by Max Velocity
5) You need to actively defend the AO around your retreat. This will be with a mixture of static defensive positions at the retreat itself, active ground domination patrols, OP's and standing patrols. If you can make alliances with neighbors then all the better. Don't alienate potential allies. The reality of this is that the tactical team, when at the retreat, will be engaged in a rotation of rest, OP/sentry and local patrolling. The 'B team' will take over at times when the tactical team, or part of it, goes out on a mission, such as a raid or ambush.
6) You will need all the basics of prepper supplies such as food and all that stuff on the usual prepper 'list of lists'. If you don't have something, make do.
7) Don't operate close to your retreat. Learn to move out using tactical movement and alternative means to vehicles, such as patrolling, using ATVs, mules/horses or whatever. You only want to fight in the vicinity of your retreat if it actually comes under attack. Don't draw the wrath of a larger enemy force to where your families are hiding.
8) If you don't have a widespread network or communications system, you will be reduced to operating against the enemy using locally gathered Intel, word of mouth, your own patrolling and OP's etc. You will be reduced to observing enemy movement and locations in your AO and picking where you are going to hit. This is where it gets close to Leaderless Resistance, but not intentionally, mainly due to circumstances. Deconfliction and coordination suffer.
9) Be prepared for your retreat to become untenable for whatever reason, and be prepared/plan to move on. Don't get psychologically wedded to your basement full of mountain house. In a full SHTF situation, like all such upheavals in history, the situation will shift with large migrations and changes. The tides of war. Your retreat location is a short to medium term option and in the end you may end up trekking out to somewhere else.
10) You are not secret agents. When you conduct operations, it is out in the boonies as a tactical team, with your fighting gear on. Patrol well and be sneaky. Don't get tied up in urban areas. You need to be able to create standoff around your team using good patrolling skills. You only come in to your target area after trekking through the boonies to the target, hit it and move out. It doesn't matter what you wear, camo or earth-tone clothing, so long as it is suitable clothing/colors for tactical operations. You are not getting away with it anyway if you are caught, with your gear. Even if you dump your gear, do you think that "Military Aged Males" caught near the scene of an ambush are not going to be detained, arrested or just killed?
11) I saw something on a website talking about how modern operations have moved to the urban areas. Not for you. Stay out in the boonies and operate there. As just mentioned, you only come in towards an urban or semi urban area if that is what you have to do to hit a target. The urban areas are death traps and need to be avoided. If that is where the enemy forces are concentrated, so what? You hit them when they make moves out into the boonies. If the enemy forces are confined to the urban areas, and cannot make inroads into the rural areas, then they lose anyway. They have to try and suppress the resistance by moving out and trying to dominate routes and the smaller urban/semi-urban centers.
12) Which leads me on to the following: 'SP' has recently started commenting on my posts. He is a BritMil guy with a couple of Helmand tours under his belt. A recent exchange pulled out some real nuggets. It's something we are all guilty of - in the quest to be 'tacticool' we want to emulate either how we used to do things/be equipped or how the goons are doing it - or more realistically, the wannabe goons are emulating how real soldiers used to do things/how they look and then people in turn want to emulate that...... Have a look at this:
----------
SP Comments (on 'Realistic Rucking'):
Just to add my £0.02 and a bit long.
Training for my first Afghan tour in '08, we would carry realistic weight (or so we all thought) in our bergens,(ruck) usually around 60 lb.+ excluding weight of weapon/helmet/body armor over 8-10 miles around the Catterick training area (hills galore but not like Wales). There was no webbing being worn on these tabs either. Just solid weight in a bergen. I was already the wrong side of 30 by that stage and although could easily cruise CFT's, I admit I found these tabs hard simply due to the sheer amount of weight. A lot of us, senior ranks included, could not understand the benefits of that sort of training as it did not reflect the realities of where we were going to be operating.
