Good list but I thought I'd add some quick commentary to this. My authority to speak on these matters? I am an ex-army infantry NCO with multiple tours to Afghanistan where I did experience combat with the Taliban.
Quote: (04-24-2016 12:44 PM)NASA Test Pilot Wrote:
-Have a gun, (bring a knife in addition)
Have a quality, working rifle that you are proficient with. Have a pistol as a backup that you can transition to if your rifle jams/runs out of ammo during close-in fighting (approximately 5-50 meters) or if for whatever reason your rifle is out of arms reach when surprised by hostile action. Your pistol cannot be your main weapon; it is only for emergencies or something to fight with until you can get to your rifle. Do have a knife. There are several varieties but lean towards a utility knife. If you're reduced to fighting hand to hand with a big fuck-off combat knife, shit has gone disastrously bad and you are close to death unless you escape right now.
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-Have plenty of ammunition.
Yes. You need to carry at least bare minimum 500 rounds for your rifle and 100 rounds for your sidearm. You also need a way to carry your ammo and your other necessary gear i.e. a chest rig/tactical vest. Ideally you are fighting as part of a group that has the logistical ability to resupply you from outside the hostile contact location within 30 minutes if need be. Guerrilla forces without that ability tend to withdraw and evade as soon as tactically possible to avoid being destroyed from running out of ammo.
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-When you pick up a weapon (gun) it has one purpose. Use it accordingly.
Only point a weapon at something you intend to shoot. Before you shoot quickly scan the target and assess foreground, background, and target itself-- are there obstacles between you and the target that render fire ineffective? What is behind the target-- friendly forces, civilians, dangerous substances, an open area, a brick wall, houses full of people? If you cannot safely take the shot, only do so when your life or teammates lives are in direct danger. The target itself-- is it in range and is my weapon effective against it?
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-Have other men with you.
You need a fireteam partner at least. A squad/section is better. A platoon is better than that. The more the merrier.
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-Make sure the other men have a gun and plenty of ammunition.
Make sure you have competent men in your organization. If you are the leader/commander it is your responsibility to ensure your men are properly equipped and trained. If they look and act like a bunch of shit birds the fault is yours.
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-Things happen fast. A normal engagement is about a 60 seconds plus or minus 30 seconds (which may be followed by another engagement as you maneuver).
Depends. An engagement could be two minutes or it could be 72 hours. It could end up in a series of continuing engagements lasting weeks. It depends on your organization's intent and the intent of the opposition and what force each is willing to commit.
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-The longer the firefight, the more likely it is that you will die. End it quickly, maintain the initiative.
You want to conclude a hostile contact asap. If you are the stronger, press forward with momentum and destroy the target. If you are the weaker you need to withdraw and escape-- unless you have the ability to be reinforced or be supported with indirect fire or air support within a timely manner.
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-Surprise is key (military guys, get recon).
Surprise is key. You need to be ahead in the information war. The better informed of the size, shape, disposition, morale, and supply of the enemy the better you are in able to attack him. Get recon? Do you mean perform reconnaissance? Yes, you need to perform recon (or recce if you aren't American) to find and observe the enemy and learn his weak spots.
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-Keep your head up (when it is down, things appear to come out of nowhere), unless you are getting shelled.
You must continually observe your surroundings. You need constant SA (situational awareness). Easier said than done when in the thick of a fight but constant observation and assessment of the tactical situation is literally life and death. Communication of what is seen by all teammates to each other is also paramount.
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-Do not turn your back on your threat.
Sometimes you might have to to move to a better position. But if you have to it can only be under covering fire from your fireteam partner/teammates.
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-Calm, accurate fire at a distance is paramount (engage with your rifle, not your pistol if possible as it will generally be a fatal error). Many people panic (cerebral fibrillation) the first time out of the gate (especially in close quarters). Take your cues from the experienced veterans (platoon sergeants, company/battalion commanders).
Calmness is key. You will be under stress in a combat situation. You will. You have to accept that and focus on the job at hand. Listen to the word of command from your superior commanders and ensure you pass on your orders to your subordinates in a calm manner with easy to understand instructions.
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-Breathe (holding your breath is a sign of panic).
Take long, slow, deep breaths from your chest when you find the stress getting to you. It will calm you down mentally and it will sort you out physiologically speaking. Wearing combat gear and holding your breath will cramp you up, slow you down, and maybe even make you pass out.
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-Watch your enemy´s hands, their hands kill.
Not really. You probably won't see the enemy, period. If you do from a distance you may not see his hands. If you are close quarters and he is there in front of you you don't need to be looking at his hands; you need to be pumping rounds into his center of mass until he collapses and is no longer a threat.
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-If you cannot see your enemy, shoot where you would be (hiding). Part of it is guess work.
Yes, but you need to be smart about it. Don't shoot off copious amounts at random locations. You need to locate the enemy if you don't yet have a positive visual ID. You have to. Use speculative fire (a few random shots to likely locations) to flush them out or get them to return fire. Or use a team member as bait. Ruthless, but we're all expendable. Once located the enemy needs to be assaulted and destroyed at once.
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-If it is worth shooting once, it is worth shooting twice. Ammunition is cheap, life is expensive.
