SECURE THE ROOM REPORT STATUS BACK CLEAR (SECONDARY SWEEP) COVER AND EVACUATE COMPLEXITY OF ENVIRONMENT ENTRY TEAM STACK OFFSET FIELDS OF FIRE FOR POINT AND SECOND MEN FREE FLOW/READ METHOD OF ROOM ENTRY EXECUTE DECISIONS MOVEMENT DURING TEAM BREACH COMMUNICATE SLOW IS SMOOTH, SMOOTH IS FAST DIMINISHING SECTORS (DS) POINT AND SECOND MEN AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY THIRD MAN AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY FOURTH MAN AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY AVOID OVER-PENETRATION

FAMILIARIZE YOURSELF WITH EACH POSITION IN ENTRY TEAM STACK MOVEMENT TO FINAL POINTS OF DOMINATION ACTIONS UPON BEING HIT DURING BREACH AVOID CROSSING WINDOWS AND OTHER DOORS DURING BREACH AVOID SWEEPING TEAM MEMBERS WITH WEAPON MUZZLE BE PRO-ACTIVE MAINTAIN SECTOR OF FIRE/AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY USE OF LOW READY WEAPON POSITIONING TEAM LEADER POSITION IN STACK PREFERRED USE OF DYNAMIC ENTRY FOR ROOMS CONTAINING OBJECTIVES STEALTHY APPROACH TO TARGET MAINTAIN DISTANCE TO THREAT AREAS DETERMINE MOST ADVANTAGEOUS ENTRY POINT CLEAR THE ENTIRE FLOOR USE OF GRENADES NEVER CLEAR DANGER AREAS ALONE RETREAT/ESCAPE ROUTE SECURITY PLATING FLOOD ROOM PUSH OUT PART IV – HALLWAY CLEARING TACTICS AND PROCEDURES ZETA: CLOSE QUARTERS BATTLE – HALLWAY CLEARING GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS PUSH OUT/COVER MAN: DIMINISHING SECTORS/SLICING THE PIE SET –SNAP HALLWAY TACTICAL FORMATIONS/MOVEMENT TACTICS FOR CLEARING HALLWAY INTERSECTIONS

PART V – STAIRWAY CLEARING TACTICS AND PROCEDURES ETA: CLOSE QUARTERS BATTLE – STAIRWAY CLEARING GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS: STRAIGHT STAIRWAY CLEARING: CLEARING COMMERCIAL STAIRS WITH LANDING(S): PART VI – LAND WARFARE – BATTLE FORMATIONS THETA: LAND WARFARE – BATTLE FORMATIONS PATROL FORMATIONS: DEFENSIVE FORMATIONS IMPORTANCE OF SECURITY PART VII – LAND WARFARE – READING TERRAIN IOTA: LAND WARFARE - READING TERRAIN PART VIII – LAND WARFARE – BATTLE DRILLS & TTPS KAPPA: LAND WARFARE – BATTLE DRILLS AND TTPS USE OF BATTLE BUDDY SYSTEM GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS: MOVEMENT TO CONTACT/SECURE OBJECTIVE ASSAULT ON OBJECTIVE: REACTION TO CONTACT OBJECTIVE SECURITY BREAK CONTACT MOUT (MILITARY OPERATIONS IN URBAN TERRAIN) TACTICS PATROLLING: AMBUSH: TACTICAL ELEMENTS OF AMBUSH: CATEGORY OF AMBUSH: TYPE OF AMBUSH: FORMATION OF AMBUSH: PART IX – LAND WARFARE – NIGHT OPERATIONS

LAMDA: LAND WARFARE – NIGHT OPERATIONS UNAIDED NIGHT VISION: CONSTRAINTS ON UNAIDED NIGHT VISION: AVOID NIGHT BLIND SPOTS: DARK ADAPTATION: NIGHT OBSERVATION TECHNIQUES: LIMITED VISIBILITY FIRE CONTROL TECHNIQUES IMPORTANCE OF STEALTHY MOVEMENT: POSITIVE IDENTIFICATION TECHNIQUES: LIGHT DISCIPLINE: MOVE TO FLANK: PART X – GETTING TO OMEGA OMEGA: TESTING TACTICS, PROCEDURES THROUGH TRAINING

TECHNIQUES

AND

MASTER THE BASIC TTPS: MODIFY TTPs TO BETTER WORK WITH YOUR TEAM AND TACTICAL ELEMENTS: TRAIN, TRAIN, TRAIN: THE IMPACT OF MEANINGFUL TRAINING: XI - APPENDICES ABBREVIATIONS TENETS FOR THE APPLICATION OF TACTICS INTERPLAY OF TACTICS AND STRATEGY: CULMINATING POINT OF VICTORY: INITIATIVE IS PARAMOUNT: TERRAIN: PHYSICAL TENETS MENTAL TENANTS MORALE/COHESION RECONNAISSANCE ISOLATION PREPARATION

SURPRISE FLEXIBILITY SECURITY POSITIONING DEPTH MUTUAL SUPPORT FLEXIBILITY DEFENSIVE FIRING POSITIONS: IMPORTANCE OF PATROLLING: EFFECT OF TACTICAL LEADERSHIP READ THE TERRAIN ANTICIPATE THE ENEMY READ TERRAIN BASED ON STRENGTH AND POSITION OF BOTH FORCES CONSIDER THE “WHAT IF?” QUICK, EFFECTIVE ORDERS ISOLATE OBJECTIVE FIX/SUPPRESS ENEMY FORCES SELECT/CREATE VULNERABLE POINT BREACH OBSTACLES PENETRATE INITIAL DEFENSIVE POSITIONS SUPPRESS ADJACENT ENEMY POSITIONS LIFT/SHIFT SUPPORTING FIRES SEIZE AND CLEAR OBJECTIVE CONSOLIDATE/PREPARE FOR COUNTERATTACK RESUPPLY AND EVACUATE CASUALTIES REORGANIZE AND RESET HESITATION RABBITING AND ONE-MAN ROOM CLEARING SMOOTH IS FAST FATAL FUNNEL FIND AND FILL HOLES MAINTAIN SITUATIONAL AWARENESS KEEP YOUR EYES ON YOUR SECTOR

SPEED IS NOT YOUR SECURITY WEAPONS HOLD WEAPONS TIGHT WEAPONS FREE SUPPRESSION POSITIONING TALKING GUNS CREW SERVED HEAVY MACHINE GUNS TACTICAL MISSION TASKS MISSION SYMBOLS: EFFECTS ON ENEMY FORCES SYMBOLS: ACTIONS BY FRIENDLY FORCES SYMBOLS: A NOTE ON MILSIM EVENT ORGANIZERS XII – REFERENCES AND ABOUT THE AUTHOR

INTRODUCTION This Military Simulation (MILSIM) tactical primer and training manual is intended for training and operations of small tactical units in an airsoft environment. To that end, It utilizes various open sources (including United States Army Doctrine) mixed with lessons I have learned through research, training and experience garnered over eight years of playing MILSIM as well as other airsoft events. Although many of the concepts contained herein are similar to those used by the military and/or law enforcement, the tactics and procedures in this manual are not intended for use outside of an airsoft environment. Unlike in the real world, MILSIM is a non-lethal game where players can experiment with tactics and techniques in a simulated military engagement. This training manual is intended to act as a framework on which MILSIM players and teams can formulate their own standard operating procedures (SOPs) and tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs) for tactical elements no larger than a squad or platoon. As such, it focuses on tactical principles that are intended for use in various squad and team operations. Although this manual is intended to act as a framework for developing your own tactics, it should not be used in a vacuum. Nothing can substitute for active and effective team training. Train with SOPs and TTPs that you adopt to see what works and what does not. If a tactic or technique needs to be modified to fit your team, do it. That being said, test and train with each modification to see if it is simple and effective. Please also note that each chapter in this manual builds on principles taught in the chapters that

precede it. As such, I recommend that you master the fundamentals of field-craft before moving on to more advanced topics. Although I have learned quite a bit about airsoft and MILSIM over the years, I do not profess to know everything about the sport and I am sure there are others out there that are more versed in the application of more advanced tactics and techniques. Much of this has to do with the experiences of these other individuals compared to my own. That being said, this manual is intended to act as a guide for less experienced airsoft players and teams that are interested in taking the plunge into MILSIM and to get themselves to Omega. What is “Getting to Omega”? Getting to Omega is a term that I use to indicate that an individual or a team has reached the point of proficiency in the application of Tactics, Techniques and Procedures (TTPs) on the MILSIM battlefield to the point that they have become second nature. This is not to suggest that a player or team is superior to others on the MILSIM battlefield. It only means that they have mastered their TTPs to the point where they have become a force multiplier to other friendly forces around them and can teach the proper application of those TTPs to other players and teams. Getting to Omega is not a finite process. Everyone at some point has started at the beginning (i.e. Alpha) by learning field craft basics. As they learn from their mistakes, individuals and teams start formulating procedures and techniques to prevent those mistakes from occurring again. Thus they evolve into better players and teams. This tactical primer and training manual is intended to assist players in reaching that goal. Tactics do not remain static. By their nature, tactics evolve over time to address new issues as they arise. As such, individual players and teams should be constantly learning and addressing issues within their own SOPs and TTPs as they evolve over time. Developing and effectively implementing a superior and efficient tactic, technique and/or procedure on

the MILSIM battlefield can make the difference between success and failure. MILSIM is my passion. This tactical primer and training manual is one of the ways I try to contribute to the airsoft community that has given so much to me and to make it better as a whole. It is my hope that I have succeeded. Craig R. White a/k/a “Bulldog”

PA R T I – B A S I C C O N S I D E R AT I O N S , FIELDCRAFT AND TEAM ROLES/ RESPONSIBILITIES

ALPHA: BASIC OVERRIDING CONCEPTS To me, the best place to start explaining tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs) is to illustrate the basic building blocks and concepts that underlie all of them. You must have an intrinsic “gut” understanding of the following concepts to develop and apply TTPs effectively. Repeated effective training will help achieve that goal. All tactics, techniques and procedures are essentially based on four interlinked concepts. Successful tactics, techniques and procedures will often have considerable overlap of the following four criteria: SITUATIONAL AWARENESS: The TTP must assist the player, team or tactical element to create and/or maintain situational awareness. In other words, each tactic, technique or procedure must promote or enhance their ability to sense and understand what is going on around them on the battlefield so as to allow them to identify and exploit enemy weaknesses. In the alternative, the TTP must diminish the enemy’s situational awareness and hamper his ability to react properly to actions taken against it. MAINTAINING INITIATIVE: The TTP must allow the player, team or tactical element to create and/or maintain initiative. In other words, the tactic, technique or procedure should make the enemy react to the friendly player, team or tactical element’s actions and largely prevent him from implementing his own strategy or tactics. Maintaining initiative will likely keep the enemy unbalanced and unable to execute its own battle plan.

EFFECTIVENESS: The TTP should quickly and efficiently cause the effect that it is designed to produce on the enemy. These effects can range from eliminating enemy players to preventing the enemy from seizing objectives…and everything in between. SIMPLICITY: The TTP should be simple enough that it can be easily taught and, with practice, fairly easy to implement. The more you introduce complexity to a tactic, technique or procedure the more you are introducing points of failure in it. This is especially true with communications and close quarters battle tactics. IMPORTANCE OF SAFETY: Whenever possible, individuals, teams and tactical elements should apply basic firearms safety to the training and use of TTP’s that they have developed. Treat your weapon as if it is a real firearm. If you observe muzzle discipline, especially as you are clearing buildings, the team will move and act more smoothly and efficiently. The basis safety rules are: 1.

Always treat your weapon as if it is loaded.

2. Never point your weapon at anyone you do not intend to shoot. 3.

Keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot.

4.

Be aware of what is in front of and behind your target.

BETA: WHAT ARE TACTICS, TECHNIQUES AND PROCEDURES (TTPS)? DEFINITION OF TACTICS TACTICS are defined as the practical means of employing units in combat to achieve battlefield objectives. An example of a tactic is the manner in which a squad assaults and seizes an objective.

DEFINITION OF TECHNIQUES TECHNIQUES are the general and detailed methods used by troops or their commanders to perform their mission and function. It is the manner in which troops and their commanders perform their tactics. An example of a technique is the manner in which a player performs the function of point man during room clearing operations.

DEFINITION OF PROCEDURES

PROCEDURES are the standard methods used by troops or their commanders to perform or complete a task. An example of a procedure would be the manner in which a squad leader calls in artillery fire or close air support (CAS).

EMPLOYMENT OF TACTICS, TECHNIQUES AND PROCEDURES Tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPS), as a whole, are generally accepted practices used to conduct military operations. “Generally accepted” means that the described TTPs are applicable to most operations, most of the time and are generally accepted as effective. TTPs are used to gain advantage over the enemy through psychology, position and/or timing. Each TTP must be vetted for effectiveness in force on force testing according to the following principles: PSYCHOLOGY: Does the TTP adversely affect enemy’s ability to attack/counter-attack including surprise, fear, etc.? (i.e. create or maintain initiative). POSITION: Does the TTP tend to place team members in a more advantageous position in relation to the enemy including better cover, better firing position, flanking, etc.? (i.e. promote situational awareness). TIMING: Does the TTP effect an advantage in timing over that of the enemy including the ability to put effective, aimed fire on the enemy while denying or delaying the enemy from doing same? (I.e. effectiveness and simplicity).

Each TTP needs to incorporate as many of these principles as possible while maintaining simplicity of action to maximize their effectiveness.

GAMMA: FIELDCRAFT, BASIC SKILLS AND STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES FIELDCRAFT AND BASIC SKILLS: FIELDCRAFT IS THE BASIC BUILDING BLOCKS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF EFFECTIVE TTPS. SITUATIONAL AWARENESS: This is the most essential consideration in the employment of tactics. Awareness of changing conditions surrounding the player, team or tactical element, as well as changes in known or potential threats are critical to force protection (protection of the team) and completion of the mission assigned to it. Team members need to constantly observe and evaluate their surroundings for potential threats in three dimensions…especially in CQB and MOUT environments. It is also especially important to maintain situational awareness once the gunfight begins to avoid efforts by the enemy to flank and/or otherwise gain a more advantageous position on the team. Be aware of your surroundings including potential ambush points for the enemy, the location of other team members and the location of objectives. Be especially cognizant of “dead space”. Dead space is an area that is out of

your line of sight and field of fire from your position. Remember to think in three dimensions. Sometimes the threat is above or below you. WEAPON ACCURACY: It is essential for both your primary and secondary weapons to be zeroed. Gunsights are not just for looks. They are a tool to be used to provide accurate long range fire and to hit smaller targets in a Close Quarters Battle environment. This also applies to laser sights. Make sure they are zeroed to the range where you are most likely to use them. When zeroing your weapons, first make sure that your hop up is set properly. If you zero your weapon without first checking to make sure your hop up is properly set, it will no longer be properly zeroed to the bb point of impact. SLLS CHECK: A SLLS (Stop, Look, Listen, Smell) check is essential to establishing and maintaining situational awareness. Team Members, especially if the point man for the squad or fire-team, need to stop periodically to take in their environment by looking, listening and sniffing for potential threats. This is especially important when entering or leaving wood-lines or urban areas where eyes frequently need to adjust to differing light levels. In addition, sounds and smells travel far on a still day and can reveal the presence and location of the enemy before you actually see them. Sound amplification systems such as the Silynx C4OPS, COMTACH and SORDIN headsets can greatly magnify the range that enemy forces can be detected. This advantage can be exploited by taking appropriate action to surprise the enemy and/or otherwise place them at a disadvantage. SMOOTH, STEALTHY MOVEMENT TO CONTACT: Movement to contact should be done in a deliberate yet smooth and stealthy manner. Doing so is essential to maintaining initiative and maximizing the player, team or tactical element’s effectiveness while engaging the enemy. Movement to contact should stay out of open ground as much as possible except where there is no other reasonable option. In such cases, movement

through open ground needs to be done quickly while moving to cover on the other side. Stay low while moving to minimize your profile. NOISE DISCIPLINE: Noise discipline is essential to stealthy movement. The sound of loud talking and the hissing from hurried whispers carry far ahead of you and can reveal your approach to the enemy before they actually see you. The sound of loose BBs and/or gear rubbing against clothing will also likely notify the enemy of your approach. The enemy will likely use this advance notice to set up an ambush. To avoid this possibility, use of hand signals or quiet use of radios to communicate is imperative. If necessary, all spoken commands made prior to actual contact with the enemy must be done in a low voice but not a whisper. The higher pitched hissing noise associated with whispering carries further and is easier to locate that speaking in lowered voices. However, once contact is made and the shooting starts, noise discipline clearly is no longer at issue. At that point, exchanging information regarding the location of enemy threats is far more important than stealth. LIGHT DISCIPLINE: The effects of light and shadow can also affect the enemy’s ability to locate you in the battle environment. Be careful to avoid light that will project a shadow that will reveal your position to the enemy. Light discipline applies to both sunlight and artificial light such as high power flashlights. It also applies to infrared radiation with respect to NODs/NVGs. Type 1 NODs/NVGs utilize an infrared flashlight that is clearly visible to more advanced versions of NODs/NVGs (Ver. 2 and 3) that rely on passive light gathering. There is nothing more obvious to an enemy than watching a “sun” open up next to cover and near ground level. An infrared light source may not be visible to the naked eye but it definitely is visible to anyone with NODs/NVGs. SCAN WHILE MOVING: While moving to contact, constantly scan the area around you for threats. Scan as much as possible without making quick head movements. The human eye is drawn to movement. Quick head movements increase the chance that an enemy will locate you. In

forested areas, be sure to scan THROUGH vegetation and not scan over it. Look for the human silhouette hidden in the vegetation. Also look for unnatural bumps at the base of trees (i.e. “tree cancer”) and/or colors that are not normally found in nature. Be sure to scan higher threat areas first then move on to lower threat areas. SCANNING: Players should scan their sector in an “S” shaped pattern beginning with areas in close proximity and moving out. Begin with scanning from left to right and from near to far. INDICATORS: There are various aspects in the environment that will reveal threats hidden therein. Some of these include: MOVEMENT: The biggest indicator of a threat is movement. The eye is naturally attracted to movement. SHAPE: Look for obvious, non-natural shapes in the environment SHINE: Look for reflections from non-natural surfaces such as weapons, eye-protection and sweaty skin. SHADOW: Look for the shadows of enemy that are cast outside of their concealed position. SILHOUETTE: Look for the silhouette of enemy being lit from a light source behind them. SURFACE: Look for non-natural surfaces in the environment. SPACING: Look for objects in even spacing ahead of you. That is not normal in nature.