The first time we started carrying proper Afghan weight (which was far in excess of what we trained with) was when we arrived at Bastion, where we were issued our (old desert style pre MTP) osprey plate carriers. Whereas I found carrying 60 lb.+ in a bergen quite hard, I found carrying the higher Afghan weights easier as I was able to evenly spread the loads out around my osprey and my ECM patrol pack. On that tour we were all easily carrying in excess of 110 lb.+ (plate carrier/ weapon/ ammunition/ ECM. I once weighed all my kit and it topped out at 128 lb's.
I was still blowing out my arse though.......just not as much.
By the time I started training for my second tour 3 years later there had been a big shift by the Army in training with weight. The new OFT (Operational Fitness Test) were in force. During the 9 months pre-deployment training my Battalion only did 3 or 4 CFT's and I think only 2 PFT's. Instead we simply concentrated on very long marches at a more realistic patrol pace carrying the exact kit we would be using in theatre, minus the ECM so bergens simply had breeze blocks thrown in! Whilst still hard, it was more realistic and as such, more beneficial.
(****omitted for brevity*****)
To add to the point of weight carrying: Carrying a dead weight on your shoulders is never a good idea, however with a bit of common sense and redistributing of weight, those otherwise heavy loads can become much more manageable. Selection of load bearing equipment is vital to effective carrying of weight.
----------
Max Velocity Replies:
Great input, and the updates on the OFT. Keep stuff like this coming please!
I think your point about the load weight being distributed is great, and something I was trying to convey in a comment above when I was asked about whether the quoted 55 lb. weight was inclusive of load bearing gear, and of course I was just talking about a simple ruck. Once people move from the suggested hiking/rucking training to wearing their full gear, they will have that spread around the body, and thus distributed as you point out.
Your comment does touch on a related topic though - that of the infantry load and the gross overloading of soldiers. Note that I am saying that people may be carrying 70 lb. of gear when they have their full fighting load on plus assault pack they should try and avoid carrying more. Granted, they don't have ECM to carry. To carry the kind of weight you suggest, 128 lb., will slay most if they try and operate tactically - and tell me if I am not wrong, but it also slew you humping that round Helmand right?! And that is despite countless training exercises and tabs carrying it prior to deployment?
So there are some really good points there -
1) Train realistically in a more patrolling/hiking fashion rather than as a speed march.
2) When you wear your fighting load, the spread if the weight will assist you - and you may not be able to train in tactical vest/PC as a commenter mentioned above - you may just have to wear a ruck or perhaps a weight vest.
3) Don't carry too much, even if it is spread around your body. Infantry are carrying too much nowadays, which impacts on their agility under fire.
----------
SP Replies:
Stumbling around the Helmand countryside with extreme weight did mean that operating tactically went right out the window. Just could not be done. You'd get fleeting glances of Taliban running around in trainers whilst you’re blowing out your hoop just shuffling to and fro. Even getting back on to your feet from the kneeling position was an effort. All of us bods and juniors would have been quite happy to have sacrificed ECM and scaling equipment in return for mobility. I would also say that the e
xtreme loads had a mitigating factor in a lot of lads being killed and wounded over the years. The locals know just how heavy our kit is, so would plan their attacks and IED zones accordingly. Sneaky little bastards. Now with the style of old school Brit infantry style of training you teach, it could lead to a sort of role reversal. If and when the US goes [SHTF and the bad guys] are out hunting in force, chances are they will be the ones that will be weighed down with all the gear (and no idea) which could be a major game changer. That will be one of their weak links in their armor.
------------
Ok, so there it is, hitting the nail on the head right there in bold. You need to train to carry an effective fighting load, but without carrying too much weight. Don't simply try and replicate what guys are carrying/doing on OEF/OIF. And remember the way to victory is to train in old school effective light infantry tactics. Remember survivor bias - a lot of what is going on in Iraq/Afghan is adapted to the situation. A lot of old school basics have been forgotten and a lot of guys have got away with stuff because the Iraqis/Afghans can mostly not hit much with their AKs. They may have survived, but it doesn't mean they were doing it right.
