by Max Velocity
The classic way is for soldiers to sleep in buddy pairs, two under each poncho. It is optional, threat dependent, to dig a 'shell scrape', putting the poncho up over it and sleeping in it. A 'shell scrape' should be dug with your entrenching tool and is 12 inches deep and large enough to sleep two laid out with rucks. However, don't make it larger than the size of your tarp, if possible, to keep the rain out. If it is raining a lot a shell scrape may fill with water so the alternative is to set up your tarp 'hoochie' behind it, ready to deploy into the shell scrape if you come under contact.
The digging of shell scrapes is most likely something that you would do with a larger element, such as a platoon, if digging in to a triangular patrol base. Remember that a patrol base should not be set up close to the enemy and should be well hidden, so the sound of shovels should not be a problem in most cases. Smaller recce type patrols will likely not dig in and will rely purely on stealth. Shell scrapes are not full foxhole style battle trenches, they are simply designed to take you below screaming shrapnel or direct fire if your patrol base is compromised and comes under enemy direct or indirect fire. Make your own tactical decisions on the merits of digging them.
In a jungle environment you really want to avoid sleeping on the ground. This also applies to swamp land where the ground is wet. The reason is mainly to do with bugs and snakes crawling around and crawling into bed with you. Not nice. I know that in Vietnam conventional infantry lived in holes in a conventional manner, but if you are a small patrol in a jungle environment you don't need to do that. The only time you will want to be kipping on the ground is when resting in an ORP prior to an attack, or laying in an ambush on 50% security, or similar recce style functions when you want to rest.
The way to sleep in the Jungle is to make some form of platform to sleep above the ground. A good method is to carry a hammock and string it up between trees. Just remember to check for dead-fall above you, something that not many consider but a reason for many deaths while sleeping in the trees. Clearly a hammock has you above ground if a firefight starts, but you can string it low. With a hammock, you should drape a bug net over it and above that you string your tarp. This keeps the rain and bugs off you. You can get hammocks that come as a combination of all of these and they are a good option for sleeping in the woods with bugs and snakes.
Other options are to construct an 'A-Frame' lashed to two trees and lay a sleeping bed of branches between the two cross pieces of the 'A's'. In a swamp environment a simple way to get off the ground is to cut and drive in three stakes into the mud and lay a triangle of support logs between them, then cover that with a mat of branches to make a raised platform above the murk.
"But I'm not operating in the Jungle" I hear you remark. I contend that some of these techniques are equally applicable to a lot of the forest/swamp environments in the States where it may as well be the Jungle, with all the bugs and snakes crawling around. If you are worried about this and don't want to sleep on the ground in a sleeping bag., consider using a jungle technique such as a hammock. The other advantage of this is that a bug net will keep you from getting eaten alive by mosquitoes and similar, even if it is unlikely that Mr. Snake will crawl into your bag with you for your warmth.
There are other options that you should consider if you are operating out in the forests but short of a full jungle/swamp environment. This is where you are happy to sleep on the ground but want some protection from critters and getting bitten by skeeters.
Firstly there is the hooped gore-tex breathable bivvy bag. The hoop allows you to close it over your face but gives you a little breathing room. These are simple to set up and take down but will restrict you getting out rapidly. It’s all pros and cons. It may also be too hot inside in the depth of summer. Having one with a zippable bug net option without having to fully enclose the waterproof entrance would be useful. This does not really negate the need for a tarp to give you a full area to administrate yourself in the rain - you cannot do anything like get changed or change socks inside a hooped bivvy.
Next is the actual lightweight backpacker’s tent. This has the advantage of being waterproof but also with the option to unzip it but to keep the bug net closed. It is going to weigh more and take up pack space, and its not so quick to take down and put up. You may have to leave it in an emergency. It will keep all the bugs out. You will still have to string up a thermal tarp over the top to avoid FLIR surveillance; a tent will not block it. The other aspect is that a tent will be shared by two buddies so the carriage of it can be shared, or one carries the tent and the other carries other gear.
I have mentioned some options above and no doubt there are more that I have not included. On combat operations out in the woods you are not on a backpacking trip so some concessions to all your tents and pots and pans need to be made. On the flip side of that, 'any fool can be uncomfortable' so you should find a system that balances comfort with tactical practicality and weight/space. Living long term in patrol bases is a different proposition than a night or so out freezing your butt off. Consider a system, or summer and winter systems, that will allow you to carry the gear in your ruck in a practical way and can be utilized in a tactical patrol base.
Surveillance Equipment
A separate note on this subject: The ability to conduct surveillance, whether it is from a security post or an observation post or maybe during a recce patrol or even on a convoy move, will confer considerable advantage over the enemy. This will usually involve optics of some sort and having a good set of binoculars is invaluable. It is also useful to have magnification optics on your weapons for both observation and target engagement. This all adds to your stand-off capability. It is always an advantage to see the enemy as early as possible and to engage at the maximum effective range of your weapon systems. Kill the enemy as far away as you can to prevent him touching you, and if he is intent on doing so he will have to close the distance while all the time you are able to bring effective accurate fire down onto him.