AVOID PROVIDING INDICATORS TO ENEMY: Remember that Indicators apply to you as well. Move slowly and stealthily to contact. While scanning, avoid rapid head movements. Use camouflage to obscure the outline of your body. FIRE AND MOVEMENT/BOUNDING: When moving, two teams or tactical elements alternate to provide suppressing fire on the enemy from cover while the other is moving. One element provides accurate fire on an enemy position to keep their heads down and make it difficult for them to observe movement of the other element as it moves forward to a covered position. Once the second element reaches cover, it assumes the role of providing suppressing fire and the other element leapfrogs to the next position of cover and the cycle begins again. 1. DEFINITION: Bounding is the use of fire and movement to move directly towards or directly away from an enemy position. 2. COMMUNICATION: As each element reaches cover, he yells “Move” or “Set” to indicate he is in position and ready to provide suppressing fire. At which point the other element will yell “Moving” to let the suppressing element know that he is moving and to provide suppression while he is doing so. As team members become more familiar with this technique, some of the commands and responses may become unnecessary and can be dropped. That being said, it is usually best not to drop commands and responses if there is anyone in the team or element that is inexperienced in the use of bounding. 3. SEEKING COVER: It should take no more than 3-5 seconds or 5-10 yards to reach cover. Think of the cadence: “I’m up, he sees me, I’m down”. When you say “I’m down”, you should already be in cover. Moving in short bounds lessens the time you are exposed to enemy fire and prevents blocking/masking the line of fire from other friendly forces.

4. SUPPRESSIVE FIRE: Suppressive fire is defined as firing with sufficient accuracy and volume to change the behavior of the enemy to which it is directed. Typically this change of behavior is to keep the enemy’s head (and therefore his eyes) behind cover where he will have difficulty seeing and firing on tactical elements moving on his position. For suppressive fire to be effective it has to be accurate enough to be hitting the enemy’s cover and other objects around him so as to lead him to believe that he has to stay behind cover to prevent being hit. Effective suppressive fire is NOT blindly firing in the general direction where you believe the enemy to be. FLANKING: When conducting an attack, it is usually best to move the enemy’s flank and assault from that position. The flank is the sides of the enemy element. It is always relative to the enemy position and cover. Flanking is far more effective if the attack is on an unprotected side where the enemy will have difficulty focusing his attention. Never underestimate the psychological effect of hitting the enemy from the flank or the rear. It often will have a greater effect on enemy morale and willingness to fight than more firepower during a frontal assault. TACTICAL PATIENCE: Be patient while moving. Stop from time to time to listen for enemy movement before proceeding further. (See SLLS Check Supra). When possible, especially if the enemy has not yet detected you, wait to engage him or her. Often the first enemy you see is only part of the formation. Patience may allow more enemy to enter the kill zone before you engage them. COVER VS. CONCEALMENT: Know the difference. Cover prevents you from being hit by enemy fire. Examples of cover are bunkers, buildings, fighting positions and terrain. Concealment simply obscures your presence from enemy forces but does not block incoming fire. Examples of concealment are dense vegetation and man-made camouflage.

Concealment may allow you to eliminate one or more of the enemy but be aware that you will likely be hit from any counter–fire. Whenever possible, look around cover instead of over it. If that is not possible, avoid breaking a straight line. While clearing buildings, use shadows as much as possible to conceal your position and/or movements. Avoid taking cover behind or near obvious and conspicuous landmarks. When attacking from concealment such as during an ambush, wait until the entire enemy element is in the kill zone before you start shooting. This maximizes surprise. HUGGING COVER: Stay close to cover - especially trees and barricades. The further back from cover you are, the more likely parts of your body will be exposed and get hit. How close you must be to cover depends on how large the cover happens to be. STACKING TREES: In a woodland environment use multiple trees to block lines of fire to your position. This applies to both defensive positions and while advancing. The idea is to use the trees to obscure your position and to provide cover so that as you move, the enemy has difficulty getting a clear shot. Always have one or more trees between you and a suspected enemy position as you move toward it. Unlike HUGGING COVER, the trees you use for this purpose do not necessarily have to be in close proximity to you. Trees only have to block enemy’s line of fire. This concept also applies to other types of cover such as light poles and other relatively narrow objects. WORKING COVER: Team members on patrol and/or conducting FIRE AND MOVEMENT, should always be looking for the next piece of effective cover. Always be looking for a place to go if the shooting starts. You don’t want to lose precious “seconds” frantically looking for cover when you come into contact with the enemy. CONTACT WITH ENEMY: Once you are in contact with the enemy, there is little point in being quiet. The enemy knows you are there. Yell out important information on enemy force positions and movements.

Depending on your role in the team, you should either be acting to fix the enemy in place or moving to flank and eliminate them. MUZZLE AND TRIGGER DISCIPLINE: Avoid moving the muzzle of your weapon across any body part of friendly players. (i.e. Muzzle Flashing). Similarly, keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to fire on the enemy. Also “test firing” your weapon on the battlefield is very likely to reveal your position to the enemy and give them time to set up an ambush on your team. HEAD, BODY, WEAPON: When reacting to enemy fire, begin by turning your head to identify the threat. You then move your body into a proper fighting position facing the threat. During this movement, your weapon is kept in the low, ready position to prevent muzzle flashing your teammates. Once you are in a stable firing position, bring your weapon up to engage the enemy. DISPLACEMENT: When in contact with the enemy, avoid remaining in a static position for very long. When possible, reposition yourself in such a way that it hinders the enemy’s ability to locate and engage you while you move to a more advantageous fighting position. You should be moving to improve your chances of hitting the enemy while hampering the enemy’s chances of doing the same. AVOID CROSSING OTHER TEAM MEMBERS’ FIELD OF FIRE: Whenever possible and especially when in active contact with enemy forces, do not cross through another team member’s line of fire. When under fire, team members are far less likely to realize you are going to cross in front of them and will continue firing on the enemy. It is far more likely that you will get hit by friendly fire than to attain a more advantageous position by crossing in front of a firing teammate. Remember enemy fire isn’t.

STAY OUT OF THE FATAL FUNNEL: Avoid remaining in doorways. It is called the fatal funnel for a reason. The enemy will likely train most of their weapons on the doorway in an effort to take down as many players as possible that are assaulting the room. THIRD EYE: Point your weapon in the same direction as you are looking so that you can more quickly and effectively engage enemy with a minimum of additional movement. NIGHT VISION PROTECTION: During low light operations, protect your night vision by avoiding exposure to sources of white light. Improve your ability to observe objects at night by observing slightly to the side of the object. FINDWORK TO DO: As a general rule, if you are not shooting, moving and/or communicating, you are not helping the team’s mission. If you are standing around, find something productive to do.

SQUAD/TEAM ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES RIFLEMAN: Shooting, moving and communicating are central to riflemen’s responsibilities. Shooting and moving are obvious but communicating is often a neglected requirement of this role. The rifleman also puts himself at risk to protect specialists such as medics, support gunners and command staff. Riflemen perform the riskiest movement to keep specialists and command alive. Rifleman should communicate to their squad leaders and fire team leaders what they observe…especially enemy movement and positions. SUPPORT GUNNER: The primary responsibility of a support gunner is to use his squad automatic weapon (SAW) or light machine gun

(LMG) to provide sustained suppressive fire to fix/pin enemy forces. This allows other squad members to flank and eliminate the enemy (i.e. Fix, Flank and Finish). The support gunner is the backbone of the squad and is central to its firepower. Examples of SAWs and LMGs used by support gunners include but are not limited to: M240, M249, M60, M27 IAR, HK MG4, MG42, BAR, Stoner 63, RPK and PKM. FIRE TEAM LEADER: The Fire Team Leader (FTL) directs his fire team so as to accomplish the Squad Leader’s (SL’s) orders. The Fire Team Leader leads from the front. He adjusts his Fire Team’s positions during combat to secure the area for which he is responsible and keeps them combat ready. He requests LACE reports from his fire team and works to address those needs. The Fire Team Leader replaces the Squad Leader if he goes down. (See Chain of Command Infra). SQUAD LEADER: In addition to his direct command responsibilities, the Squad Leader (SL) is responsible for receiving orders from higher command and disseminating them to his Fire Team Leaders. The SL directs FTLs to accomplish the mission. He manages communication between command elements and other squads. Combat effectiveness can only be maintained where squad members follow their SL’s orders. SNIPER/DESIGNATED MARKSMAN: Snipers typically act as scouts (either alone or as part of sniper/spotter team) or are used to eliminate high value targets from a concealed position and/or at longer ranges. Designated Marksmen are often employed to provide accurate, long range fire in support of other ground forces. Other than the way they are employed, the difference between a sniper and a designated marksman for MILSIM purposes is that a sniper’s primary weapon is some form of bolt action rifle whereas a designated marksman’s primary weapon is a magazine fed, semi-automatic rifle.

ANTI-TANK/GRENADIER: Sometimes also referred to as heavy weapon specialist, the Anti-Tank/Grenadier specializes in destroying armored fighting vehicles (AFVs) and Technicals (a/k/a “gun trucks”), structures and massed infantry through the use of rocket launchers, grenade launchers and hand thrown grenades. SUBMACHINE GUNNER: Although not technically a military classification, several MILSIM event organizers have established a submachine gun class in urbanized areas of operation (AOs). Submachine gunners are often utilized as the point man or “breacher” in an entry team stack. This class is restricted to airsoft replicas that are based on real world weapons that fire pistol ammunition. Examples of submachine guns (SMGs) used by submachine gunners include but are not limited to: MP5, MP7, MAC-11, UMP 45, UZI, Thompson and MP40. Any airsoft replica that is based on a weapon that utilizes rifle ammunition is NOT an SMG. SPECIALIST: The Specialist encompasses any role not previously described. Such roles are generally operation specific, and the rules of engagement for each role should be well understood by the designated specialist. The Specialist should be able to perform their specialty at a moment’s request and not require time to switch over to a different set of equipment or get it out of a backpack.

KIT ONE WAY OF FIGHTING: Use the same kit that you intend to use at MILSIM events at skirmishes or pick-up games. This will give you an opportunity to determine which set-up works most naturally for you. Your goal is to be able to reflexively use each part of your kit without thinking about it. That will allow you to focus on situational awareness instead of your kit.

TEST YOUR GEAR EXTENSIVELY BEFORE FIELDING IT AT AN OPERATION: Thoroughly test any new addition to your gear ahead of any op to insure that it functions properly. Any defective or damaged gear needs to be replaced before operations commence. This especially applies to your primary weapon, side-arm and communications gear. With communications gear, it is especially important to insure that all antennas, cabling and connections are secure and functioning properly. EQUIPMENT SPECIFIC PREPARATIONS: Your kit should have everything you need to keep you combat effective for at least three hours of operations. That being said, your kit should also be as light and as small a profile as possible. Finding the balance is the constant challenge. You will also need to determine how much ammunition to carry. If you are expecting heavy enemy engagements, you may want to “go heavy” with a large amount of additional ammunition. However, carrying more ammunition will likely make you less agile during combat. Bring only items that are mission specific and/or are needed for sustainment in the field. Remember, weight is your enemy. ERGONOMICS: Fluidity and speed of using your equipment is of significant importance. The milliseconds to be gained during a magazine change or the risk introduced by removing your eyes from your sector while struggling to find your map can become the difference between success and failure for the entire squad. While no universally accepted theory exists for the perfect kit the following considerations need to be evaluated constantly: 1. Magazine Change: How quickly can you change a magazine? The more quickly you can achieve a magazine change, the more quickly you are back in the fight. Magazines, magazine pouches and dump pouch must be positioned so that you can efficiently remove an empty magazine from the magazine well, drop the empty magazine into a dump pouch, remove a full magazine from its pouch and insert same into your weapon as quickly and smoothly as possible. If the positioning of your pouches does not

facilitate this goal, find a more efficient placement. Orient all your magazines the same way in their pouches so that you can easily index and insert them into the magazine well. 2. Weapon Sling: Weapon slings should facilitate transition of your weapon from one side to the other. They should also allow quick transition from your primary weapon to your sidearm. 3. Sidearm: Your sidearm needs to be positioned so that other pouches do not block you from quickly drawing it. Keep the side of your plate carrier above your sidearm “slick”. Also avoid using a soft holster for your sidearm. It interferes with drawing your sidearm and can cause inadvertent release of the magazine. 4. Special Equipment: You kit should not interfere with employment of specialized weapons (AT, grenades, etc.) or locating mission critical items (maps, etc.).

CHAIN OF COMMAND DEFINITION OF CHAIN OF COMMAND: Chain of command is defined as the line of authority and responsibility along which orders are passed within a military unit and between different units. Each tactical element leader must follow orders provided by the leader of the element above it in the chain of command and pass them down to leaders of units under his/her command. Similarly, each tactical element leader must report back “up the chain of command” to the leader of the element immediately above him/her, with reports and other tactical or strategic information. STRUCTURE OF CHAIN OF COMMAND: Generally, the unit at the top of the chain of command is a brigade or more frequently a battalion or equivalent sized unit. In order from top to bottom are units/elements that make up the chain of command for most MILSIM events:

Brigade: In MILSIM events, a Brigade (BDE) consists of two to three battalions (BNs). A Brigade Commander (CDR) is probably the largest tactical element leader that you will see in the chain of command during a MILSIM event. Battalion or Joint Task Force: In most MILSIM events, your “high command” will consist of a Battalion (BN) or Joint Task Force (JTF) leader and command staff (XO and Operations Officer (S3)) set up as a Headquarters (HQ) element. Usually, a MILSIM battalion will consist of 200-300 players divided up into two to three companies. Company: Companies (COs) are the main maneuver elements on the MILSIM battlefield. Most companies are led by a company Commander (CDR) and his/her First Sergeant (1SG). Most companies will consist of 80-100 players arranged in two to three platoons. Platoon: Platoons (PLTs) consist of two to three squads of 8-12 players each. Platoon Leaders (PL) are the leadership backbone of a company that are responsible for insuring that the Company Commander’s (CDR’s) orders are carried out by the squads under his command. Squad: Squads (SQDs) are the basic, tactical maneuver element. It consists of 8-12 players commanded by a squad leader (SL) arranged in two fire teams. Squads are the point of the spear that accomplishes the objectives of their PL and Company Commander. It is essential that SLs follow the orders handed down to them from higher in the chain of command and accurately report information to leaders in command above them. Fire Team: Fire Teams (FTs) are the smallest element in most MILSIM events. They normally consist of 4-6 players and are led by a Fire Team Leader (FTL).

SUCCESSION OF COMMAND: Prior to commencing operations, each tactical element leader needs to designate the unit’s internal chain and succession of command (SOC) including Fire Team Leaders. Succession of command structure needs to be made and communicated to all tactical element members well in advance of taking the field. All tactical element members in succession of command need to be able to manage dual comms including radio communications with higher command. FOLLOWING CHAIN OF COMMAND: In order for friendly forces to prevail during a MILSIM operation, all players need to follow the chain of command. Based on your position in the chain of command, you will only be provided with the information needed to complete you objectives. This is to preserve operational security (OPSEC) a/k/a secrecy regarding the ultimate battle plan of the overall force commander. Diverting from orders handed down through the chain of command will likely severely impact the ability for your team or faction to achieve victory. Remember that due to OPSEC, you probably will not have the entire strategic picture. Nevertheless, you must follow the orders provided to you.

TECHNIQUES AND STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES – (SOPs) SHOOT, MOVE, COMMUNICATE: Every team member has three basic responsibilities: SHOOT, MOVE and COMMUNICATE. If you are not doing something in furtherance of these responsibilities, you are not helping the team. If you are not doing anything productive and directed toward these responsibilities, look for something to do that furthers the team’s mission.

MAINTAIN OBJECTIVE FOCUS: Take actions that further completion of the mission/task assigned to you. If it doesn’t further completion of the mission, don’t do it. For example, do not allow yourself to get engaged in a firefight when it does not advance the mission. GUN UP: This is one of the most important individual standard operating procedures. Keep your gun up in firing position especially when enemy contact is anticipated. This position reduces the reaction time to firing when initial enemy contact is made. If you are not pointing your gun at potential danger areas, the enemy will likely shoot you before you can raise your weapon. Reaction time is key. EYES ON SECTOR (EOS): Each team member needs to continuously scan his/her area of responsibility and danger areas. Do not watch an area of responsibility that is not yours. That area will be covered by another teammate. Distracting yourself from your area of responsibility can allow enemy to gain advantage by moving in to surprise the squad. BUDDY PAIRS: Unless absolutely necessary, do not move or attack alone. Team members should move in buddy pairs. Acting in buddy pairs magnifies the effectiveness of team members three to four times than when acting alone. It is also the smallest element that can be effective using bounding while assaulting an enemy position. TARGETING DURING INITIAL ENGAGEMENT: When initially engaged, shoot visible targets first. If you cannot identify from where fire is coming, shoot low and to the left of cover ahead of you. Most right handed shooters in an ambush will lie prone and shoot around the right side of available cover. FINISH THE GUNFIGHT: Finish the gunfight you are engaged in before you do anything else. You need to eliminate the threat and/or complete the mission before you need to worry about reviving casualties and taking other non-essential actions.