13) In my post 'Gear Philosophy Update' I talked about realistic gear/weight to carry. Let's get into that a little. You don't want to overload yourself, but you will still be carrying a decent amount of weight if you are to be effective. 'Light Infantry' does not actually mean 'light'! But you have to make sure you don't go too far, and try and carry the kind of weight that SP was talking about.
In terms of body armor/plates, it’s great to have, but that comes as a reward for fitness. First put on the required fighting load, and if you are fit enough to also wear plates, then do so. But if you put on plates, in particular those heavy-assed steel Patriot plates and you are unable to move, then dump them. If you can’t move you can't fight.
So you need a basic fighting load consisting of a battle belt or vest/chest rig/plate carrier (PC). You also need to carry an assault pack, which in my concept is actually more like a 'three day pack'. The idea here is to carry a small ruck that will allow you to stay out for several days but will still allow you to move and fight. It is the sort of ruck that you would not have to dump at the first sniff of contact. Yes, you will cache it before a raid, but in a contact drill you won't have to leave it behind. Get where I am going with this....? It's a balance of having gear to live out in the field with, without taking it all plus the kitchen sink. Given that I have my first Patrol class coming up in January, and we are going into winter, let's look at what a winter example might entail. Remember, you have to be vicious in culling gear, and you will 'travel light freeze at night'.
So, a three day pack (TDP) will be a little bigger than a standard assault pack but it won't be a full ruck. These are the sort of things you will want to consider having for a winter load. You may choose some over others and you won't necessarily take all on this very rapidly thrown together list. Don't forget a waterproof liner or canoe bag inside your ruck to keep the contents dry. I may also have forgotten items:
Sleeping system: thermal mat (thermarest), gore-tex bivvy bag, sleeping bag. You will be wearing clothes inside the bag and you won't take a huge four-season bag. Go for a lighter sleeping bag to save weight/bulk and prepare to be a little chilly. The space required for sleeping gear is primarily why you need a larger pack than a basic assault pack. Stuff the bag, inside the bivvy bag, into the bottom of the TDP.
Tarp/Thermal Shield: I suggest you use the thermal shield concept to keep the eyes of aerial thermal surveillance off you. The basic tarp or thermal shield is also used for shelter from rain/snow. Use paracord/bungees pre-attached to the corners and use trees or cut sticks as appropriate to put it up.
Spare Ammo/magazines (more below): Best to have it in magazines, but you could also go for stripper clips in a bandoleer. Given what I see with guys leaving mags on my ranges, either get good at using a dump pouch/shirt front or take more magazines!
Spare socks/t-shirts
Warm clothing/ jacket/ thermal underwear/ hat/ gloves etc.
Goretex waterproof outer layer, jacket/ trousers.
Night vision + Batteries.
Weapon cleaning kit/spares/lube: not to do a full deep clean of your rifle., but to get the worst rust/carbon off it, fix malfunctions, lube it up, keep it running.
Lightweight stretcher/ medical gear - to supplement the IFAK on your belt kit. More in depth stuff, like sutures. This is where you start to specialize across the team, with the medic going more in depth on what first aid gear he carries, others making up by carrying other stuff.
Solo stove or similar: you need to be able to heat water/food. Dig the stove in, clear the area around it, then re-cover it once you are done
Rations: either stripped down MRE's or whatever you replace it with when they run out. In MRE terms, no more than two entree meals a day, snack on the other stuff like pound cake throughout the day/lunch etc.
Water bladder/filter/purification drops: To supplement any canteens or bladder on your person. Hopefully there is plenty of water around in the winter. This is where you balance summer/winter. This winter list is heavy on 'snivel' gear, less heavy on water. In the heat, you can dump most of the snivel gear and load up more on water (but you may add a bug net to sleep in, for example).
The makings: of hot tea/coffee/hot chocolate. For morale, at least dawn/dusk if you can. Drink hot drinks, heat up your food if you can and as the tactical situation allows.