Yes, but within reason. Don't go blatting off rounds like a panicking, undisciplined dickhead. Shoot accurate, targeted shots until the target is destroyed. It is better to shoot more rather than less, generally speaking. But if you value your life and the lives of your team, you'll use fire discipline so you don't run out mid-firefight in an extended contact. Only go severely high rate of fire if you are caught in an ambush or the Chinese human wave attack is coming up the hill and about to hit your trenchline.
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-As the engagement presses forward things becoming increasing difficult and your stress levels go ballistic (experience helps);
Yes. Remember to breathe and to keep situational awareness.
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-Tracers work both ways.
Yes. Be mindful of support weapons (machine guns, rockets) with increased signatures (tracer fire, muzzle blast, excess smoke). Have more than one tactical position to site them in so you can move them for their safety-- the enemy is looking to kill those first, as should you be looking to take out the enemy's support weapons. Machine gun or rocket teams, armored vehicles, machine gun bunkers-- you'd better believe you want to kill those things ASAP as soon as you discover them.
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-Stay in motion (those moving are 2 times LESS likely to get hit as compared to those standing and not moving).
If you are out of cover you should be either moving towards it or assaulting a position.
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-Walk your rounds up from the ground to your target as you move toward them.
Shoot at the center of mass. You calibrated your scope/sights, right? If you miss and are at distance, observe your splash-- the kick up of debris the bullet makes as it impacts something solid-- and adjust accordingly. If you are close quarters (5 - 25 meters) you really shouldn't be missing a man sized target at that range. At close quarters of 50-100 meters you should be shooting at least three shots at a clear target. The walk on or trailing method will work for that.
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-Run to maneuver, do not walk (dead men walk).
Kind of. Under hostile contact in an open space you need to dash 3-5 steps to your next position then get down and adopt a fire position. Always with the support of at least one more rifleman covering you ("one foot on the ground"). When you are good to go you then provide support fire so the guy(s) you just covered you can move themselves. In close quarters/house to house fighting running is a good way to die fast. Or as they say in Urban Operations "slow is smooth, smooth is fast." Move with a sense of urgency, but in a smooth, controlled manner.
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-Seek Cover (from objects that will stop a round (not a car), do not hug the ground) and know where cover is located. Move away from your attacker at a diagonal or laterally when seeking cover (those shooting from cover are 4 times LESS likely to get hit as compared to those standing without cover).
There's cover-- having something to hide behind that will stop small arms, and preferably explosives, and larger caliber weapons. There's also concealment-- having something to hide behind that hides you from view but doesn't have much, if any, protection. You want cover unless you're on the move.
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-If you are not shooting you should be communicating, reloading, or maneuvering.
If you're not shooting you should be observing your areas of responsibility and communicating if you have something to report. If you need to move you do it with fire support ("one foot on the ground"). If you need to reload, you need to be quick about it, and with the one foot on the ground thing working for you. Reloading in a fight while not under cover and without fire support is a good way to sit out the rest of the fight because you got shot.
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-Friendly fire is not. Communicate with your team. Tell them where you are and where you are moving.
Communication is vital. The team needs to communicate with each other and the team leader needs tactical feedback and then to clearly express his commands.
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-Use a radio, call for support (fast movers, gunships, artillery, other men, etc.).
If you have those resources available. Use them. You want every advantage you can get.
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-Have a plan and a back-up plan (plans usually do not survive past the first few seconds after initial contact with the enemy).
You cannot go into a situation without some preparation. You cannot improvise. You must have at least a general idea of what you intend to do and how you're going to do it. Things will change on the ground, often drastically, but that doesn't render your preparation useless. It gives you a baseline to work from where you can then intelligently improvise. The seven Pees of the British Army: "Proper Planning and Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance."
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-Flank your enemy and protect your flank.
Battle is won by closing with and destroying the enemy. You have to get on the turf they hold and kick them off it. Frontal assaults are costly. Go for the flanks where possible. However, your enemy is (usually) not stupid. They know that's what you'd like to do. Keep that in mind.
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-Drill/practice/rehearse to be proficient, this should never be easy.
You need to practice your skills. And just like team sports, you need to practice tactics with your team. Also like team sports there are several ways to do this. Realistic conditions are best, but individual and team drills are very helpful.
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-It is not Hollywood, get that shit out of your head. In the end the details will not be remembered, only who lived and who died.
Hollywood is shit. You know this. The details are often remembered, though. Military history accounts can be a goldmine of tactical and strategic insight. Read some.
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-Sometimes it is luck when you duck or stand and the guy next to you does the opposite and he gets hit.
3000% true. You can get everything right and still get hit or do everything wrong and come out unscathed. Time and chance happenth to us all.
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-After the engagement you will be tired because of the adrenaline. Rest (hydrate, eat) when practical and prepare for the next engagement.
Right after the engagement you will not have time to do anything except prepare for the enemy counter-attack or for your next move forward. You need to consolidate your team-- take care of casualites, assign responsibilities to your troops, take a quick count and redistribution of your ammo, link up with friendly forces, adopt a (preferably temporary) defensive posture-- which might include digging impromptu trenches. Once the consolidation is complete you carry on with the next phase of your orders. You should drink water whenever possible and you should also be prepared to eat cold food on the move or if static eating while your team cover you. Pissing and shitting are for whenever you can manage and also while being covered.