DO NOT MUZZLE FLASH TEAM MEMBERS: Keep muzzle discipline. Do not point the muzzle of your weapon at anyone that you do not intend to shoot. ORDERS: Orders handed down through the chain of command must be followed. VERBAL ORDERS: When you hear any verbal order, immediately repeat it down the line exactly as you heard it. This allows your SL or FTL to confirm that the order was received. HAND SIGNALS: With the exception of “FREEZE” (Infra), repeat each hand signal you see so that team members down the line will see it. RADIO COMMANDS AND INSTRUCTIONS: (See RADIO COMMUNICATIONS Infra). NO SANCTUARY: Although you may encounter friendly forces in the field, do not assume that the building(s) they occupy of the perimeter they have set up is secure. When moving through “friendly” terrain, treat it with the same amount of alertness as if it is not secured. The squad should use standard perimeter security while moving into a “friendly secured” position. AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY: Cover all danger areas. If you are first into a danger area, you are responsible for securing it. CORNERING: Corners are extremely dangerous terrain. The enemy often has had time to set up a static defense that will place the squad at a disadvantage. As referenced below, the Reducing Sector/Pie Slicing Method is the best manner of clearing corners. When the team member has cleared as much of an area around the corner as possible, he will have to

commit to “taking the corner”. In that instance, the team member will turn the corner while leading with his weapon to neutralize any remaining threats. Take the corner as low as possible in an effort to be below the enemy’s line of fire. If enemy is known to be around a particular corner, consider going prone (while being covered by another teammate) and using a sidearm to neutralize an enemy from the low side of the corner. MAXIMUM USE OF COVER: Minimize the amount of your body that is exposed from behind cover while shooting. This may require that you shoot from your weak side. Also be sure to keep you elbows tucked in next to your body. Extending your elbow out to the side in a “chicken wing” provides an easier target for the enemy to shoot. AVOID FLAGGING: Flagging is the act of revealing your position by extending the muzzle of your weapon beyond cover where it can be observed by potential enemy forces. Flagging most often occurs in windows and at building corners. It is imperative to insure that you and your weapon are kept out of sight, are not showing through a window or extending beyond the corner. Keep the muzzle behind the edge of your cover whenever possible. LACE REPORT: LACE stands for Liquid, Ammo, Casualties and Equipment. Frequently, Fire Team Leaders will ask for a LACE report from his team members. Team members will respond by indicating whether they are low on water, if equipment is down, if they are out or low on ammunition or if the team member is negative effected (i.e. Is dehydrated, is injured, etc.). Thumbs up means good/green. Thumb sideways means “need a minute”/amber. Thumb down means bad/red. SOLAR COLLECTION/SKYLIGHTING: Avoid positioning yourself in direct sunlight. Being in direct sunlight can dehydrate and fatigue team members. It also reduces/degrades your concealment by increasing the contrast between the team member and surrounding terrain or

vegetation. Direct sunlight is much more likely to reflect off of gear or optics and often silhouettes the team member if the sun is behind him/her. ISOLATE OBJECTIVES: When assaulting a building or structure, be sure to isolate it from avenues of approach that can be used to reinforce defenders with additional enemy players. CLOCKRAY METHOD OF IDENTIFYING ENEMY POSITIONS: When enemy targets are difficult to identify, use the ClockRay Method to assist teammates in locating and identifying enemy positions. Procedure: 1. Select a prominent reference point on the ground to serve as the center of an imaginary clock face. 2. Using the imaginary clock face superimposed on the ground, indicate the approximate position of the enemy. 3. EXAMPLE: Left side of large barn. 9:00 o’clock, tractor in field. Four rifleman and machine gun. FRESH MAGAZINES: Before initiating over watch, initiating movement toward an objective or after moving under fire, replace your magazine with a fresh one. If your SL or FTL orders “Fresh Mag”, replace your magazine. MAGAZINE CHANGE PROCEDURE: 1. Take a knee and yell “Red” to let team members realize you need to change magazines. Your battle buddy should cover you while reloading. 2. Drop the spent magazine while pulling a full magazine from its pouch.

3. Push the full magazine into the magazine well until it clicks in place. 4. pouch.

If it can safely be done, place empty magazine in dump

5. Yell “Back In” to let teammates know you have reloaded and are back in the fight. If you fumble on inserting the magazine change, concentrate on inserting the new magazine and let the empty magazine fall to the ground. Pick the empty magazine up and if it has a Magpul or ranger plate attached, clip it to a carabiner. Otherwise, place it in a pocket or dump pouch. MEDIC PROCEDURES: When you want to attempt to medic a team member during a firefight, follow this procedure: 1.

Call out “Whiskey Moving”.

2.

SL or FL will reply with “Move” or “Negative”.

3. On hearing “Move”, proceed to approach and medic the downed player. On hearing “Negative”, leave wounded player in place until the firefight is finished.

PA R T I I – C O M M U N I C AT I O N S

DELTA: COMMUNICATIONS HAND COMMUNICATIONS HAND SIGNALS are best used when the team members are in visual range of each other. With the exception of the “Freeze” command, each hand signal should be repeated or mirrored “down the line” by each team member to insure that each member is aware of it. If the “freeze” hand signal is given, every team member immediately freezes in place and does not move until another command is made by the squad or fire team leader. Hand signals should be used silently to maintain stealth. They should also be done with the non-firing hand. Hand signals most often used in MILSIM operations are as follows:

FREEZE = Freeze where you are. Do not move, do not reload your weapon, do not ask questions…just freeze in place. This signal is performed by bringing an arm up with the hand in a fist.

HALT = Stop moving. If possible take cover while waiting. This signal is performed by bringing an arm up with the hand extended vertically with fingers and thumb close together.

With this signal, the patrol “walks it in” to close in the distance or intervals between players while stepping left and right alternatively to provide security and to leave a path to walk through the center of the formation. This signal is often used to designate a patrol rally point, to perform a navigation check, to perform a head count for the patrol, to make sure troops hydrate and for leaders to conduct a brief conference.

COME HERE = Come to my position. This signal is performed by extending the hand and arm away then moving it toward your body.

GET DOWN = Get down behind cover or go prone. This signal is performed by extending an arm out with the palm facing down then moving the hand and arm toward the ground.

LOOK HERE = Look in the area where I am pointing. This signal is performed by holding the non-shooting hand straight and with the palm down just above your eyes then pointing where you want the recipient to look. A variation of this hand signal is to point at your own eyes then point in the area where you want the other team member to look.

LISTEN = Stop moving and listen. cupping hand around ear.

Performed by pointing to or

READY OR ALL GOOD = Ready to proceed or all good. by giving the thumbs up sign.

Performed

RALLY UP (on me) = Form up on my position. This signal is performed by holding arm up while twirling finger in circular motion.

RALLY POINT = This is the location of the rally point. If the team must break contact with enemy, it should return to this rally point to form up if possible. This signal is performed by extending an arm down and twirling the index finger at the ground/rally point.

I UNDERSTAND = I understand your instructions. Performed by giving the thumbs up sign.

I DON’T UNDERSTAND = I did not hear or understand your instructions. This signal is performed by holding an arm out front with palm facing out then sweeping the palm back and forth.

DANGER AREA = Indicates that the area indicated may contain threats. This signal is performed by pointing at an area while simultaneously slashing across throat with the edge of other hand. An alternative of this signal is to point at the danger area then using the same hand to simulate slashing your own throat.

ENEMY = Enemy in the direction indicated. This signal is performed by holding the palm of your hand in front of your face then pointing in the direction of the enemy force.

MOVE TO = Move to the area indicated. This signal is performed by pointing at the team member designated to move followed by pointing to the area where he/she is to move. As an alternative, use of the “knife hand” can be used in place of pointing.

MOVE UP = Continue movement toward current objective. This signal is performed by moving an arm in a windmill motion from low behind your back then up and forward over the shoulder.

WEDGE FORMATIONS = Advance in wedge formation. This signal is performed by extending both arms down and away from the body.

LINE ABREAST FORMATION = Advance in line formation. This signal is performed by extending both arms out to the side and parallel to the ground.

The direction of the line is indicated by the direction the signal giver is facing combined with the position of the signal giver’s hands. By following up using a pointing or knife hand movement, the axis of advance for the formation is also given.

COLUMN FORMATION = Form up in column formation. This signal is performed by making a karate chop type motion to and away from the face. Staggered column is indicated by making alternating karate chop type motions to the left and right sides of the face.

CEASE FIRE = Stop firing. This signal is performed by passing the hand up and down before your face with the palm facing toward your face. This is probably the only hand signal where it is appropriate to yell “cease fire” while performing this hand signal. After all, your team is already firing when the signal is given. Stealth is already lost at that point.

GRENADE = Throw grenade into room. After giving the signal, the Point Man will hold up either one or two fingers to indicate how many grenades need to be thrown into the room. If the GRENADE signal is given followed by thumbs down signal, it indicates that a “dummy grenade” will be thrown into the room. This signal is given by holding arm above shoulder while performing squeezing motion with hand.

COVER ME = Cover me as I move to a new position. This signal is performed by moving the hand (palm down) back and forth over the top of the head.

GET UP AND MOVE OUT = Get up and move forward. This signal is performed by initially moving the hand with palm facing up from the ground then rotating the arm back then forward over the shoulder.

RADIO COMMUNICATIONS AND DOCTRINE RADIO COMMUNICATION STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE: Proper radio etiquette must be observed at all times. Radio transmissions must be short and concise to keep the radio net open for important information and orders. Lengthy radio transmissions should be avoided. Provide information in short bursts to avoid cluttering or overloading the net. Follow the following procedure during radio communications: 1. KEY YOUR RADIO – Press and Hold your Radio PTT Button 2. TAKE A BREATH – Many people start speaking into the microphone at the same time as pressing their PTT. This fragments your message and makes it unclear to receiving stations. Depress the PTT button for a moment before you speak to insure you transmit the entire message. 3. INITIATE YOUR COMMUNICATION – To initiate radio contact, begin by twice stating the call sign of the individual with whom you wish to communicate followed by your own call sign. Example: “White Leader, White Leader, this is Blue Leader. Do you copy?” 4. WAIT FOR RECIPIENT TO RESPOND/ACKNOWLEDGE – Usually the intended recipient of your message will respond with “This is White Leader, go ahead”,

“This is White Leader, Send it” or “This is White Leader, Send your Traffic” (See ProWords, Supra). 5. SEND YOUR MESSAGE – Clearly and concisely state your message. Example: “Blue team is passing Phase Line Echo”. 6. GET CONFIRMATION – This is a critical step. Make sure the intended recipient of your message confirms receipt of same. Example: “I copy…Blue Team is passing Phase Line Echo.” If you have received a radio communication, the sender will likely ask you to repeat the message back. (See ProWords “How Copy” and “Read Back”). Respond to such a query by stating “Solid Copy” or “I Read Back” then repeating the instruction back to the sender. If you did not understand the sender’s transmission, reply by stating “Say Again Your Last Transmission”. Avoid the word “repeat” during radio communications. That word has a specific meaning in US military circles. It means repeat your last artillery fire mission…fire for effect. RADIO PROWORDS: The following are ProWords that are often used in radio communications. Each ProWord has a specific meaning which allows for more concise radio communications. GO AHEAD/SEND IT = Send your traffic OVER = I finished my last transmission to you and require a response. Go ahead and respond. OUT = End of transmission. No response is required or necessary. SITREP = Provide a situation report. Reply by using the SALT method. Size of Enemy Force, Enemy Force Activity, Location of Enemy Force and Time that Enemy Force was Observed or Time of expected contact with same. HOW COPY? = Did you copy my last transmission? SOLID COPY/HARD COPY = I copied your last order or instructions clearly.

SAY AGAIN = State your last transmission again. Do NOT say “repeat”. Repeat is a term utilized in the military to repeat an artillery fire mission. WILCO = Transmission received and WILl COmply with same. BREAK = I am separating the following from the previous message. PLEASE ADVISE – Awaiting Orders. CORRECT = You are correct. CORRECTION = Correction to my last transmission is as follows. DISREGARD = Ignore my last transmission. ROGER/COPY = I have received your last transmission WAIT ONE = Standby for moment. WAIT – OUT = I must pause for longer than a few moments. EXECUTE = Execute my last order or instruction. EXECUTE TO FOLLOW = Execute the following order or instructions upon receipt of the ProWord EXECUTE. AUTHENTICATE (FOLLOWED BY AUTHENTICATION CODE WORD QUERY) = Reply to the following challenge _________________. AUTHENTICATION IS (FOLLOWED BY PROPER AUTHENTICATION CODE WORD RESPONSE) = The authentication response is ________________. READ BACK = Read back the information just transmitted to you. I READ BACK (FOLLOWED BY REPEATING THE INFORMATION RECEIVED) = I read back to you the following information just received. RELAY [TO] = Transmit this message to call signs indicated as follows: (FOLLOWED BY THE MESSAGE TO BE RELAYED). SILENCE ON THE NET = Cease all transmission on this frequency immediately. Silence on this frequency will be maintained until lifted. SILENCE LIFTED = Silence on this frequency is lifted. Resume normal traffic. PHONETIC ALPHABET: IF you need to spell out a word while communicating via radio, use the following phonetic alphabet.

A = Alpha E = Echo I = India M = Mike Q = Quebec U = Uniform Y = Yankee

B = Bravo F = Foxtrot J = Juliet N = November R = Romeo V = Victor Z = Zulu

C = Charlie G = Golf K = Kilo O = Oscar S = Sierra W = Whiskey

D = Delta H = Hotel L = Lima P = Papa T = Tango X = X-Ray

For example, if you were to spell out “objective”, you would spell it as “Oscar, Bravo, Juliet, Echo, Charlie, Tango, India, Victor, Echo”. NUMBERING: When using numbers on the radio, be sure to pronounce them clearly in the following manner: 0 = ZE-RO 4 = FOW-ER 8 = AIT

1 = WUN 5 = FIFE 9 = NIN-ER

2 = TOO 6 = SIX

3 = TREE 7 = SEV-EN

ACRONYMS: Listed below are the more common acronyms used in communications. SALT: Frequently used in radio communications to relay information to upper command regarding enemy force strength, location, movement and activity. This report is also commonly referred to as a SPOTREP. Size Activity Location Time -

Size of enemy forces. Activity of enemy forces. Current location of enemy and direction if moving. Time of observation.

LACE: Used to in communications to relay information to command regarding squad or fire team’s ability to engage in

operations. Liquid -

Status of water/hydration available to the squad or fire team. (Green=good, Amber=fair, Red=running out, Black=out). Ammo Status of ammunition available to squad or fire team Casualties - Number of squad or fire team “casualties”. Equipment - Status of squad or fire team member weapons and equipment. SQUAD AND FIRE TEAM LEADERS: The SL’s focus on radio use is to communicate orders and other pertinent information to FTLs from higher command. Although FTLs should convey orders to his team personally, there will be occasions, such as during dynamic room entry or where stealth is important to communicate via radio. RIFLEMEN, SUPPORT GUNNERS AND SPECIALISTS: Generally, riflemen, support gunners and most specialists (except RTO) should use the radio as little as possible except to transmit critical information to their FTL or SL (i.e. “We’re being over-run”, “Fire Team Leader is currently down”, etc.). Instead, riflemen, support gunners and specialists (again other than RTO) should focus on receiving orders, taking note of tactical information transmitted over the radio net and locating squad members if separated. Communications to Fire Team Leaders in the field should be done in person as much as possible to keep command frequencies open for FTL to communicate with SLs and/or higher command as provided by the chain of command.

TYPES OF COMMUNICATION METHODS

There are advantages and disadvantages to each method of communication on the MILSIM battlefield. During operations, you should consider which method will work best for you under the circumstances in which you find yourself. These advantages and disadvantages are reflected in the following chart. As always, this chart simply serves as general guidance. Actual decisions as to which method of communications to use is specific to the environment you are in and the mission parameters you are attempting to complete. METHOD

ADVANTAGES

MESSENGERS

Most secure method of communication. Can hand carry large items and maps. Messengers are flexible in the route used for message delivery. Reduces radio traffic clutter. Is secure and direct. Can be interfaced with radio communications.

WIRE

SOUND

DISADVANTAGES

Are slow, especially if moving on foot. Dependent on availability of manpower. Can be captured or eliminated by enemy. Weight of wire to be carried. Risk of wire being cut if not concealed or guarded. Time consuming to set up. Possible limited availability. Can be used Can also be

VISUAL

RADIO

to attract attention. Can be used to transmit prearranged signals. Can be used to raise alarm. Can be heard by everyone within range at once. Provides immediate feedback. Aids in identifying friendly forces. Allow transmittal of prearranged messages or signals. Is fast. Provides immediate feedback. Is most frequently used form of communication. Is fast. Is light. Can be interfaced with telephone wire.

heard by the enemy. Gives away position of friendly forces.

Can be confusing. Is visible to both sides from distance. Most visual signals are commonly used by many players.

Is least secure means of communication. Can be unreliable at greater distances and/or in hilly terrain. Requires use of proper radio etiquette to be effective.

Often in

ineffective buildings, especially those built of reinforced concrete.

CHALLENGES AND PASSCODES CHALLENGE WORDS/PASSCODES: Challenge words/passcodes are used to help identify friend from foe (IFF). The challenging party provides the first part of the passcode. The responding party must provide the proper response or be deemed enemy. For example, if the Challenge Words/Passcode pair is Sunday Pancakes, the challenging party would say “Sunday”. To avoid being deemed enemy the responding party would have to respond with “Pancakes” as the proper response. The problem with simple Challenge Words/Passcodes is that the enemy will eventually figure them out. Using challenge/passcodes as part of a phrase or sentence makes it more difficult for the enemy to figure the Challenge Word/Passcode out and use it against friendly forces. MATH CHALLENGE: Similar to Challenge Words/Passcodes, a math challenge requires that the challenging party provide the proper passcode followed by the proper response from the challenged party. However, in the math challenge both the challenge and the response must add up to a previously agreed upon number. For example, if the agreed upon number is seven (7), the challenging party would pick a number less than seven such as two. He would call it out as the challenge. In response, the challenged party would respond with the number that when added to the challenge (2) would add up to the previously agreed number (5). 2 + 5 = 7.

RUNNING PASSWORD: Running Passwords are used when you run back to friendly lines while under duress such as when you are being pursued by enemy. To avoid being shot by friendly forces while running toward friendly forces, you call out this word or phrase while running. OPERATIONAL CODE WORDS: Depending on the MILSIM event, upper command may require the use of code words to signal for a tactical element to execute on orders previously given to it or to signify mission success, seizure of objectives, mission failure and sensitive information of that nature.

PA R T I I I – R O O M CLEARING TA C T I C S A N D PROCEDURES

EPSILON: CLOSE QUARTERS BATTLE – ROOM CLEARING THREE PRINCIPLES OF DYNAMIC ENTRY IN CLOSE QUARTERS BATTLE SPEED: Dynamic Entry requires speed to achieve its goals. The initiative must stay with the Entry Team as it clears the room. You want to keep the enemy reacting to your actions instead of you reacting to theirs. That being said, smoothness of movement is more important to Dynamic Entry than speed for its own sake. [Smooth = Fast]. SURPRISE: The objective of Dynamic Entry is to complete all offensive actions and clear the room before opposing forces can react. As a corollary to this principle, stealthy approach to the breaching point assists in gaining the initiative and surprise when breaching the room occurs. VIOLENCE OF ACTION: Gaining and maintaining physical and psychological momentum in Dynamic Entry is essential to its success. Quick decisive action including the use of accurate fire, target discrimination and grenades maintains the momentum of clearing rooms.