ETH - entrenching tool. For taking dumps and digging in as necessary.
In conclusion, that is a short example list of the kind of thinking behind what you pack in your TDP. Not too much, enough to survive the cold. There are a multitude of other little items that you can consider if I was going to do a full list - paracord, wire saw, trash bag etc etc.
Ammunition: I would recommend at minimum 8 thirty round magazines on your person with at least the same again in your pack as a reserve. Also, amend that depending on your mission. But your only resupply will be what you have with you.
In the tradition of using statistics to make up examples which bear no semblance to what actually happens in reality here are some statistics for your ammunition (stats nerds: you can really get your teeth into this one!):
8 magazine = 240 rounds.
Deliberate rate of fire is one round every 6 seconds, or ten rounds per minute. With 240 rounds that gives you 24 minutes of fire.
Rapid rate of fire is one round every two seconds, or thirty rounds a minute. With 240 rounds that gives you 8 minutes of fire.
Remember that in a panic people tend to go more for the rapid fire, and training team to go more for the deliberate accurate fire is the hard part.
In conventional military planning, in an assault, you will plan on 15 minutes per every 100 meters of ground that needs to be covered under enemy fire. So, with 8 minutes of rapid fire available you will only get half way, or 50 meters. Ok, Ok, its not entirely applicable, but I said that at the beginning - I'm using useless stats to make a point....!
Carry as much ammo as you can without being stupid about it!
CHAPTER TEN
PATROLS
“No plan survives contact with the enemy.”
Von Moltke
Types of Patrol
It is generally considered that there are two main types of patrol. One type is the fighting patrol and the other is the reconnaissance patrol. More usefully, think of patrols as overt / aggressive, or covert / passive (potentially aggressive). A fighting patrol will usually be a larger formation, militarily something like a platoon sized operation, and a recce patrol will be smaller, maybe squad sized or perhaps smaller. Patrols will be equipped and sized depending on the action that is expected and the aim of the operation. Also, the aim of the patrol will usually define what the ‘actions on’ will be: either oriented to be aggressive offensive or aggressive extract ‘run-away’ drills.
Some types of patrol:
Fighting Pa
trols:
Raid / Deliberate Attack
Ambush
Hostage rescue
Capture
Ground Domination Activity
Clearance Patrol
Reconnaissance Patrols:
Close target reconnaissance (CTR)
Observation Post (OP)
Standing Patrol
Forage can be under both, depending if you are doing a covert or overt operation.
Patrol Planning
It is important that all patrols are well planned. An outline procedure for planning and executing a patrol could look something like:
Decide on the mission
Issue a warning order to allow your team to begin concurrent battle preparation
Conduct map and ground studies
Reconnaissance (could be a recce patrol for a fighting patrol)
Orders Group
Rehearsals
Conduct the Operation
After Action Review (AAR)
Patrol Execution
A patrol will consist of the route out to the objective, the objective rally point (ORP), the ‘action on’ the objective which will consist of the aim/task of the patrol, the return to the ORP and the route back. It is important that the team receives a detailed set of orders delivered by the team leader. When receiving the orders the team will sit around a sand table type model, usually created in the dirt on the ground with sticks, various vegetation, objects and labels to create a representation of the ground that the patrol will cover.
There will preferably be a model of the area in general and a model of the objective in detail, set next to each other. The model will include a north pointer, a scale, and will preferably be oriented to the ground with the team sitting facing the model in a way where they can best be oriented to the operation.
The route out: This will depend on how far the patrol has to cover and whether there will be any kind of preliminary vehicle move to a drop off point (DOP). The patrol will then move through a series of pre-planned Rendezvous (RVs) towards the ORP, depending on the route planned by the team leader. It may be that the patrol will halt in these RVs, but it is not necessary, some may be passed through and simply indicated by a hand signal. If the patrol does halt, they will usually go into a herringbone formation.