Night vision equipment will allow you to ‘own the night’. It is expensive and you have to think about what configuration you will have. You also need to have a lot of spare batteries, so perhaps it will not be a long term capability, but it may get you through the worst of it. In a grid down situation, it will be very dark out there; this can be mitigated to a certain extent by allowing your night vision to develop by not using white light and with various moon states, but you may simply not be able to see much out there.
If you mount night sights on a weapon, then you can’t share that equipment unless you are swapping weapons around, but you can engage the enemy with that weapon in darkness. If you are doing security at a static location it may be all you can financially afford to have one or two sets of NODs (night observation devices) that can be used by sentries, perhaps hung round their necks and passed from sentry to sentry and used for periodic surveillance.
However, you can’t translate a target seen with this type of NOD to an engagement with your weapons easily, unless you mount IR laser pointers on your weapons. These are activated by your hand on the front hand guard and zeroed to your weapon: you see the pointer through the NVG (Nigh Vision Goggles) and can engage that way (you don’t use your sights, you just look through the NVG, binocular or monocular type, for the laser pointer and place that on the target). So, although night vision equipment confers a great advantage at night, you have to give some thought to the expense and how you will tie that in with a plan to be able to both observe and engage the enemy using these systems.
You can always go ‘old school’: use of white light. This could be searchlights, perhaps with a lit perimeter, and maybe even the use of trip flares on the perimeter. That is not so low profile. What is really useful is to have a stock of parachute illumination flares. These can be sent up if enemy is suspected on the perimeter or seen with NVGs, and will allow engagement of the enemy by all those defenders with weapons, not just those with night vision. Remember that if the enemy is firing you will be
able to return fire at their muzzle flashes in the darkness.
A good stock of parachute flares can be invaluable. They will burn for around a minute and you can keep putting them up as long as you need them; you can also be clever and use them to aid you in other ways, such as ordering a break and conducting movement in the dark, before lighting up with flares again. Someone should be designated to fire the flares and because the flares make a large signature when they are fired, a lot of smoke, then they should do so from behind hard cover. The flares will drift with the wind and some skill is needed when using them.
Also, remember that we are not a Tom Clancy-esque black ops team and creeping about with NVGs may be either a little expensive or a little too covert and tactical for the skills of your group. It may be better, whether defending or conducting an attack or raid; to just go old school and ‘go noisy’ putting up flares and engaging with noise, light and aggression.
Profile
This is an interesting topic and links in to the discussion of weapons (above) and law enforcement (below). Profile refers to how you appear as you are conducting yourself post-event, whether it is how your house appears, how your vehicle’s look, or how you yourself appear. This mainly refers to the visibility (high profile) or concealed (low profile) carriage of weapons and defenses. This may be more relevant in a ‘slide’ situation where the crisis worsens over time until we finally reach collapse; you will need to make judgments about how to adjust your profile and when to do so.
Pre-collapse, you should have given thought to obtaining concealed carry permits (CCW) and owning weapons so that if you feel the need to, you can carry a concealed handgun in a legal manner. There will be some point in the slide, whether it happens gradually or overnight, when you will feel threatened enough by the situation and the changes to your environment where you will want to break out your tactical equipment. For a post-societal situation you should have tactical gear available as discussed under the weapons section above: handguns, tactical rifles and shotguns with some form of vest, rig or carry-bag that will allow you to carry sufficient spare ammunition. Body armor is ideal.
For a situation where you expect full breakdown and tactical challenges, it would be ideal to have some sort of armor-carrying vest with the MOLLE style attachments for magazine pouches and ancillaries, very similar to the way the military or SWAT teams carry gear – ‘full battle rattle’. You can utilize a vest like this, or chest rig, even if you don’t have body armor. You can also wear it over the top of less-tactical body armor, such as the lower profile police type vests that can go under clothing. A high profile approach will be useful post-event when you feel that a tactical event is likely and where it does not really matter that you are carrying weapons openly. Such a profile (or posture) can also act as a display to make it obvious that you are a hard target and best not to bother you.
You should consider the overall impression that you give: whether you are simply wearing outdoor clothing and your gear, or whether you are wearing some form of camouflage (military or hunting) or military uniform, and whether this is perhaps a standardized uniform approach with your group. You may appear more like a militia if you wear all the same uniform, which may be good or bad depending on your assessment of the situation.
If you are actually military or police, serving or retired/reserves, you could utilize elements of your uniform. This will have a follow on effect with other survivors and could be good or bad depending. If they really think you are military, then they may mob you expecting some form of aid. If there is martial law, then looking like military may be a bad thing (this does not refer to ‘impersonating’ military or police, just the wearing of uniforms that may cause you to be mistaken for military or police). Looking smart and uniformed with your gear professionally set up could also gain trust and respect from other groups. You may well be retired military, and looking like such could work for you. However, if you deserted to look after your family, then you may want to adopt a lower profile!