EIGHT ESSENTIAL STEPS OF ROOM ENTRY CLEAR THE DOORWAY AND IMMEDIATE AREA: Point Man must clear the doorway and the area immediately around it before entering the room. If the doorway is obstructed, he should call “Failed Breach”. The team should then abort the breach and immediately retreat to prevent being caught in the fatal funnel. CLEAR THE CORNERS: Room corners are typically the most dangerous locations in a room. The enemy will frequently hide in corners in the hopes that the entry team will fail to clear them. That being said, do not become fixated on a corner. Clear it quickly then transition to your remaining area(s) of responsibility. Clearing the corners does not mean to literally move to the corner to clear it. Once the Point and Second Men have visually cleared their respective corners, they turn their attention to covering their secondary area of responsibility while moving to their points of domination. DOMINATE THE ROOM: Team members must establish their points of domination in locations where they clear areas behind furniture and objects in the room with interlocking fields of fire. CONTROL OCCUPANTS: If the scenario allows for it, team members must exercise control over both “civilian” and “role players” in the room by applying dominating presence, verbal commands and physical contact. SECURE THE ROOM: Search closets and other areas of the room that were not cleared during initial room entry and set up security to cover any entryways into the room just cleared.

REPORT STATUS: Team members need to report their status to higher command once building/premises are secure, whenever they discover critical information, complete specified tasks assigned to them, suffer more than 50% casualties or otherwise become combat ineffective. BACK CLEAR (SECONDARY SWEEP): This step applies only once the team has moved to the limit of its advance and is ready to exit the building. Elements of the team will proceed to “re-clear” areas the team has previously moved through to make sure they have not been again occupied by enemy players. This is especially important when trying to extract a high value target out of a building. COVER AND EVACUATE: Once the team has back cleared to the building entry point, they must be ready to exit the structure with any prisoners and hostages while under fire.

GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS COMPLEXITY OF ENVIRONMENT: CQB is a thinking man’s game that requires team members to think in three dimensions while assaulting complex buildings and structures. In so doing, the team must recognize threat angles both against the enemy and the team. It also requires ongoing communication and passing of critical information in real time. ENTRY TEAM STACK: Room clearing will normally be conducted in four “man” entry teams or stacks. The point of dynamic room clearing is to overwhelm the occupants in the room through speed and violence of action. This requires that each person on the entry team must adhere to their area of responsibility while entering the room.

OFFSET FIELDS OF FIRE FOR POINT AND SECOND MEN: When stacking up at an entry point, Point Man and Second Man should be slightly offset from each other with Second Man lined up off Point Man’s outside shoulder with his weapon covering the entry point. This will allow both of them to cover the entry point in case any enemy decides to exit the room before the team starts to breach it. FREE FLOW/READ METHOD OF ROOM ENTRY: Point Man will decide whether to proceed left or right after entering room. Entry team members following Point Man (Second, Third and Fourth Men) will enter the room based on Point’s Man’s decision. EXECUTE DECISIONS: Decisions must be made and executed quickly. Once you make a decision, don’t second guess it. Roll with the mistake. There will be time later to discuss mistakes and make improvements. Right now, finish the fight. MOVEMENT DURING TEAM BREACH: Each member of the entry team must immediately move behind the team member ahead of him and proceed into the room without stopping in the entry point (a/k/a “the fatal funnel”). Team members must commit to entering the room even while taking fire. The initiative and likely the success of clearing the room depends on the commitment, speed and violence of action of the team members entering the room. COMMUNICATE: Each team member needs to communicate with the others regarding what he or she is doing. Once the initial breach is completed, indicate your intention to move to a different location by stating “Moving”. The other team members respond with “Move”. With this procedure, team members are aware of when a team member is in motion. SLOW IS SMOOTH, SMOOTH IS FAST: Only move as fast as you can accurately engage targets. Slow = smooth = fast. Moving too fast can result in Point Man moving too far ahead of the Entry Team. CQB

requires fast eyes and fast hands but slow feet. You cannot move faster than you can accurately shoot and you cannot accurately shoot faster than you can make “Shoot-No Shoot” decisions (i.e. Target Discrimination). DIMINISHING SECTORS (DS): This technique, also referred to as slicing the pie or pie’ing corners, is most often used at open doorways and building/room corners. It involves moving in an arc in an effort to “slice the pie” into manageable sectors to clear the area on the other side of the door or corner of enemy. POINT AND SECOND MEN AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY: The Point Man and Second Man are responsible for initially breaching into the room along the inside of the near wall and to clear the near corners. Their primary areas of responsibility are 1). The areas immediately in front of them as they enter the room, 2). The near corner on their respective sides of room entry 3). The interior of the room after clearing the corners and reaching the point of room domination. THIRD MAN AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY: The Third Man enters the room behind the Point Man to a position halfway toward the near corner on that side of the room. His area of responsibility is to clear and cover the center of the room. FOURTH MAN AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY: The Fourth Man is responsible for providing rear security for the rest of the team entering the room and tossing grenades into the room at the request of the Point Man. The Fourth Man is also often tasked with opening closed doors to allow the entry team to breach the room cleanly. AVOID OVER-PENETRATION: Upon entry, no entry team member should penetrate into the room more than two to three feet. This prevents entry team members from crossing over into other team members’ fields of fire. It also enables each entry team member to provide mutual support to the others. If a team member encounters an obstacle that will

force him further into the center of the room, he must either step over it (if able) or stop where he is to clear the rest of his area of responsibility. FAMILIARIZE YOURSELF WITH EACH POSITION IN ENTRY TEAM STACK: Each entry team member needs to be familiar with the responsibilities of each position in the stack so that he/she can function in each role quickly and seamlessly. MOVEMENT TO FINAL POINTS OF DOMINATION: As entry team members move to their final points of domination, they should engage hostile targets within their area of responsibility. Shooting is done on the move without stopping and while using reflexive/point shooting techniques. ACTIONS UPON BEING HIT DURING BREACH: If a team member is hit while entering the room, he or she must move aside to allow other team members to continue dynamic room entry. Do not simply stop in the middle of the entryway to the room. AVOID CROSSING WINDOWS AND OTHER DOORS DURING BREACH: While moving to a point of domination, entry team members should not remain in front of doors or windows to avoid the risk of taking fire through same. AVOID SWEEPING TEAM MEMBERS WITH WEAPON MUZZLE: While entering the room, entry team members must be careful not to muzzle flash other entry team members. BE PRO-ACTIVE: All Entry Team members need to be pro-active to maintain initiative. MAINTAIN SECTOR OF FIRE/AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY: All Entry Team members must maintain their own sector of fire/area of responsibility. Rely on your team members to cover their sector.

USE OF LOW READY WEAPON POSITIONING: It is usually preferable to use the low ready carry prior to entry. It helps to prevent revealing your position with the end of your muzzle while allowing your eyes to remain on target as you bring your gunsight up and in line with the target. TEAM LEADER POSITION IN STACK: Team Leaders need to avoid being in the Point or Second Man position. PREFERRED USE OF DYNAMIC ENTRY FOR ROOMS CONTAINING OBJECTIVES: Dynamic room entry is preferable in MILSIM operations as opposed to deliberate or limited entry. Use of limited entry tactics in MILSIM tends to result in the team becoming bogged down as the enemy has time to move into stronger defensive/fortified positions while the assaulting team tends to remain in the fatal funnel. Essentially, the team will trade “casualties” in order to secure the objective. Once the objective is captured, medics return “casualties” back to ready status. That being said, deliberate entry techniques can be effectively used to secure non-critical rooms. STEALTHY APPROACH TO TARGET: Whenever possible and especially on approach to target room, move tactically and silently. Entry team members need to already be stacked in the correct order. Entry team members need to avoid unnecessary movement (i.e. foot shuffling, etc.) and to avoid contact with walls (rubbing against wall while moving). MAINTAIN DISTANCE TO THREAT AREAS: As much as possible, control your distance to any threat. Unless you are engaged in searching an enemy player, maintain at least a 6-10 foot distance from him or her. Distance increases entry team member reaction times, provides increased options regarding use of cover and reaction firing, and allows more entry team members to maintain target acquisition.

DETERMINE MOST ADVANTAGEOUS ENTRY POINT: If possible, determine most advantageous entry point for target room. Whenever possible use every kind of deception to confuse the enemy and mask your movements as you approach and breach the target room. The objective is to keep the enemy off balance, to prevent them from determining the team’s rhythm and to keep them confused as much as possible while achieving the objective (room). CLEAR THE ENTIRE FLOOR: Clear the entire floor that you are working on before moving to other floors. This will prevent leaving enemy behind in uncleared rooms where they can re-occupy rooms you cleared. USE OF GRENADES: When breaching a room, use grenades to reduce enemy forces in the room and to seize the objective. NEVER CLEAR DANGER AREAS ALONE: Team members must avoid pushing forward into non-cleared rooms on their own. Avoid pushing into danger areas with less than two team members. RETREAT/ESCAPE ROUTE: Always make sure to ensure that the entry team has a means of retreat especially while clearing complex rooms and other danger areas. SECURITY: The entry team must also provide its own security during the entire process of clearing a building…from the approach to the objective through exiting the building. CQB is a complex environment that often involves many intersecting halls, rooms and stairways that are in close proximity to each other. Also do not leave an un-cleared room between you and your extraction or exit point.

POINT MAN ENTRY

The Point Man determines the direction of room entry based on the path of least resistance. If entering through a door, this direction will be primarily based on whether the door opens into the room or outward toward the entry team. If the door opens into the room, the entry team should stack up on the “hinged” side of the door. The Point Man then enters the room by sliding along the door as it opens into the room and crossing to the opposite side of the doorway. If the door opens outward, the entry team should stack on the doorknob side of the door. The Point Man would then move across and through the doorway along the inside of the door as it is opened. In any event, the Point Man should always cross over to the opposite side of the doorway as he enters the room. Point Man will move along the near wall opposite of the entry point from the Point Man and will engage immediate threats without stopping. He will continue to move along the near wall until he clears the near corner. His primary responsibility after entering the room is to clear the corner on his side. See Diagram “A”. As part of the team’s SOP’s or upon receiving the command “One Dominate”, Point Man will move along the side wall to the opposite corner. It is important that only the Point or Second man be commanded to dominate once the entry team initially breaches the room. This is designed to decrease the possibility of friendly fire should enemy be located hidden in the middle of the room. If the Point Man determines as he is entering the room that it is too small for the entire stack to enter. He will announce “Short” or “Short Room”. In such circumstances, the second man will enter the room while the Third and Fourth Man provide security outside. It is the responsibility of the Point Man to determine whether he wishes to have a grenade thrown into the room prior to entry. The Fourth Man will be responsible for moving up and actually throwing the grenade into the room.

Once Point Man has cleared the corner on his side of the room, he should shift his area of responsibility toward the interior of the room.

SECOND MAN ENTRY Second Man buttonhooks through entry point to opposite side of near wall from Point Man. He will eliminate immediate threats as he enters the room and continues to move down the wall toward the near corner on his side of the room. His primary area of responsibility is the near corner on his side of the room. Upon clearing the corner, the Second Man will move to cover the center of the room. See Diagram “B”. As part of the team’s SOPs or upon receiving the command “Two Dominate”, he will move along the side wall to a position diagonally across from Point Man’s initial corner. Once Second Man has cleared the corner on his side of the room, he should shift his area of responsibility toward the interior of the room.

THIRD MAN ENTRY Third Man enters the room and follows the Point Man to a point halfway down the near wall while facing into the center of the room. The primary area of responsibility for the Third Man is to eliminate threats located in the center of the room. See Diagram “C”.

FOURTH MAN/SECURITY ENTRY The Fourth Man/Security’s responsibility is to provide rear security for the rest of the entry team as they enter the room. He covers the doorway

from the inside of the room after the rest of the entry team is inside the room. His other responsibility is to throw one or more grenades into the room before team entry as directed by the Point Man and/or to breach (open) the room door so as to allow entry for the remaining three elements of the stack. In such circumstances, Fourth Man/Security enters the room immediately after Third Man enters the room. Fourth Man is the last person to enter the room. After taking a few steps into the room and clearing any immediate threats, Fourth Man turns to cover the door he just passed through to provide rear security. See Diagram “D”. This is a basic overview for tactics, techniques and procedures for clearing rooms. For more advanced CQB TTPs, please read “From Insertion to Extraction: Advanced MILSIM CQB Tactics, Techniques and Procedures”.

POST ENTRY PROCEDURES As each team member reaches his/her point of room domination, he will signal whether his/her area of responsibility is clear. This should preferably be done in as quiet a manner as possible or via radio. Use of thumbs up hand signal is preferred. Team members announce “Clear” in the order in which they have entered the room. Once the entire room is announced clear, each team member will announce their readiness status by checking off with their position in the stack. Example: “One up, Two up, etc.” This check in should be done via radio to minimize noise.

All casualties are revived (“medic’d”) prior to moving to next room in the building. Set security until entry team is ready to move to the next room.

MULTIPLE ROOMS/ENTRY TEAMS The squad divides into Alpha and Bravo entry teams. Once the initial room is cleared by one entry team, the other entry team would then enter the room to stack up for entry into the adjoining room. The second entry team would move into position behind the security provided by the first entry team. See Diagram “E”. The entry teams would alternate which one would stack up to enter the next room. This allows a leapfrogging action through multiple rooms and allows each entry team time to form back into their stack for the next room entry. If a team member encounters an open doorway and has a clear line of sight into the next room, he should maintain his position (over-watch) while the next team (or remaining members of his own entry team) prepares to breach same.

CORNER FED ROOMS Corner fed rooms are rooms where the entry point is in or very close to a corner of the room. Room entry on corner fed rooms works the same as standard room entry (Center Fed) except the dominant walls are not parallel to each other.

This requires team members to be careful of friendly fire since team members will tend to move more forward into the room.

DELIBERATE ROOM ENTRY As an alternative, team members may clear rooms using a deliberate room entry technique. The primary difference between Dynamic Room Entry and Deliberate Room Entry is that Point Man attempts to clear as much of the room as possible from the outside by using the diminishing sector/pie slicing technique before committing to clearing the room. Although this is a more cautious room entry technique, it often sacrifices speed and surprise in favor of force protection. The areas of responsibility for each entry team member using deliberate room entry is the same as that used in dynamic room entry. PROCEDURE: 1. Entry Team stacks up in same manner as for Dynamic Room Entry. 2. Point Man begins to use pie slicing technique across the doorway to clear as much of the target room as possible before committing to entering the room. 3. Point Man makes a reverse sweep back toward the entry team stack before committing to entering the target room. 4. Second Man must closely watch Point Man and be ready to enter the target room immediately behind Point Man once he commits to entering it.

5. Third and Fourth Men enter the target room behind Second Man in the same manner as with Dynamic Room Entry.

ROOM CLEARING COMMUNICATION PROWORDS STATUS = Command from entry team leader to declare whether their physical status and/or whether their sectors/areas of responsibility are clear. CLEAR = Response given by entry team member that his sector/area of responsibility is clear. ALL CLEAR OR ROOM CLEAR = Entry team leader's report that room area is clear. # UP = Response to STATUS command that entry team member is uninjured and ready to proceed with mission. (# represents the team member's position in the stack. Example: One Up means that the First/Point Man of the stack us up and ready to move). DOMINATE = Command from entry team leader for Point and Second Men to move down side walls to position of dominance in the room. This command can be used to order individual team member to move to position of dominance. Example. Point Man Dominate or Two Dominate. COMING OUT = Friendlies coming out of room. COME OUT = Response to COMING OUT that it is safe to exit room.

COMING IN = Friendlies coming into room. COME IN = Response to COME IN that it is safe to enter room. MOVE or SET=I am in covering position. position.

Move to your next

MOVING = Cover me while I am moving to my next cover position. It is the response to MOVE or SET. SHORT or SHORT ROOM = Announcement by Point Man that room being entered is small and that there is not enough room for entire entry team to enter same. With this signal/command, only Point and Second Man should enter room. GRENADE = Command by Point Man for Fourth Man to throw a grenade into the room before team entry. When stated twice (GRENADE, GRENADE), request is to throw "Dummy" or "Dead" grenade in room. All entry team members should be ready to immediately enter room upon "dead" grenade being thrown in room to maximize initiative and surprise. This command can also be made via hand signals. Point Man holds his arm above his shoulder while forming his hand into a “C” shape as if holding a grenade and make a squeezing motion. After giving the signal, the Point Man will hold up either one or two fingers to indicate how many grenades need to be thrown into the room. If the GRENADE hand signal is given followed by thumbs down signal, it indicates that a “dummy grenade” will be thrown into the room. STACK UP or ON ME = Get in position to enter the next room.

BUILDING/ROOM CLEARING STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES (SOPs) PLATING: Used to move quickly down hallway with multiple, attached rooms that are not “objectives”. This technique can also be used to quickly search non-essential rooms. PROCEDURE: 1. The first two men in the stack point their weapons at which room entryway they intend to “plate”. 2. As they reach their selected entryway, each man will stand in the doorway to “plate” or block potential enemy fire from the room from striking the stack as it passes behind him. The remainder of the stack will continue to proceed down the hallway behind the “plating” team members. 3. The last member of the stack taps each “plating” team member on the shoulder as he goes by. At that point the “plating” team member rejoins the stack at the rear. 4. Should the “plating” team member be engaged, the team would engage the shooters to eliminate them (usually with the use of grenades). FLOOD ROOM: Used to clear heavily defended rooms where typical dynamic entry techniques will likely result in multiple casualties.

PROCEDURE: 1.

Point Man calls for “Flood Room”.

2. Second Man throws grenade into designated room before rotating back to rear of stack. 3. Third Man moves up and throws grenade into designated room before rotating back to rear of the stack. 4. Process continues until all member of stack have thrown grenades into room. 5. Once all grenades have detonated, Entry Team proceeds to enter and clear room. PUSH OUT: Used to dominate long hallways where the threat is at the far end of same. PROCEDURE: 1.

Point Man or team leader calls: “Push Out”.

2. Point Man crosses over intersection to opposite side of hallway and covers the length of the hallway. Second man now becomes Point Man of Stack. 3.

Stack passes Point Man in the near side of the hallway.

4. Point Man maintains position until he no longer has a field of fire, then re-enters stack at the rear.

DIAGRAM “A”

DIAGRAM “B”

DIAGRAM “C”

DIAGRAM “D

DIAGRAM “E”

PA R T I V – H A L L WAY CLEARING TA C T I C S A N D PROCEDURES

ZETA: CLOSE QUARTERS BATTLE – HALLWAY CLEARING HALLWAY/INDOOR MOVEMENT/TACTICS GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS Hallways and hallway intersections are danger areas that should be approached cautiously. These areas have the effect of concentrating fire in a narrow space where there is little or no cover for the entry team. In contrast, enemy forces are likely to use doorways as cover and/or concealment prior to engagement. PUSH OUT/COVER MAN: 1. When first entering the hallway, Point Man steps wide into hallway to provide cover for rest of the team entering the hallway. 2. At the point where he no longer has a line of covering fire, Cover Man will rejoin the formation at the rear. 3.

Will not always be applicable in small hallways.

DIMINISHING SECTORS/SLICING THE PIE

Diminishing Sectors, Slicing the Pie or Pie-ing the Corner means using walls and other cover to your advantage in clearing an area. Usually the area being cleared is a hallway or other indoor area. The idea is to reveal as little of the team member’s body while clearing such areas. The team member must be careful to prevent extending arms or legs beyond cover. Watch the “chicken wing” when clearing corners. The team member begins by approaching a corner or room opening close to the near wall. Using the apex of the corner as a pivot point, the team member begins a series of small sidesteps in an arc away from the wall in a semicircular manner. After each step, he/she pauses briefly to scan each newly revealed area for potential threats. This tactic allows team members to develop a greater line of sight into the room while still using cover to present the smallest target possible to any enemy in an uncleared area. See Diagram “F”. Once the team member “pies” enough of a corner to see there is no immediate threat, he/she commits to proceeding along that wall to the next corner and/or threat area. SET –SNAP This technique is used to coordinate clearing of intersections within buildings. PROCEDURE: 1. As formation moves to hallway intersection, Second Man moves up alongside Point Man. 2. Both men proceed to pie their respective corners as far safely possible. 3.

Either Point or Second Man calls “Set”.

4. When the other team member responds with “Snap”, both men commit to clearing their respective corners. HALLWAY TACTICAL FORMATIONS/MOVEMENT Single Team Hallway Tactical Movement: Point and Second Man form up on opposite sides of the hallway while angling their respective fields of fire toward the area opposite and in front of the formation. See Diagram “G”. Third and Fourth men will form up just inside of the Point and Second Men with their fields of fire forward and parallel to the walls of the hallway. Dual Entry Team Tactical Movement: Point Man of each entry team form up close to each side of the hallway walls while angling their respective fields of fire towards an area opposite and in front of the other entry team. Second Man of each entry team will form up just behind and inside of their respective Point Men. Their fields of fire should be forward and parallel to the hallway walls. Third Men of each entry team will form up slightly behind and outside of the Second Man with his firearm sticking out between them. Fourth men of both teams will be positioned immediately behind Third Man and will provide rear security. See Diagram “H”. TACTICS FOR CLEARING HALLWAY INTERSECTIONS T-Shaped Intersections: Point and Second Men (if moving as single entry team will pie each corner before committing to rounding the corner. Each team member must lead with his weapon and engage any immediate threats using point shooting techniques. It is critical that Point and Second Men pie their corner and commit to taking the corner simultaneously to prevent exposing each other’s back to potential enemy contact from behind. (See SET-SNAP Procedure, Supra). Third and Fourth men would then follow behind first and second man on their respective sides and cross over to the opposite while providing support for the Point and Second Men.

The only difference with a Dual Entry Team is that the initial corner clearing is performed by the First Man of each entry team following by Second Man of each entry team to cross to the opposite side. See Diagram “I” and “J”. Four Way Intersections: Point and Second Men (if moving as single entry team) will pie each corner before committing to rounding the corner. Each team member must lead with his weapon and engage any immediate threats using point shooting techniques. It is critical that Point and Second Men pie their corner and commit to taking the corner simultaneously to prevent exposing each other’s back to potential enemy contact from behind. (See SET-SNAP Procedure, Supra). Third and Fourth men would then follow behind first and second man on their respective sides and cross over the intersection and into the hallway where the team intends to continue moving. See Diagram “K” and “L”. Hallway Corners: One entry team member pies the nearside corner before committing to going around it. When this happens, another entry team member moves around the corner and to the opposite side of the hallway to provide support and eliminate all threats. (See Push Out Procedure, Supra).

DIAGRAM “F”

SINGLE ENTRY TEAM HALL MOVEMENT

DIAGRAM “G”

DIAGRAM “H”

DIAGRAM “I”

DIAGRAM “J”

DIAGRAM “K”

DIAGRAM “L”

PA R T V – S T A I R WAY CLEARING TA C T I C S A N D PROCEDURES

ETA: CLOSE QUARTERS BATTLE – STAIRWAY CLEARING STAIRWAY CLEARING AND TACTICS GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS: Move up the outside of the stairway while staying off the walls. Allow the stairs themselves to provide as much cover as possible to potential fire coming from above or below. Check doors on stairway landings to determine whether they are accessible and not locked. Don’t bunch up on stairs. In the confined space, a grenade will create many casualties and will likely eliminate the entire team. Whenever possible, clear stairs while descending them. The tops of stairs, landings, doorways and balconies are more likely to be visible while descending stairways than while ascending them. Descending stairs also presents less of a physical threat on the body. STRAIGHT STAIRWAY CLEARING:

A straight stairway is cleared by a four member stack similar to that used in dynamic room entry. The stack would line up at the base of the stairway on one side while in cover. The Point Man moves to the opposite side of the stairway while proceeding methodically up toward the top of the stairs. See Diagrams “M” & “N”. At the same time, the Second Man moves to the near side of the stairway and immediately abreast of the Point Man. He moves in sync with the Point Man in proceeding methodically up toward the top of the stairs. Third Man moves to a position just behind and between Point and Second Men with his weapon sticking between them as he proceeds up the stairs. Fourth man proceeds up the stairs behind the Third Man while facing backwards to cover the rear. If enemy forces are known to be securing the top of stairs, the Point, Second and Third men will proceed to fire in steady rate to keep defenders suppressed until the top of the stairs can be reached. Grenades should be used sparingly in clearing stairways due to the likelihood that it will fall back or be thrown back down the stairs on friendly team members.

DIAGRAM “M”

DIAGRAM “N”

CLEARING COMMERCIAL STAIRS WITH LANDING(S): Stairways with landings and alternating direction of stairs are extremely difficult to clear because of multiple threats located in multiple directions/elevations as well as the movements needed by team members to cover their respective sectors/areas of responsibility as the team proceeds up the stairs. If all possible, movement up complex stairways with multiple landings needs to be made more slowly but smoothly to ensure that all threat areas are covered while the team proceeds upstairs. The procedure for descending the stair is similar to ascending except that team members will be covering a lower elevation versus a higher one. Initially, the entry team would stack on up the initial portion of the commercial stair in the same manner as with a straight stairway. See Diagram “O”. Point Man begins movement up the lower stair on the outside edge while moving upward toward the landing. Point Man’s area of responsibility is the landing immediately ahead and above him. Second Man moves up immediately behind Point Man while covering the stairs and landing behind and above him. Third Man moves immediately behind Second Man. His immediate area of responsibility is the opposite corner of the next landing and ascending stair immediately ahead and above him. See Diagram “P”. Point Man continues to move up the lower stair toward the landing while covering same as well as any door entering onto that landing from his right. As the stack moves up the stairway, Second Man continues to maintain his field of fire and area of responsibility on the landing/top of ascending stair above and behind the stack. Third Man continues to maintain his field of fire and area of responsibility on the opposite corner of

the landing and the lower portion of the ascending stair immediately ahead and above him. Fourth Man’s area of responsibility is the left side of the landing above him as well as any door entering into the landing from his left. See Diagram “Q”. Upon reaching the landing, Point Man moves around the outside edge of the landing to the beginning of the next ascending stairway while covering the stair and/or landing immediately in front and above him. The remaining members of the stack line up and cover their areas of responsibility as set forth in the previous paragraphs before repeating the same procedure to clear the next stairway and landing. See Diagram “R”. When in doubt, team members need to cover any gap in the stack’s fields of fire/areas of responsibility not already covered by another team member. When in doubt, cover a hole.

DIAGRAM “O”

DIAGRAM “P”

DIAGRAM “Q”

DIAGRAM “R”

PA R T V I – L A N D WA R F A R E – B AT T L E F O R M AT I O N S

THETA: LAND WARFARE – BATTLE FORMATIONS FORMATIONS ALL PLAYERS NEED TO HAVE AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE FOLLOWING BASIC FORMATIONS AND MOVEMENT TECHNIQUES. PATROL FORMATIONS: LINE FORMATION: The Line Formation a/k/a Fire Line is often used when the squad is expecting enemy contact and/or needs to search an area. The squad spreads out by fire team perpendicular to the squad’s direction of movement. Squad Leader will initiate this formation by giving the verbal command “Move, Patrol Line” or “Get Online” followed by stating the direction of movement or making the alternative hand signal. Fire Team Leaders need to repeat the command to their respective fire teams. See Diagram “S”. The Line Formation puts the squad leader in a position where he cannot see the ends of the line. A squad on line reacts well to contact along its front. The spacing of team members in a line makes it difficult to pin them down. This formation also provides over watch and continued travel in the direction of movement. STAYING ONLINE: It is important that you do not get ahead of or behind other team members in the formation. This undermines the ability of a tactical element to provide support to elements that get out of line and can cause problems with blocking other elements’ fields of fire. Squad and tactical element leaders must

address the line as necessary to make sure players stay online. Said leaders can use “Hold!” and “Move!” commands with different fire teams or buddy pairs within the tactical element to make sure the element does not get out of line with others in the formation.

USE OF LANES: Team members in the formation need to avoid bunching up or converging on an enemy position. This creates the same problems as moving ahead of or falling behind other elements of the line. Keep your spacing between you and the man on your left and between you and the man on your right. SITUATIONAL AWARENESS: Each element of the line need to be constantly aware of the orientation of the line, the axis of advance for the line, element spacing and use of short bounds to maintain the integrity of the formation. COLUMN/FILE FORMATION: Column Formation is essentially the opposite of Line Formation. The Squad lines up in a single line with one end facing in the direction of movement. Squad Leader will initiate this formation by giving the verbal command “Move, Column” followed by stating the direction of travel or by giving the alternative hand signal. As with all the formations, Fire Team Leaders need to repeat this command to their respective fire teams. Team members need to be spaced far enough apart so as to prevent multiple casualties from a burst of fire from the column’s flank. Each member of the squad should alternate fields of fire/area of responsibility from the one immediately in front of him. See Diagram “T”. The column formation has the lowest forward profile. It puts the squad leader in a position where he cannot easily see the front and/or the rear of the column. The biggest limitation of this formation is that it vulnerable to attacks from the front of the column. Troops tend to bunch up under fire. Team members in this formation react better from attacks from the flanks.

STAGGERED COLUMN: This formation is similar to the Column Formation except that instead of traveling in single file, the column is traveling in two parallel columns. The Squad Leader will initiate this formation by calling for “Move, Staggered Column” followed by stating direction of travel or by giving the alternative hand signal. See Diagram “U” DIAMOND/WEDGE FORMATION: The Wedge Formation is another formation frequently used when enemy contact is expected. It addresses several of the limitations of the Line and Column Formations. The squad or fire team forms a wedge with the point man at its apex and the SAW gunner on one of the ends. The Squad or Team Leader will initiate this formation by giving the verbal command “Move, Wedge” followed by stating the direction of travel or by giving the alternative hand signal. As with all the patrol formations, spacing of individual team members is critical to avoiding multiple casualties when initially engaged with the enemy. See Diagram “V”. The Wedge Formation gives the squad a larger profile to the front than the Column Formation. This makes it more difficult to pin down squads using the Wedge Formation. The Wedge Formation also tends to prevent bunching up of troops while under fire. The Wedge Formation also provides tighter security on the flanks as opposed to the Line Formation. LOCATION OF TEAM OR SQUAD LEADER IN FORMATION: The Team or Squad Leader should position himself at the “center of gravity” of his tactical element. This is the position where he most able to observe and direct the actions of his tactical element. (i.e. “Leading from the Front”). DEFENSIVE FORMATIONS HASTY DEFENSE: The Hasty Defense is employed when a squad temporarily stops moving. Fire Team Leaders insure that their team members are in positons to provide mutual support with interlocking fields of fire. Rear security is also provided. All squad members need to be

ready to move quickly. When selecting a defensive firing position, make sure it provides cover from fire, affords you with a good view of the ground to be watched or target to be engaged, provides room to allow free use of your weapon (not constrained by obstacles), provides you with a covered ingress/egress, and allows for ease of advance. PROLONGED DEFENSE: This formation is employed when the squad is being tasked to defend an objective or critical terrain feature. Fire Team Leaders insure that team members are better positioned to repel attacks as opposed to providing temporary security such as when using the Hasty Defense. Team members are also tasked with improving the defense of their position. Squad Leader will often set out a recon patrol to locate the enemy. (See PATROLLING, Infra). HOLD OUT DEFENSE: This formation is utilized when the squad is tasked with holding a position at all costs. The squad members will make no effort to disengage and will fight to the last man/woman.

IMPORTANCE OF SECURITY SECURITY IS VITAL TO THE SURVIVAL OF THE SQUAD. REAR SECURITY: Rear security offsets the possibility of a devastating attack from the rear. The Rear Security or Six Man’s only area of responsibility is the squad’s rear. It is imperative that the Squad remember to notify its security if it is pulling out of an area. You don’t want the Six Man alternating his attention between his assigned area of responsibility and the rest of the squad. SECURITY HOLD: Security Hold is typically called by Squad Leader, Fire Team Leader or formation point man. When called, the

formation must move into its security formation. LINE: On call of Security Hold, every third person on the line will take two steps back and turn to cover the rear of the formation. Team members on the end of the line with turn to cover the ends of the line. COLUMN: On call of Security Hold, each person will take two steps toward their area of responsibility then take cover. This action should result in the column transforming into a long oval formation. STAGGERED COLUMN: On call of Security Hold, team members in left column shall form an arc on the left side of the formation facing out. The right column will form an arc on the right side of the formation facing out. The ends of each arc shall meet at the front and rear of the formation so as to form a circle or oval for security. DIAMOND/WEDGE: On call of Security Hold, the formation stays in place with the last man turning to provide rear security. PERSONAL SECURITY DETAIL (PSD): At many ops, you will interact with several non-player characters (NPC). Whenever, you are dealing with such NPCs, be aware that their agenda may be different from yours. In fact the NPC can be a threat to you and the Team. Until the NPC has been properly vetted, do not allow him/her to speak directly to anyone in a leadership position. Instead, have a pre-selected decoy leader make contact with the NPC. Team leadership should observe from a distance and communicate directly with the decoy via radio if necessary. Actual leadership should remain outside of a potential blast zone in case the NPC is a suicide bomber. If the NPC is armed, disarm him before allowing any contact with team “leadership”. It is important that PSD maintain vigilance over all NPCs at all times. NPC interactions is a fluid dynamic that can change rapidly and without warning to a threat.

HAZARD CROSSING: These hazards include but are not limited to crossing any open area that can be easily covered by enemy fields of fire (i.e. streets, streams, fields, clearings and open areas. PROCEDURE: 1. Squad Leader determines at which point to cross hazard area and designates near side and far side rally points. He then communicates same to rest of squad. 2. Squad Leader designates near side Flank Security Elements and Crossing Element. 3. Flank Security Elements provide security and over watch for Crossing Element. 4. Crossing Element quietly crosses the hazard area and reconnoiters opposite side in an area large enough to accommodate entire squad. If area is clear of enemy forces, leader of Crossing Element notifies Squad Leader of that fact. 5. Squad quickly and quietly crosses hazard area and sets up security on far side of hazard area. Squad members cross hazard area individually or (preferably) in battle buddy pairs. 6. Flank Security Elements, when ordered by Squad Leader, then quickly and quietly cross danger area. 7.

Once squad is reconstituted, it resumes movement.

DIAGRAM “S”

DIAGRAM “T”

DIAGRAM “U”

DIAGRAM “V”

PA R T V I I – L A N D WA R F A R E – READING TERRAIN

IOTA: LAND WARFARE READING TERRAIN WHAT IS READING TERRAIN? READING TERRAIN means determining whether terrain is advantageous or disadvantageous based on observations made while applying OCOKA principles.

OCOKA OCOKA is an acronym that stands for the following: Observation - Lines of sight and fields of fire to and from terrain and/or objective. It is important to recognize lines of sight and fields of fire to and from your position. Line of sight is what you can see. Line of sight is important because it allows you to gather information on the enemy. Fields of Fire represents what you can hit with your weapon. You will want to recognize positions for LMGs/SAWs where they have the best lines of sight over likely enemy avenues of approach and the widest fields of fire so that you can maximize their effectiveness. You will also want to evaluate terrain for ease in creating interlocking fields of fire. Cover/Concealment - Availability of cover and concealment at or near terrain/objective in question. Terrain needs to be evaluated for what cover

and/or concealment it will provide not only to friendly forces but also to the enemy. It is especially important to identify terrain that can be used as cover by the enemy as it moves toward friendly defensive positions. Obstacles - Terrain features that prevent, restrict, divert or delay movement. Obstacles are often defined as either “existing” or “reinforcing” obstacles. Existing Obstacles are swamps, wetlands, ravines, ditches, closely grouped large trees and any man-made structure or building. Reinforcing Obstacles are man-made obstacles that are tied into Existing Obstacles and are designed to deter or divert an opposing force. Examples of Reinforcing Obstacles are minefields, anti-vehicle ditches, roadblocks and barbed wire. It is important to recognize obstacles, especially reinforcing obstacles, as an attempt by enemy forces to funnel you into a kill zone or divert you to protect an objective. Key Terrain - Terrain that must be controlled in order to achieve mission success and/or that which provides a significant advantage to the forces holding it. Key terrain typically provides advantages in cover, concealment, observation and fields of fire. A typical example of key terrain is high ground the overlooks avenues of approach and/or an objective. Avenues of Approach - Relatively unobstructed ground route that leads to any objective and/or key terrain. Recognizing avenues of approach will reveal the likely routes of enemy forces to your position and vice- versa. Typical avenues of approach include roads, draws, ridges and trails. During offensive operations, each avenue of approach will need to be evaluated for its favorability to tactical movement of friendly forces, concealment, cover, etc. OCOKA is essentially a checklist of items you should consider while evaluating the terrain around you. It allows you to organize your thoughts while evaluating terrain and will help you position yourself so as to have the advantage over the enemy.