A high profile approach would mean the open display of weapons and military style load carrying gear. This could apply to your person or also to your home or retreat: are you trying to hide or are you presenting a strong front with obvious defenses and fighting positions? A lot will depend on the situation, your adopted strategy, and your defensive capabilities. Post-event it may simply not matter anymore that you are adopting a high profile and it may simply be better to have the weapons and equipment immediately to hand.
A low profile approach does not mean that you have to necessarily be less well armed. Low profile is a sliding scale from simply carrying a concealed handgun to carrying the full tactical weapon and ammunition scale but doing it in a lower profile manner. You could wear your body armor and full rig, and then cover it with a large shirt. This will work only when you are in your vehicle, but that may be sufficient. The body armor and ammo pouches under the shirt will make you look fat.
You could wear low profile body armor under normal clothing, have your assault rifle on the floor of the vehicle or in a sports bag, and carry spare ammunition in some form of tote or ‘grab’ bag. Many types of these are sold on the web, in various stages of profile from tactically obvious to looking like a ‘man-bag’. If the situation warrants it, you may want to give consideration to how to adopt a low profile, the equipment required, and how to best throw off the cover and bring your weapons to bear on the enemy in the event that the situation goes kinetic.
Practically, if you are operating from vehicles you will want to set up your gear to work for you in these situations. If you are low profile in the early stages of a slide, then just wear your normal jeans and a loose shirt over your handgun in an appropriate concealment holster. You can have a grab bag ready to go, whether this is a day pack or satchel like man-bag that you can sling over your shoulder with additional gear in it. Keep your long rifle somewhere concealed but accessible, maybe in a gym bag in the foot-well.
If you are not wearing body armor, then you may well be served better by utilizing a belt rig (battle belt) rather than wearing a load carrying vest. Load carrying vests work well when you are wearing them in conjunction with body armor because with the armor on, sweating underneath and having your torso covered is no longer an issue. If you only have lightweight police type armor without ballistic plates (which will only stop handgun and not high velocity rounds) you may again find that a belt rig, almost like a police duty belt, will serve you well.
Because you will be in a vehicle, you don’t want any pouches or bulky items around your lower back. Pouches should be on your hips, to the side, unless they are small enough to not matter on your lower back. Choose a decent web belt and attach your handgun holster to one side and two or three triple magazine pouches for your long weapon, as well as pouches for handgun magazines, to the other side. Put your trauma first aid pouch (IFAK) on the other side. You could put additional items such as flashlights, knives, multi-tools, mace or maybe even an extendable baton (ASP type, for escalation of force situations) on the belt also.
Don’t worry about making this like military web gear: you don’t have enough weight to necessarily need the yoke (suspenders) and you don’t want items like canteen pouches in the way. You can wear a hydration bladder in a vehicle and your grab bag (backpack or satchel type) will hold additional gear for when you have to get out of the vehicle. This sort of set up will give you a versatile lightweight rig that still carries the ammunition you need. Have both a rig like this set up as well as a ballistic armor carrying vest ‘full battle rattle’ which will allow you to adjust your protection and posture to the threat/environment.
Blog Post
Body Armor:
I was asked a question about body armor, what type to get. It seemed like a good topic for a post:
I am a fan of body armor. In any kind of 'kinetic' situation when receiving incoming small arms fire, it will significantly reduce the chances of sustaining a penetrating wound to the torso. Such wounds are ofte
n not survivable. Refer to the chapter on Casualties or more discussion on wounds and treatment, plus extremity bleeding etc.
One thing you need to do is research the 'NIJ' levels for protection, and decide what you want to get.
In basic terms, you have the 'soft armor' portion and the 'plates" that insert front and rear. If you have a plate carrier, you only use the plates. This gives you less protection than if you include the soft armor, but the soft armor does not protect against high velocity (rifle) rounds.
So it’s a balance, between levels of protection, weight, bulk and heat retention. The NIJ levels of protection are:
Soft Armor:
Type IIA (9 mm; .40 S&W)
Type II (9 mm; .357 Magnum)
Type IIIA (.357 SIG; .44 Magnum)
Plates:
Type III (Rifles)
Type IV (Armor Piercing Rifle)
The calibers listed are the rounds that this level will protect up to, inclusive of lesser calibers.
Personally, I have a set that I had for working in the Middle East. It was a 'low profile' set that still had front and rear plates. The soft armor portion is level IIIA and the plates are level III. You don't actually need level IV plates, unless you feel the need to protect against armor piercing rounds. Military armor has level IV plates. This set of body armor simply came in a soft cover, no pouches attached. It meant that I could wear it under a shirt, or more operationally I used to wear my gear over the top of it, depending on the low or high profile nature of the mission. So that is a useful way to go, lots of flexibility.