SOLDIER’S EYE Evaluate terrain with a “soldier’s Eye”. In other words, look at the shape of the ground as it relates to both your and the enemy’s positions. Evaluate the terrain for “Micro-Terrain” such as folds in the ground, ditches and creek beds that can provide for sheltered avenues of approach and/or cover. Also evaluate the spatial relationships between your and the enemy’s position(s).

DEFILADE/DEAD GROUND Defilade/Dead Ground is any area that cannot be observed and/or covered by direct fire from your current position. Defilade also includes “micro-terrain” such as creek beds and folds in the ground that can provide cover from observation or fire. Defilade/Dead Ground applies to both offensive and defensive operations. On offense, defilade can provide sheltered avenues of approach and covered firing positions that are not immediately recognizable. This is especially helpful in setting up ambushes. On the defense, defilade can also be used to provide cover against attacking forces. You must recognize and act to minimize the effect of dead space on operations. This can often be done by effective use of security and patrol elements to prevent enemy use of dead space to the detriment of friendly forces.

PA R T V I I I – L A N D WA R F A R E – B AT T L E D R I L L S & TTPS

KAPPA: LAND WARFARE – BATTLE DRILLS AND TTPS LAND WARFARE OPERATIONS AND TACTICS USE OF BATTLE BUDDY SYSTEM Each member of a squad needs to be partnered with another squad member with a similar style of play or role. Typically, you do not want to have your strongest assaulter paired with a member of command staff. Use of the battle buddy system essentially triples the combat effectiveness as opposed to a single team member. GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS Efficient and effective implementation of battle drills is essential to massing and application of combat power. Response to enemy contact must be automatic to avoid incurring casualties and to shift initiative away from enemy forces. Continued practice of battle drills builds unit strength, cohesion and aggressiveness of the team. Implementation of battle drills needs to be continually fine-tuned until it is essentially reflexive on the part of all team members. Battle drills are intended to mass the team’s combat power on enemy weak points (i.e. smallest enemy element while achieving objective(s)). With respect to attack battle drills, the team should not only seize the initiative but should work to fix the enemy, to locate or create weakness in enemy defenses and to exploit that weakness with quick and violent assaults.

FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS: In order for battle drills to be effective, team members must obey the following fundamental concepts. REACT IMMEDIATELY: Team members must recognize the threat and react immediately to counter-act it. WIN THE FIREFIGHT: First priority in any firefight is to win it. There will be plenty of time to do an after action review (AAR) once the gunfight is over. MOVE ONLY WHILE UNDER COVERING FIRE: When the team/element is in contact with the enemy, it does not move unless it has covering/suppressing fire. Suppressing fire keeps the enemy’s heads down and largely prevents them from putting accurate fire on the moving element. When a team/element comes under fire, its supporting element should put suppressing fire on the enemy so as to enable the other element to bound forward. ATTACK FROM THE FLANK WHENEVER POSSIBLE: If a team/element is in contact with the enemy, another element should attempt to move unseen to attack the enemy position from its flank. MOVEMENT TO CONTACT/SECURE OBJECTIVE PURPOSE: To gain or regain contact with enemy in order to fix and destroy same. There are three methods of fire team movement: Traveling, Traveling Over-Watch and Bounding Over-Watch. TRAVELING: Use when contact with enemy is unlikely and speed is needed. Both fire teams move together while spaced approximately fifteen to twenty feet apart depending on terrain. Column and wedge formations are typically used for Traveling movement. TRAVELING OVER-WATCH: Use when enemy contact is possible but not expected. Both fire teams move together with greater spacing between the two. (Usually 25-40 feet depending on terrain). Should one fire team come into contact with the enemy, the second fire team is only a single tactical bound from providing support to the first one. Traveling Over-watch is normally utilized while fire teams move in a wedge formation. BOUNDING OVER-WATCH: Use when contact with enemy is expected, when enemy forces are known to be nearby and/or when crossing large, open danger area. The

squad bounds by fire teams. One fire team provides over-watch while the other team moves to a covered position ahead of it. Each fire team alternates between moving (i.e. “bounding”) to cover and providing over-watch for the other fire team. The Fire Team providing over-watch is responsible for covering the bounding team. Bounding Overwatch can consist of successive bounds or alternating bounds. Successive bounds means that the second team moves up online with the lead team before the lead team bounds forward again. With alternating bounds, the each team alternately moves forward and past the other team. MOVEMENT COMPARISON CHART MOVEMENT WHEN CONTROL DISPERSION SPEED TECHNIQUES NORMALLY USED

SECURITY

TRAVELING

CONTACT UNLIKELY

MORE

LESS

FASTEST

LEAST

TRAVELING OVERWATCH

CONTACT POSSIBLE

LESS

MORE

SLOWER

MORE

BOUNDING OVERWATCH

CONTACT EXPECTED

MOST

MOST

SLOWEST

MOST

ASSAULT ON OBJECTIVE: Often referred to as Battle Drill One-Alpha, an assault on an objective is conducted in essentially five steps: TEAM FORMATION PRIOR TO CONTACT: The Squad should be divided into at least two fire teams. One fire team should be nested behind the other with enough separation between the two to prevent the trailing fire team from being spotted or engaged by the enemy once the leading fire team makes contact. Prior to enemy contact, both Fire teams should utilize bounding over-watch as they approach suspected enemy positions and/or the objective. The fire team with the highest casualty producing weapon (i.e. SAW) should be the “point” fire team. MAKING CONTACT: Upon making contact with enemy, the leading (“Point”) fire team immediately suppresses enemy positions in and around the objective. As the lead fire team suppresses the enemy, the trailing fire team flanks to one side of the enemy

objective in a position that is essentially at a 90 degree alignment with leading fire team. (i.e. Move to flank). This 90 degree alignment is preferable because it allows the leading team to provide support fire for a longer period of time before movement of the trailing/flanking team blocks/masks the lead teams line of fire. See Diagram “W”. PREPARING TO ASSAULT THROUGH OBJECTIVE: The lead fire team continues suppressive fire. Once the trailing fire team notifies the leading/point fire team that is on line and ready to assault through the objective, the leading/point fire team will initially shift their fire away from the trailing fire team. See Diagram “X”. The signal to shift fire must be established within the tactical element before moving onto the field. TRAILING (FLANKING) FIRE TEAM ASSAULTS THROUGHT OBJECTIVE: Once the trailing fire team (now flanking fire team) notifies leading fire team that it is commencing its assault through the objective, the leading/point fire team lifts fire. The flanking fire team will then assault through the objective in their “buddy pairs” and firing as necessary. Upon completion of the assault, the flanking fire team establishes a Limit of Advance (LOA) on the other side of the objective. Upon reaching its Limit of Advance, the flanking fire team will so advise leading/point fire team. It is critical that the flanking fire team notify the leading/point fire team of its progress through the objective to prevent friendly fire. See Diagram “Y”. LEADING/POINT FIRE TEAM ASSAULTS THROUGH OBJECTIVE: Once the flanking fire team establishes its Limit of Advance, the leading/point fire team then also assaults through the objective and establishes its own Limit of Advance on the opposite side of the objective. In so doing, both fire teams have assaulted through the objective and have located and eliminated all defenders. See Diagram “Z”. SET SECURITY: Once both fire teams assault through the objective, they should then set 360 degree security around the objective. See Diagram “AA”. OTHER CONSIDERATIONS IN EXECUTING BATTLE DRILL ONEALPHA: If possible, do not immediately engage enemy with suppressive fire if the squad has not already been detected. Hold fire long enough for the initial assaulting element to get in position. It is also very important that the assaulting element is online during the assault through the objective. In addition, all team members need to be constantly aware of the position of enemy forces as they conduct the drill. The enemy may be trying to flank your position as friendly forces attempt to flank them. REACTION TO CONTACT

LOCATION OF CONTACT: Team members should announce the location of contact immediately upon seeing the enemy. IMMEDIATELY TAKE COVER: Upon initial engagement and depending on the distance to contact, team members will either drop into prone positions/seek cover or will get online while returning fire. GET ONLINE AND RETURN FIRE: suspected enemy positions after taking cover.

Immediately return fire on known or

COLUMN AND STAGGERED COLUMN FORMATION: If attacked from the front or rear, team members must move forward to get online perpendicular to the threat in order to place effective fire on attacking force. See Diagrams “BB” and “CC”. LINE FORMATION: If attacked from the sides, the line should rotate toward the threat in order to maximize fire on the attacking force. WEDGE FORMATION: If attacked from the side, the wedge should form up in a line facing toward the threat in order to maximize fire on the attacking force. The rear man in the wedge should normally face the rear to provide security. See Diagram “DD”. PROVIDE 3D REPORT TO SQUAD LEADER OR FIRE TEAM LEADER: Team members than can locate enemy forces should communicate the Description of enemy forces as well as their Direction and Distance to their immediate chain of command. TRANSITION TO ATTACK OR BREAK CONTACT: Based on information received from team members, Squad Leader will determine whether the squad will transition to attack or break contact. OBJECTIVE SECURITY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN UNIT SECURITY AND OBJECTIVE SERCURITY: Unlike Unit Security which emphasizes rear security as the element is patrolling or moving toward an objective, Objective security is intended to secure the objective until relieved by other friendly forces. METHOD OF EXECUTION: Upon order from Squad Leader, each fire team will secure either the near side or far side of the objective in arc with each end tied into its

counterpart of the other fire team. Fire team members should be facing out according to their sector of responsibility and be ready to engage all threats. BREAK CONTACT COMBAT PEEL: This tactic is used to disengage from a superior enemy force while under fire by moving laterally to a cover location. See Diagrams “EE”, “FF” & “GG”. PROCEDURE: 1.

Squad Leader will call either “Peel Left” or “Peel Right”.

2.

All team members down the line repeat SL’s command.

3. The team member on side opposite of direction of peel (i.e. left or right) will proceed to fire his entire magazine to the front and flank of his position. 4. Once his magazine runs dry, the team member will move behind the line in the direction of the peel while reloading his weapon. As he passes the next team member in the line, he will tap that member to let him know that he is the end of the line. 5. The team member will then continue to move to end of the line in the direction of the peel to cover the other team members. 6.

The “tapped” team member will follow then follow steps 1. through 5.

7.

The peel continues until the team reaches the desired cover location.

When a team member reaches the edge of the cover, he yells “Door” to let the squad know that he has reached cover. “Door” does not necessarily mean a literal door. Instead it means the door to cover. MOUT (MILITARY OPERATIONS IN URBAN TERRAIN) TACTICS For CQB Tactics refer to Parts III, IV and V of Alpha to Omega, Supra. MOVE PARALLEL TO BUILDINGS: Often, you will not be able to use the inside of buildings as routes to advance. In such circumstances, move parallel to buildings while

maintaining twelve inches of separation between you and the building. Stay low, move in shadows and move quickly to each new position. AVOID OPEN AREAS: Stay out of streets, parks, alleys and other open areas that are natural kill zones. If you must cross such a danger area, do so at its narrowest point. USE OVER-WATCH TO PROVIDE PROTECTION OVER MOVING ELEMENTS: Avoid moving outside of buildings without using another element to provide over-watch. Often, the over watch element will have a better shot at enemy in windows or on heights than the moving element. PASSING WINDOWS: Keep your head and body below the sill of any window that is adjacent to your axis of movement. This will prevent the chance of silhouetting yourself in the window and allow you to use the wall beneath the window as cover. CROSSING WALLS: After you have reconnoitered the other side, quickly roll over the top of the wall while keeping a low silhouette. This will reduce the likelihood of being effectively engaged while doing it. MOVING AROUND CORNERS: Use the slicing the pie/diminishing sectors technique to see and move around corners in urban areas. ROOFLINES: When using a roof for a firing position, be sure to keep your body on the reverse side of the roof crest to avoid silhouetting yourself against the sky (i.e. Skylighting). CLEARING BUILDINGS: Whenever possible clear buildings from the top down. This allows you to maintain height advantage to shooters below you and makes it harder for enemy to hit you with a grenade. SECURITY: Security, especially rear security, is particularly important in MOUT operations. CORDON AND ISOLATE: Prior to assaulting a building, the team will need to divide into two elements. One will cordon and isolate the building to prevent the enemy from being able to reinforce the building prior to the assault element attacking and clearing the building. FORWARD PEEL: Used to cross danger areas (i.e. gaps between buildings and the like).

PROCEDURE: 1. On approach to danger area, point man in formation will stop in cover on the near side of the danger area while point his weapon into the danger area. 2. The next man in the formation then moves into cover on the opposite side of the danger area and aims his weapon into the danger area. 3. The remaining team members then proceed to quickly and smoothly move across the danger area. 4. The last person in the line “taps” each of the covering team members as he goes by so that they can rejoin the formation. 5.

Formation continues to move toward the objective.

PATROLLING: DEFINITION: Patrolling is defined as a tactic where small groups or individual tactical units are deployed from a larger military formation to achieve a specific objective then return. PATROL TYPES: COMBAT PATROL: A patrol of sufficient size (platoon or larger) designated to raid or conduct an ambush on the enemy. It differs from an attack primarily because its aim is not to hold ground. CLEARING PATROL: A clearing patrol is defined as a patrol conducted around a newly occupied defensive position in order to insure that the immediate area surrounding same is secure. STANDING PATROL: A standing patrol is a small patrol designated to set up an observation post (OP) or listening post (LP) for a limited period of time then to return to base. RECONNAISSANCE (RECCE) PATROL: Sometimes referred to as a recon patrol, a recce patrol is a usually small patrol whose mission is to gain information. Though recce patrols tend to avoid combat, there are occasions where they are tasked to engage the enemy in an effort to gain intelligence.

SCREENING PATROL: A screening patrol is defined as a patrol whose mission is to screen or guard the flanks of a larger friendly force. PATROL PATTERNS: Patrols will often move through one of several patterns as part of their missions. Most of these patterns start from an operational rally point. These patterns/methods are as follows: FAN METHOD: At an operational rally point (ORP), the patrol leader splits the patrol in several Reconnaissance and Surveillance (R&S) teams. Each team then moves out in a fan-shaped route that overlaps with the ones on each side of it to insure reconnaissance over the entire area. The patrol leader maintains a reserve at the ORP should any element come into enemy contact. In the alternative, the entire patrol moves through each route together until reaching the ORP after the last leg of the pattern is complete. At that point, the patrol leader moves and establishes the next ORP and the pattern starts again. BOX METHOD: At an ORP, the patrol leader sends out two R&S teams out to form the two “sides” of a boxed in area followed by sending other teams through the interior of the “box”. Each team link ups at point on the far side of the “box” from the ORP. CONVERGING ROUTES METHOD: Patrol leader selects routes from the ORP and through the zone being patrolled to a link up point at the far side of the zone from the ORP. Each R&S Team moves along a specified route and uses the fan method to reconnoiter the area between routes. The patrol leader designates a time for all teams to link up. STATIONARY TEAMS METHOD: Patrol leader positions R&S Teams in locations where they can collectively observe the entire zone for long term, continuous intelligence gathering. This is akin to setting up multiple observation posts along likely enemy avenues of approach. ROUTE RECONNAISSANCE: This patrol pattern is used to obtain detailed information along one route and all adjacent terrain. This route will be along a narrow axis such as a road or infiltration route. The fan method is used to reconnoiter adjacent terrain. AMBUSH: An ambush is a surprise attack designed to destroy enemy forces as opposed to seizing and holding terrain. An ambush is defined by three criteria: Category, Type and

Formation. TACTICAL ELEMENTS OF AMBUSH: The patrol conducting the ambush needs to be divided into several tactical elements. These elements include: ASSAULT ELEMENT: The assault element fires into the kill zone to eliminate the enemy followed by an assault through the kill zone to ensure that the enemy has been destroyed and to search for intelligence. In an L-shaped ambush, the assault element makes up the long leg of the L that is deployed parallel to enemy’s route or direction of travel. It provides the flanking fire for the ambush. SUPPORT ELEMENT: In an L-shaped ambush, the support element makes up the short leg of the L and shifts fire away from the Assault element and it moves into the kill zone. SECURITY/SURVEILLANCE ELEMENT: The job of the security element is to prevent the assault and support elements from being surprised and ambushed themselves. They deploy to the flanks and rear of the ambush to provide security to the other elements. CATEGORY OF AMBUSH: HASTY: A hasty ambush is defined as an ambush that is set up by friendly forces that have made visual contact with the enemy but have not yet been detected themselves. Usually, there is little time to plan this kind of ambush. Use of hand signals is usually necessary to direct troops where to position and their respective fields of fire. Security elements will need to be established on the flanks and rear of the ambush to prevent compromise. The patrol leader also determines the location and extent of the kill zone. DELIBERATE: A deliberate ambush is defined as an ambush of a specific target at a predetermined location. Usually, the patrol leader has much more time to analyze the terrain and set up the ambush ahead of the arrival of the enemy in the kill zone. TYPE OF AMBUSH: There are two types of ambush designated as point and area ambush. POINT AMBUSH: An ambush where friendly forces are deployed to attack an enemy in a single kill zone. In a point ambush, security/surveillance elements need to be in place first.

AREA: An area ambush is where friendly forces are deployed to attack the enemy in two or more related point ambushes. FORMATION OF AMBUSH: LINEAR: In a linear ambush, friendly forces deploy in positions parallel to enemy’s route. This method exposes the enemy to flanking fire. See Diagram “HH”. L-SHAPED: In an L-Shaped ambush, the assault element forms the long leg of the L parallel to enemy’s direction of travel. The support element forms the short leg of the L and at a right angle to forces deployed along the long leg. This kind of ambush is particularly effective at a sharp bend of a trail or road where there is cover and concealment on the outside of the turn. Note that support weapons such as LMGs or SAWs need to be positioned so that their line of fire is perpendicular to the enemy’s anticipated direction of travel. This allows the support gunner to fire through a larger cross-section of the enemy formation. See Diagram “II”.

DIAGRAM “W”

DIAGRAM “X”

DIAGRAM “Y”

DIAGRAM “Z”

DIAGRAM “AA”

DIAGRAM “BB”

DIAGRAM “CC”

DIAGRAM “DD”

DIAGRAM “EE”

DIAGRAM “FF”

DIAGRAM “GG”

DIAGRAM “HH”

DIAGRAM “II”

PA R T I X – L A N D WA R F A R E – N I G H T O P E R AT I O N S

LAMDA: LAND WARFARE – NIGHT OPERATIONS LAND WARFARE: NIGHT AND LOW VISIBILITY OPERATIONS UNAIDED NIGHT VISION: Although night operations have their advantages, they are also more difficult to conduct properly. Even though the majority of information received by you is through the eyes, the human eye does not work well at night. CONSTRAINTS ON UNAIDED NIGHT VISION: Constraints on unaided night vision include: reduced ability to see crisp and clear images, inability to distinguish colors in certain conditions, reduced depth perception, difficulty in seeing objects at certain distances due to night blind spot(s), loss of adaptation to the dark because of exposure to light and confusion. A normal blind spot exists where the optic nerve enters the eye. There are little if any light receptors in that portion of the human eye. When you stare at an object under starlight of lesser illumination, it can seem to disappear or fade away. AVOID NIGHT BLIND SPOTS: You can avoid the effects of night blind spots by looking to the edges of objects you are trying to find or follow. Do not stare directly at the object. Move your eyes in a diamond

pattern while searching for the object. Do not use your head. Instead rely on your peripheral vision to locate the object in question. DARK ADAPTATION: After being exposed to white light, the human eye will gradually begin to adapt to the darkness. It normally takes approximately 30-45 minutes for human eyes to fully adapt to the dark after being exposed to white light. Use of red light lessens this effect. NIGHT OBSERVATION TECHNIQUES: After giving your eyes time to adapt to the dark, scan the dark in an S or box type pattern. At each turn of direction while scanning, pause a few second to allow your eyes to adapt. Do not look directly at items in your field of view. Instead try to observe the object from the side through your peripheral vision. LIMITED VISIBILITY FIRE CONTROL TECHNIQUES: Because of the increased threat of friendly fire at night, extra care should be used in directing fire in the dark. This can be lessened by shortening the distances between players, using flares to identify sectors of fire, using players with night optical devices to direct fire of players without them, use of lights to illuminate likely enemy avenues of approach and use of chemical lights to designate sectors of fire. IMPORTANCE OF STEALTHY MOVEMENT: Due to the fact that the human eye does not function well in darkness, players will tend to utilize their other senses, especially hearing, to locate enemy forces. As a result, noise discipline has greater importance during night operations. During night operations, take care while moving to avoid rubbing against trees or grasses that will create noise. Lead with the toe of your foot to determine whether you are stepping onto firm ground while maintaining your weight on your back leg. Step down onto the balls of the leading foot first before bringing down the heel. This movement should lessen the chance of making noise. Most importantly, have patience and take your time.

POSITIVE IDENTIFICATION TECHNIQUES: Using small chemical lights on the back of your plate carrier or two pieces of glow tape in a “cat eyes” arrangement will help with positive identification of friendly forces and will allow troops to move at night at farther distances from each other. Cat Eyes are two pieces of glow tape or patches arranged next two each other in a horizontal position a few inches apart on the back of your helmet or hat. LIGHT DISCIPLINE: Light discipline is much more important during night operations. Even if enemy forces do not have night vision capability, inadvertent activation of a light source will draw attention, as well as incoming fire, to your position. As such, use personal light sources, such as flashlights, sparingly. MOVE TO FLANK: Once shooting starts, the need to follow light discipline goes out the window (at least until after the firefight is over). The engaged fire team should use its flashlights to locate the enemy in an effort to put effective fire on them. At the same time, the fire team that is not yet engaged should use the “gunfire” from the enemy’s weapons to orient themselves before moving to flank them. Use the flashlight beams from your teammates to help direct your fire on the enemy. IMPORTANCE OF CHALLENGE/PASSWORDS: During night/low light operations the use of challenge/passwords become much more important. It will be more difficult to identify friendly forces visually. When returning to friendly lines, you should contact higher command to advise your estimated time of arrival so that your approach will be anticipated by friendly forces. During that transmission, be sure to advise how many troops are returning with you. SAFETY: Safety becomes much more important during nighttime/low light operations. Moving quickly in wooded, urban or swampy areas can

easily lead to injury. Move only as quickly as you can do so safely. This is not the time to “run and gun”.

PA R T X – G E T T I N G TO OMEGA

OMEGA: TESTING TACTICS, TECHNIQUES AND PROCEDURES THROUGH TRAINING EVALUATING THE TTPS FOR THEIR IMPACT ON SITUATIONAL AWARENESS, INITIATIVE, EFFECTIVENESS AND SIMPLICITY MASTER THE BASIC TTPS: Initially, Teams and Tactical Elements must train until they reach a level of proficiency where executing them becomes second nature. Master not only the individual TTPs but also how to “link” or apply them together in a smooth and efficient manner. For example, a team will bound to the objective building, will stack up near the entryway to the building, will pie the doorframe/corner to clear as much of the interior of the building as possible before breaching it. Once entry is made to the building, the team will use various techniques, including but not limited to, dynamic entry, deliberate entry, set-snap, push out etc. to clear building while still maintaining force protection.

MODIFY TTPs TO BETTER WORK WITH YOUR TEAM AND TACTICAL ELEMENTS: Once you have mastered the basic TTPs, you will want to modify them to better fit your team’s play-style. Be careful not to change the TTPs so that they become cumbersome and ineffective. Start will minor changes first before moving on to more significant ones. TRAIN, TRAIN, TRAIN: As a team or tactical element, practice your TTPs repeatedly. Doing so will build muscle memory, will reveal any movement or communication issues and should make you more effective. When you train with the same team members repeatedly, you will often begin anticipating each other’s movements/actions and the entire team will improve. THE IMPACT OF MEANINGFUL TRAINING: The adage that bad training leads to bad results applies in MILSIM. Make sure that the TTPs that you are using are simple and effective. If you are noticing that your team’s effectiveness is suffering more than before, review your TTPs to see if that is part of the problem. If you still don’t see improvement, don’t be afraid to seek advice from more experienced teams or experts in military or law enforcement tactics. Practice and use of appropriate Tactics, Techniques and Procedures should continue to develop your team’s skill set and move you to high proficiency. That is how you get to Omega.

XI - APPENDICES

ABBREVIATIONS 1SG 2IC AA AD ADA ABD AAO AAR ACH AFV AG AO AOI AOR AP ASP AT BCT BDE BDM BIS BN BP C3I CAS CASEVAC

First Sergeant Second Man In Charge Assembly Area Armored Division Air Defense Artillery AirBorne Division Action on Objective After Action Review Advanced Combat Helmet Armored Fighting Vehicle Army Group Area of Operations Area Of Interest Area Of Responsibility Anti-Personnel Ammunition Supply Point Anti-Tank Brigade Combat Team BrigaDE Bunker Defeat Munition Backup Iron Sights BattalioN Battle Position Command, Control, Communications and Intelligence Close Air Support CASualty EVACuation

CAT CBRN CCIR CCP CDR CJSOTF CO COA COMSEC CP CQB CW DIV DOA DS DZ EA EEFI E-KIA ENDEX ENY EOD EOS EW EZ FEBA FFA FFE FO

Combat Application Tourniquet Chemical, Biological, Radiological or Nuclear Commander’s Critical Information Requirement Casualty Collection Point CommanDeR Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force Commanding Officer or COmpany Course of Action COMmunications SECurity Command Post or Check Point Close Quarters Battle Chemical Warfare DIVision Direction of Attack Diminishing Sectors Drop Zone Engagement Area Essential Elements of Friendly Information Enemy Killed In Action END of EXercise ENemy Explosive Ordinance Disposal Eyes On Sector Electronic Warfare Extraction Zone Forward Edge of Battle Area Free Fire Area Fire For Effect Forward Observer

FOB FOV FPF FPL FTL FRAGO GP HE HEAT HMG HQ HVT ID IED IFAK JTF KIA LACE LD LDZ LMG LZ LOA LOS MD METT-T-C MG MGRS MOLLE MOUT

Forward Operating Base Field of View Final Protective Fire Final Protective Line Fire Team Leader FRAGmentary Order GrouP High Explosive High Explosive Anti-Tank Heavy Machine Gun HeadQuarters High Value Target Infantry Division Improvised Explosive Device Improved First Aid Kit Joint Task Force Killed In Action Liquid, Ammo, Condition & Equipment Line of Departure Linear Danger Zone Light Machine Gun Landing Zone Limit of Advance Line of Sight Mechanized Division Mission, Enemy, Time, Terrain, Troops, Civilians Machine Gun Military Grid Reference System Modular Lightweight Load-carrying Equipment Military Operations on Urban Terrain

MTC NAI NCO NCOIC NLT NOD NVG OBJ OIC OCOKA

O/O OODA OP OPFOR OPORD OPSEC ORP PD PIR PL PLT PSD PSG QRF R&S RECCE RECON REGT RLY ROE

Movement to Contact Named Area of Interest Non-Commissioned Officer Non-Commissioned Officer In Charge No Later Than Night Optical Device Night Vision Goggles OBJective Officer In Charge Observation, Cover/Concealment, Obstacles, Key terrain, Avenues of approach On Order Observe, Orient, Decide, Act Observation Post OPpossing FORces OPerations ORDer OPerations SECurity Operational Rally Point Point of Departure Priority Intelligence Requirement Platoon Leader PLaToon Personal Security Detail Platoon SerGeant Quick Reaction Force Reconnaissance and Surveillance REConnaissanCE RECONnaissance REGimenT RaLlY Rules of Engagement

RP RTO SALT SAR SAW SBF SITREP SL SLLS SOF SOG SOP SP SQD STARTEX SUT TASKORG TM TF TLP TRP TTP TOC WP X XO

Rally Point Radio Telephone Officer Size, Activity, Location, Time Search And Rescue Squad Automatic Weapon Support by Fire SITuational REPort Squad Leader Stop, Look, Listen, Smell Special Operations Forces Special Operations Group Standard Operating Procedures Start Point SQuaD START EXercise Small Unit Tactics TASK ORGanization TeaM Task Force Troop Leading Procedures Target Reference Point Tactics, Techniques & Procedures Tactical Operations Center White Phosphorous a/k/a Willie Pete Contact point eXecutive Officer

TENETS FOR THE APPLICATION OF TACTICS INTERPLAY OF TACTICS AND STRATEGY: Tactics are the method by which strategy is implemented in the field. To be effective and efficient, tactics must be utilized to achieve the strategic objective. Tactics to achieve other ends is a waste of men, resources and time. CULMINATING POINT OF VICTORY: Tactics should be employed in such a manner so as to rapidly reach the point of victory before friendly forces become fatigued and resources are depleted. Eventually, any attack will grind to a halt. It is better to hit hard and fast to overwhelm the enemy than to prolong the battle. INITIATIVE IS PARAMOUNT: Tactics should be applied to maintain the initiative and keep enemy forces reacting to the actions of friendly forces. Although attack is the best way to seize initiative, eventually the attack will come to halt based on fatigue of friendly forces and depletion of resources. To continue to hold the initiative, other forces will need to replace the original attacking force in an effort to maintain initiative. Upon securing an objective, the attacking force still maintains a form of initiative by using favorable ground for defense. While defending forces can rest while waiting for enemy forces to attack, attacking forces will expend energy moving into position to attack. Once the attacking force reaches the defenders, the attacker has limited options for offensive maneuvers and will likely incur casualties just to approach the Defender’s

position. Time allowed to pass unused by the Attacker will accrue as a credit for the Defender. Eventually, battlefield friction will cause an attack to stall. At that point, a counter attack can serve to regain the initiative. Even a defense will also encompass offensive elements like counter attacks, fires and combat patrols. TERRAIN: Reading terrain is critical to the successful application of both offensive and defensive tactics. It is also critical to force protection. The last thing you want to do is to allow friendly forces to be drawn into a disadvantageous position or a kill zone.

TACTICAL TENETS PHYSICAL TENETS: Physical Tenets are those which the commander can utilize to position friendly forces in such a manner so as to increase the likelihood of success. MANUEVER: Maneuver is the ability to move into positions of advantage over the enemy. Out maneuvering the enemy such as by attacking his flanks increases the chance of victory. Maneuver to attack the enemy where he is weakest. Forms of maneuver taken one of several forms: Frontal attack, Flanking Attack, Envelopment, Turning Movement, Infiltration and Swarming Maneuver. MASS: Mass is the assembly of larger force against a weaker force in an effort to overwhelm the enemy. Simply put, having more troops and other assets than the enemy contributes to a higher chance of victory. FIREPOWER: The force with the most firepower has a distinct advantage over another. Firepower can be in many forms to include

airpower, artillery, armored forces and the like. This advantage grows exponentially when combined with an advantage in mass. Friendly forces should work to maximize their own firepower while minimizing that of the enemy. TEMPO: Tempo is the timing and speed in which the attack proceeds. Not only must the commander determine the proper time in which to being operations but to maintain a quick enough tempo to maintain initiative and force enemy forces to be reactive. MENTAL TENANTS: Contrary to Physical Tenets, Mental Tenets are efforts made to affect the mental state of the enemy. DECEPTION: Deception involves efforts to deceive the enemy commander into a misperception of battle. An example of deception is a diversionary attack. With proper operational security, if the enemy believes that the diversionary attack represents the main effort, the attacker can maneuver forces in such a manner as to attack the defender where he is weakest at an exposed flank. SURPRISE: Surprise is a companion to deception in that effective deception often leads to surprise. The mental effects of surprise on the enemy are extremely detrimental to the ability of the enemy to act as a cohesive force. CONFUSION: Confusion is the mental overload that makes it difficult for a force to react to events and understand the situation. This does not necessarily involve surprise. Be able to conduct operations more efficiently and at a faster tempo than the enemy can cause confusion that will degrade the enemy’s ability to operate effectively. SHOCK: Shock is the state of psychological overload caused by sudden, unexpected or successive action of the enemy. This can be

caused by several actions including use of an overwhelming effective weapon, presence of enemy forces to the rear of the affected troops and unexpected action by enemy forces. Shock is frequently the result of a combination of deception, surprise and confusion. MORALE/COHESION: Morale/Cohesion is the intangible factor that has a significant impact on success of operations. A force with higher morale and cohesion will remain effective longer than forces with lower morale and cohesion. It is important to tactics because most battles are not won by completely destroying the enemy but by breaking their willingness to fight.

PRINCIPLES OF ATTACK AND DEFENSE ATTACK RECONNAISSANCE: Recon is the first phase of any attack. For an attack to be effective, the team must locate the enemy (preferably without being detected) with as much detail as possible to enable the team to exploit the enemy’s weaknesses and increase its chances of success. ISOLATION: As much as possible, the attack will need to isolate the objective from enemy reinforcements. This is often accomplished by positioning forces along likely routes of approach to the objective. PREPARATION: Preparation means the attrition (i.e. reduction) of enemy forces through the use of any available artillery, close air support (CAS) and other crew served weapons.

SURPRISE: Surprise will often reduce an enemy force’s combat effectiveness due to confusion, lack of proper command and related factors. In some instances, such as with a hasty attack, surprise can be more important to the attack than Preparation. FLEXIBILITY: Any attack must take into account Murphy’s Law. All attacks are likely to run into unexpected developments during their execution. The attack must be flexible not only to defend against unexpected threats but also to exploit sudden weaknesses in the enemy’s defenses. Application of OCOKA is helpful in the planning and execution of any attack.

DEFENSE SECURITY: Security is critical to maintaining a defense. In the context of a defense, security means that each defensive position can observe not only the area immediately around it but also all avenues of approach to it. Security also requires that each defensive position be tied into adjacent defensive positions and can observe and communicate with them. Observation posts on high ground provide additional information regarding enemy movements and can help determine the main axis of attack for the enemy. POSITIONING: Team members need to be positioned in a manner to minimize exposure to enemy observation and fire while maximizing his ability to observe and direct effective fire on the enemy. DEPTH: Defenses should not be composed of a single line of defenders. Instead, team members need to be positioned in several layers of defense with a reserve element able to reinforce defenses and/or respond to the enemy’s point of attack. The advantages of defense in depth are:

Forward units can displace to the rear if their positions become untenable while their movement is covered by team members position behind them. Such forward units then reposition themselves as the rear line of defense to maintain depth. This ensures that enemy forces will have difficulty penetrating friendly defensive positions. Enemy forces may overrun the immediate front line only to be ambushed by other team members positioned behind the front line. Should the enemy penetrate through the front line, it will likely find itself flanked on two sides by surviving elements on the immediate front line while having their point of attack blocked by defensive positions located behind the immediate front line. MUTUAL SUPPORT: Each defensive position must be able to provide fire in support of other nearby positions. This includes the creation of multiple intersecting fields of fire and lines of communication between defensive positions. If done correctly, enemy forces attacking one defensive position will also be engaged by one or more additional defensive positions on its flank(s). FLEXIBILITY: As with the principles of attack, flexibility in the context of a defense means the ability to respond to enemy tactics and multiple attacks. Such flexibility is facilitated by the understanding of defensive positions, the disposition of location of both friendly and enemy forces, setting up secondary “fall back” fighting positions, maintaining a quick reaction force or reserve and recon patrols to detect enemy forces. DEFENSIVE FIRING POSITIONS: When selecting a defensive firing position, make sure that it provides cover from fire, affords you with a good view of the ground to be watched or target to be engaged, provides room to allow free use of your weapon (not constrained by obstacles), provides you with a covered ingress/egress and allows for ease of advance.

IMPORTANCE OF PATROLLING: Patrolling is central to both offensive and defensive operations. Depending on its mission, patrols can be tasked to attack, to provide reconnaissance and/or force protection. RECONNAISANCE (RECCE OR RECON) PATROLS: Typically tasked with locating and providing information regarding enemy forces and positions, location of obstacles such as enemy minefields and fortifications and intelligence gathering. COMBAT PATROLS (ATTACK OR PROTECTION): Combat patrols engage in combat with enemy forces in an effort to accomplish tasks, including but not limited to the following: Eliminate enemy forces, deny avenues of approach to enemy patrols, obtain early warning of enemy approach and intentions, deny intelligence gathering by enemy forces, exert control over the terrain surrounding friendly forces (i.e. zones of control) and protect the flanks and provide security for attacking forces. INDENTIFYING COVER: While patrolling, each team member must be constantly looking for his next cover/safe route that does not cross another team member’s line of fire.

EFFECT OF TACTICAL LEADERSHIP The Squad Leader, Platoon Leader and, to a lesser extent, Company Commander’s responsibility is to project firepower and protect forces under his/her command. Along those lines, the leaders need to focus on the following issues. READ THE TERRAIN: Leaders should consider avenues of approach, blocking and funneling terrain, dead ground (defilade) and other

cover from view and fire. ANTICIPATE THE ENEMY: Leaders should consider terrain from enemy point of view, likely actions to be taken by the enemy and unlikely but possible action the enemy might take. A leader does not want to be caught flat-footed because the enemy took action he/she did not contemplate. READ TERRAIN BASED ON STRENGTH AND POSITION OF BOTH FORCES: A leader should read the terrain in conjunction with the relative strengths, weakness and positions of both friendly forces and the enemy. CONSIDER THE “WHAT IF?”: A leader should constantly be considering what orders he would give if certain events occurred (“what if’s” and “actions on”). QUICK, EFFECTIVE ORDERS: A leader should give quick orders based on drills practiced by his unit.

ACTION ON OBJECTIVES GENERAL PROCEDURE FOR SEIZING DEFENDED OBJECTIVE ISOLATE OBJECTIVE: Friendly forces move to isolate and cordon off the objective as much as possible to prevent possible reinforcement of objective by enemy forces.

FIX/SUPPRESS ENEMY FORCES: Fix or suppress enemy forces on the objective to prevent them from being able to react to actions by friendly forces and to allow friendly forces to complete other tasks necessary to complete seizure of objective. SELECT/CREATE VULNERABLE POINT: Friendly forces must mass forces against the weakest point in enemy’s defenses. BREACH OBSTACLES: If applicable, breach obstacles preventing movement into objective. PENETRATE INITIAL DEFENSIVE POSITIONS: Friendly forces assault and penetrate through enemy lines to gain access to objective. SUPPRESS ADJACENT ENEMY POSITIONS: Support by fire units shift fire to suppress enemy positions on each side of the breach. LIFT/SHIFT SUPPORTING FIRES: Support by fire positions lift or shift fire to allow assault forces to seize objective. SEIZE AND CLEAR OBJECTIVE: Friendly forces seize objective. (See Battle Drill 1(A) Supra). CONSOLIDATE/PREPARE FOR COUNTERATTACK: security around the objective and prepare for counterattack. RESUPPLY AND EVACUATE CASUALTIES: casualties. REORGANIZE AND RESET: reports and prepare to move out.

Set

Medic all

Friendly forces conduct LACE

TOP CLOSE QUARTERS BATTLE MISTAKES HESITATION: CQB relies on speed, surprise and violence of action. Hesitation by one or more members of the entry team stack will cause an increase in casualties and possibly mission failure. When the Point Man commits to entering a room, there cannot be any hesitation from any of the entry team members. RABBITING AND ONE-MAN ROOM CLEARING: Rabbiting is where the Point Man starts off so fast that the remaining entry team members cannot keep up with him. One-Man Room Clearing occurs when the Second Man drops the ball, does not immediately move into the room with the Point Man and leaves him alone in the danger area with no support. Deliberate and smooth movement is preferred over simple speed. This issue can be avoided by practice and the exercise of situational awareness primarily on the part of the Point and Second men in the stack. SMOOTH IS FAST: Speed for its own sake detracts from the effectiveness of CQB tactics. Each member of the Entry Team needs to be in a position to support the other members in the stack. The Entry Team should not move more quickly that it can smoothly and effectively apply its tactics and fire its weapons. CQB requires fast eyes and fast hands but slow feet. You cannot move faster than you can accurately shoot and you cannot accurately shoot faster than you can make “Shoot-No Shoot” decisions (Target Discrimination). This issue can be avoided by practicing room entry SOPs repeatedly until all Entry Team Members are comfortable with them and can move both speedily and smoothly. FATAL FUNNEL: Get out and stay out of the entryway into a danger area. Enemy forces will be typically set up to react quickly to assaults through the entryway of the room and to concentrate fire there as well.

FIND AND FILL HOLES: CQB is an exercise in finding a shooting solution on the enemy before the enemy finds one on you. If you see a team-mate fail to cover a threat area and you can cover same without ignoring your own area of responsibility, fill that hole. MAINTAIN SITUATIONAL AWARENESS: Avoid getting so amped up and stressed that you develop tunnel vision. Keep calm and stay aware of your surroundings. You do not want to be so focused on a potential danger area that you are unaware of being silhouetted against a window beside you. KEEP YOUR EYES ON YOUR SECTOR: All too often, entry team members will take their eyes off of their sectors in order to talk to another team-mate. Avoid the temptation to look at team-mates while talking to them when you are in a potential danger area. SPEED IS NOT YOUR SECURITY: Although speed is a necessary element of CQB tactics, it cannot be substituted for proper security procedures. Entry Teams need to be careful not to over penetrate into a danger area and get themselves cut off from escape routes.

SMALL ARMS FIRE CONTROL ORDERS WEAPONS HOLD: Engage targets only if engaged by them or are ordered to engage. WEAPONS TIGHT: identified (PID) as enemy.

Only engage targets that are positively

WEAPONS FREE: Engage any targets that not positively identified (PID) as friendly.

EMPLOYMENT OF SUPPORT WEAPONS SUPPRESSION: Support weapons are the primary weapon system used to provide suppressive fire in support of bounding elements and/or to support defense of objectives/key terrain. As stated previously, suppressive fire is used to keep the enemy’s heads down and to prevent them from providing accurate and effective fire on friendly troops. POSITIONING: It is essential that support gunners be positioned in cover/defilade where they can provide interlinking fields of fire while covering enemy avenues of approach and likely directions of attack. TALKING GUNS: This is a technique often employed between two support gunners. Support gunners fire in alternating bursts of various lengths to keep the enemy off balance and give them the impression that they are being engaged by more than two SAWs or machine guns. Initially, both support gunners fire at the enemy. On order (O/O) or based on SOP, one Support Gunner will fire while the second gunner tracks where the first support gunner is firing. The second gunner will then fire, while the first tracks where the second gunner fires. Both support gunners continue to scan and fire at additional threats as they arise. Both support gunners alternate firing in this manner until given the order to cease fire or until all threats are eliminated. This method of employing SAWs/LMGs and/or other crew served automatic weapons also allows for one support gunner to reload while the other is firing. CREW SERVED HEAVY MACHINE GUNS: Although they are not often used in MILSIM events except as allowed by the event organizer,

crew served heavy machines require three to four people to use effectively. They are also heavy and more difficult to move where they are not vehicle mounted. In most cases, crew served heavy machine guns will be deployed in defense of objectives or key terrain. They can provide sustained fire and depending on the event organizer’s rules, can be used to disable or destroy technicals and thinly armored AFVs.

MILIARY GRID REFERENCE SYSTEM (MGRS) MGRS is a grid system used by many military services for navigation and/or to provide the location for various land features such as buildings, fortifications, objectives and the like. In many MILSIM events, it is also used as the method for calling in artillery strikes (“Fires”) or Close Air Support (“CAS”). In MILSIM, a six or eight digit identifier or “grid” is used to identify a coordinate on the map. In a six digit grid, the first three digits represent the X-axis on the map. It is known as the “easting coordinate”. The last three digits of the grid represent the Y-axis on the map. It is known as the “northing coordinate”. The difference between using a six digit grid and an eight digit grid is that the first four digits are used to plot the X-axis or easting coordinate and the last four digits are used to plot the Y-axis or northing coordinate on the map. An eight digit grid provides a more accurate positon on the map than a six digit grid. The number one rule of reading and plotting an MGRS coordinate is to always read “right then up”. In essence, move right across the map until you locate the first three (for a six digit grid) or four (for an eight digit grid) on the lines running north to south on the map. This is the easting

coordinate. You then locate the last three (for a six digit grid) or four (for an eight digit grid) numbers by locating it on the lines running east to west on the map. This is the northing coordinate. Once you locate the intersection of the two lines corresponding to the easting and northing coordinate, the location you are looking for is in the box to the upper right of the intersection of those two lines. For example, MGRS Grid 54167918 is an eight digit grid. As such, the first four digits (5416) is the easting coordinate and last four digits (7918) is the northing coordinate. To plot these coordinates on a map, first locate 5416 along the X-axis by using the vertical (north-south) lines that run across the map. Find the line labeled 5416. Next use the horizontal (eastwest)) lines that run up and down the map. Find the line labeled 7918. Trace both lines until you find where they intersect. The box located immediately above and to the right of the intersection of both lines corresponds to MGRS grid 54167918. To find an MGRS Grid for a feature on the map, you simply reverse the above-described process. Locate the vertical line positioned immediately to the left of the feature in question. Follow that line until you find the label containing either a three or four digit number. That is your easting coordinate. At that point, locate the horizontal line immediately below the feature. Trace that line to the label containing either a three or four digit number. That is the northing coordinate. The MGRS grid for the feature in question is the easting coordinate followed by the northing coordinate. For example, if the easting coordinate is 539 and the northing coordinate is 788, the MGRS grid would be 539788.

TACTICAL ELEMENT SYMBOLOGY

A military element symbol is a graphic representation of a unit including its type and size. In MILSIM events, you will typically run into a lesser variety of military units both on the field and in operational planning. It is important to note that friendly forces are identified by a blue rectangular symbol whereas enemy units are identified by a red, diamond shaped symbol. Military symbols you are more likely to see at MILSIM events are reflected below: TYPE INFANTRY

ARMOR (WHEELED)

AIRBORNE

RECONNAISANCE

SPECIAL FORCES

ANTI-TANK

FRIENDLY

ENEMY

TACTICAL MISSION TASKS Tactical Mission Tasks are used for battle and mission planning to designate the mission given to individual units or tactical elements. They are a specific activity performed by a unit while executing a tactical maneuver or operation. They are typically expressed by their effects on either enemy or friendly forces. Think of them as a type of short-hand to illustrate the commander’s intent as to what he wants to achieve on the battlefield. Typically, mission task symbols are associated with unit symbols. MISSION SYMBOLS: The following mission symbols are not defined by the effects they have on friendly or enemy forces. TASK ATTACK

COUNTERATTACK

COVER

SYMBOL

DESCRIPTION A form of attack by all or part of a friendly force against an enemy defending force to achieve a particular objective. A form of attack by all or part of a defending force against an enemy attacking force with the objective of denying the enemy’s objective for attacking. A form of security

DELAY

GUARD

operation whose primary task is to protect the main force by fighting to gain time while observing and reporting information to higher command while preventing the enemy from observing or conducting direct fire against the main force. A form of retrograde in which a friendly force under pressure trades space for time by slowing the enemy’s momentum and inflicting damage on it without becoming decisively engaged. A form of security operation whose primary task is to protect the main force by fighting to gain time while also observing and reporting information to higher command while preventing the enemy from observing and conducting direct fire against the main force. Unlike COVER, units performing GUARD

PENETRATE

RELIEF IN PLACE

RETIREMENT

SCREEN

WITHDRAW

missions cannot act independently because they rely on fires and support assets of the main force. A form of maneuver in which an attacking force seeks to breach enemy defenses on a narrow front to disrupt those defenses and allow for potential exploitation to the enemy’s rear areas. A tactical operation wherein all or part of a unit or tactical element is replaced in an area by another friendly unit. A form of operation where a friendly force in contact with enemy forces moves away from the enemy. A form of security operation whose mission is to provide early warning of an enemy maneuver to the protected force. A planned operation where a force in contact disengages from an enemy force.

EFFECTS ON ENEMY FORCES SYMBOLS: These mission symbols are defined by the intended effect of the mission on enemy forces: TASK BLOCK

CANALIZE

CONTAIN

DESTROY

DISRUPT

SYMBOL

DESCRIPTION Block is a tactical mission task that denies enemy access to an area or prevents its advance along an avenue of approach. Canalize is a tactical mission task in which friendly forces restrict enemy movement into a narrow space by exploiting terrain combined with the use of fires, obstacles and friendly maneuver elements. Contain is a tactical mission task wherein friendly forces stop, hold, or surround enemy forces or otherwise cause them to focus their activity on a designated front while preventing them from withdrawing any of their forces for use elsewhere. Destroy is tactical mission task that renders and enemy force to be combat ineffective.

Disrupt is a tactical mission task wherein friendly forces utilize direct and indirect fires,

FIX

INTERDICT

ISOLATE

NEUTRALIZE

terrain, obstacles and maneuver elements to upset the enemy’s formations, tempo and initiative so as to cause enemy forces to attack prematurely or in a piecemeal manner. Fix is a tactical mission task wherein friendly forces prevent the enemy from moving any part of his forces from a specific location or specific period of time. Note that the enemy forces only have to be prevented from moving. They do not have to be destroyed. Interdict is a tactical mission task wherein friendly forces prevent, delay and/or disrupt the enemy’s use of and area or route. In essence, it is designed to deny freedom of movement for all or part of any enemy force. Isolate is a tactical mission task wherein friendly forces, physically and psychologically, seal off any enemy force from support sources, contact with other enemy forces and deny his freedom of movement. Neutralize is a tactical mission task wherein friendly forces render the enemy incapable of

interfering with a particular operation. Turn is a tactical mission task wherein friendly forces cause an enemy tactical element to move from avenue of approach to another.

TURN

ACTIONS BY FRIENDLY FORCES SYMBOLS: These mission symbols are defined by the actions taken by friendly forces against the enemy: TASK ATTACK BY FIRE

BREACH

BYPASS

SYMBOL

DESCRIPTION Attack by Fire is a tactical mission task wherein friendly forces utilize direct fires, supported by indirect fires, to engage the enemy without closing with it to destroy, fix, suppress or fix it. Breach is a tactical mission task wherein friendly forces utilize all available means to breach and secure a passage through enemy defenses, minefields, obstacles and fortifications. Bypass is a tactical mission task wherein friendly forces maneuver around enemy forces, obstacles and fortifications to maintain operational momentum while deliberately avoid combat with same.

CLEAR

FOLLOW AND ASSUME

FOLLOW AND SUPPORT

OCCUPY

Clear is a tactical mission task wherein friendly forces remove all enemy forces and eliminate organized resistance in a given area. Follow and Assume is a tactical mission task wherein a second committed force follows another force conducting offensive operations and is prepared to continue the mission if that force becomes fixed, attrited or otherwise unable to continue. Follow and Support is a tactical mission task wherein a second committed force follows and supports a lead force conducting offensive operations. Occupy is a tactical mission task wherein friendly forces move into an area to control it. Movement to and occupation of the area is done without enemy opposition.

RETAIN

Retain is a tactical mission task wherein friendly forces maintain control of an area and prevents the enemy from occupying same for a set period of time.

SECURE

Secure is a tactical mission task wherein friendly forces prevent the enemy from damaging or

destroying a particular unit, facility and/or geographical location.

SEIZE

SUPPORT BY FIRE

Seize is tactical mission task wherein friendly forces take possession of a designated area with overwhelming force and prevents the enemy from placing direct fire on same. Support by Fire is a tactical mission task wherein friendly forces move to a position where they can engage the enemy with direct fire in support of another maneuvering unit or force. The primary objective of support by fire is to fix and suppress the enemy so that it cannot effectively fire on the maneuvering unit or force.

A NOTE ON MILSIM EVENT ORGANIZERS There are many MILSIM event organizers located throughout the United States and elsewhere throughout the world. Listed below are major MILSIM event organizers located in the United States: THIRD COAST AIRSOFT (TCA): www.thirdcoastairsoft.com AMERICAN MILSIM: www.americanmilsim.com CENTURION MILSIM: www.joincenturion.com MILSIM WEST (MSW): www.milsimwest.com OLCMSS a/k/a OPERATION LION CLAWS: www.oplionclaws.com DOOMSDAY: www.doomsdayairsoft.com MSATO MILSIM: www.msato.org MINDGAMES PRODUCTIONS: www.mindgame-productions.com

Each of these MILSIM event organizers specialize in providing differing experiences to their player bases in different regions of the country. I highly recommend trying each of them to see which experience works best for you.

XII – REFERENCES AND ABOUT THE AUTHOR

MILITARY REFERENCES ADRP 1-02 Operational Terms and Military Symbols FM 3-0 Operations FM 3-06 Urban Operations FM 3-22.68 Crew Served Machineguns ADRP 3-90 Offense and Defense FM 3-21.8 The Infantry Platoon and Squad FM 3-90-1 Offense and Defense (Volume 1) FM 3-90 Tactics FM 3-90-2 Reconnaissance Security and Tactical Enabling Tasks (Volume 2) FM 5-33 Terrain Analysis

FM 7-8 Infantry Rifle Platoon and Squad FM 7-85 Ranger Unit Operations STP 21-1-SMCT Warrior Skills Level 1 US Army Ranger Handbook

AFTERWORD AND ABOUT THE AUTHOR I am a former police officer and currently practicing attorney in Atlanta, Georgia. In 2010, my son got me into airsoft. I have been playing it regularly ever since. When I took the plunge into Military Simulation (MILSIM) in 2013, something clicked in me and I never looked back. In addition to allowing me to further explore my interest in small unit tactics, MILSIM events also allowed me to take on various leadership roles including company commander, battalion XO and battalion CO. During these events, I also noticed that I have a knack for operational planning and orders preparation. As result, I often not only act as a commanding officer but also as the battalion/joint task force operations officer (S3). Most importantly, I became part of the tight knit community that is MILSIM. As I got more involved, I noticed that there is very little information available to airsoft players who are thinking about getting into MILSIM. Many were concerned about the potentially steep learning curve associated with attending national MILSIM events. Some were also intimidated by more experienced players that attend such events…especially those with military and/or law enforcement experience. It is very difficult to find any books that discuss tactics, techniques and procedures as they apply to airsoft. This lack of information for newer players inspired me to bridge the gap between your typical airsoft “pick-up” game and MILSIM. The result is this tactical primer and training manual. As I mentioned in the introduction, this book was never intended to teach tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs) that must be applied only one way, by every team, to every situation, every time. Such is an impossible task. Instead, this tactical primer and training manual is intended to first provide basic tactics for use at MILSIM events. It is also

intended to provide a framework for players and teams to develop their own TTPs as they learn from their mistakes and become more experienced MILSIM players. Every MILSIM team I have ever met has its own unique “take” on the tactics, techniques and procedures that they employ during a MILSIM event. Though many of them are based on the basic tactics, techniques and procedures taught in this book, they have evolved as the team that uses them has also evolved. These modified TTPs are not necessarily “wrong”. Instead, they are simply modified to work better for that particular team or group of players. It is my hope that this tactical primer and training manual will smooth out the learning curve for newer players and allow them to better enjoy MILSIM events. The addition of these newer players allows the brotherhood of the MILSIM community to grow. To me, this is a great thing. To old and new friends, I look forward to fighting with (or against) each of you on the field.

“WE DON’T RISE TO THE LEVEL OF OUR EXPECTATIONS. WE FALL TO THE LEVEL OF OUR TRAINING”. ARCHILOCHOS