Key -
R- Rifleman
S- SAW
G- 203 Gunner
F- Fireteam Leader
SL - Squad Leader
Basic Squad and Fireteam Formations
Wedge
The wedge formation is the basic formation for most fireteams in open terrain. It will not remain a perfect wedge, as the team must manuever around objects. Terrain will dictate how tight the wedge will be, or the distance in which the fireteam leader feels he has the most control of his team.
Move to Contact Moving to contact is an extremely simple thing, and virtually everything the infantryman does revolves around moving to contact. When moving to contact the squad/fireteam will move forward until fired upon. Once the squad/team makes contact, several things will take place.
1.) The squad/fireteam takes cover(going prone, or getting as low as possible behind hard cover), and yelling the 3 Ds. The three Ds are Direction, Discription, Distance(in no particular order).
Ex. "12 O'Clock, 2 men, 150 meters!"
This will be repeated by
everyone as it moves down the line, so everyone has a general idea of what is taking place.
2.) The team who makes contact will get on line, and attempt to gain fire superiority by going into a cyclic rate of fire, and putting as many rounds downrange as possible.
3.) The squad leader will move foward and assess the situation.
4.) Once the squad leader has moved forward he will make one of several decisions:
A.) Initiate squad attack
B.) Break Contact
C.) Get his entire squad on line, and call for reinforcements
Squad Attack
1.) The squad will move to contact
2.) Once the squad makes contact, the lead fireteam will attempt to gain fire superiority. When the squad leader feels this has been accomplished, he will move forward to the lead fireteam's leader. The rear team will pull 360 degree security. The lead team will drop to a sustained rate of fire. When the squad leader gets to the team leader, he will assess the situation based on what the fireteam leader has reported, and determine if he is going to flank left, or right.
3.) After this decision has been made, the squad leader will move to the rear fireteam, and tell them what is taking place ahead, and what direction they will be flanking. In the above illustration, the squad leader has decided to flank right.
4.) The team will make an exaggerated manuever to the right, getting out of sight of the enemy, approximately 150 to 200 meters away from the enemy position. As the flanking team gets closer to that flank, the support by fire team(the lead fireteam) will pick up its rate of fire to a cyclic rate. The squad leader will center the team as best he can on the enemy position. Once he has done so, he will give the signal for "shift fire"(represented by the blue lines). When this signal is given the support by fire team will fire to the right of the enemy position as not to hit friendly troops if they get onto the enemy position.
5.) The flanking team will now begin to IMT(Individual Movement Techniques, or buddy team bounding) to the objective. The team will not open fire until the last possible moment, whether it be that they are discovered, or until the squad leader gives the order. They will continue to IMT through the "objective"(the enemy position) killing the enemy, and kicking the weapons of the enemy to the side. The team will keep moving until the reach the LOA(Limit of Advance), which is usually 35 meters(out of hand grenade range) from the objective. The signal for the LOA will be given by the squad leader, and will be repeated by everyone in the assaulting team. Once the LOA has been reached, the squad leader will give the "lift fire" command, which is firing on targets of opportunity if they arrise(Ex: an enemy combatant picks up a weapon). The assaulting team will pull security.
6.) The support by fire team will now pickup their weapons and equipment, and bound through the objective, until they reach their LOA. If a threat arrises, they will eliminate it. Once they reach their LOA, they will also pull security.
7.) The squad leader will now move to the apex of the "triangle" formed by the two teams at their LOA. He will then yell for an ACE report(Ammo, Casualties, Equipment), which will contain how much ammo each man has, if they are wounded(the team leader will physically check) and how much water each man has. The team leader will gather the required info, and report back to the squad leader. The squad leader will then report to his highers. Each team will redistribute ammunition, then pickup, and carry on with the mission.
LINEAR AMBUSH(could also be considered a hasty ambush)
1.) The squad leader will set up an ORP(Operational Rally Point). This will be done approximately 200 to 300 meters away from the ambush point. Here, the squad will assign special teams, and distribute special equipment(claymores, anti-tank weapons for special equipment, EPW and Demolition teams) if it hasn't been done before the operation. This point will be the point in which the team will return to after the ambush. After this is completed the squad leader will take the security teams fireteam leader, and SAW, and conduct leader's recon. What the squad leader is looking for is the point in which he wants to conduct the ambush, and he is getting a general idea of where he wants to place all this men. Now, the squad leader will return to the ORP.
2.) The squad will now leave their ORP(and be counted out by the squad leader). When they arrive on site, the security teams will be sent between 50 to 75 meters from the rest of the squad on the left, and right of the ambushing fireteam. Their job is to ensure that the ambushing fireteam isn't discovered by enemy patrols or scout elements. As the enemy approaches the position they will also make sure that there are no rear elements that might be able to counter attack, or re-enforce the ambushed units. The ambushing fireteam will be hand placed by the squad leader. Claymore will also be placed by the squad leader where he feels they will be most effective.
3.) When the enemy squad approaches, the first element to sight them will send a count of enemy troops. As they approach the ambushing fireteams position, the squad leader will wait until they get into the kill zones of the claymore mines. When the squad leader is ready, the claymores will be set off. This initiates the ambush. The fireteam will open up with everything they have. They will fire until one minute has passed, and if they enemy is still moving, will continue to fire for another 30 seconds.
4.) Now the enemy has been eliminated. The ambushing fireteam will begin movement at a high rate of speed to the ORP, along with the squad leader. The squad leader will count his men coming in.
5.) After the ambushing team has arrived at the ORP, the security teams will be pulled in, and counted by the squad leader. Ammunition will now be redistributed, and the squad will carry on with the mission.
REACT TO NEAR AMBUSH
First, lets discuss the difference between a near, and far ambush. A near ambush is an ambush that takes place within hand grenade distance(35 meters). A far ambush is an ambush that takes palce outside of hand grenade range. Now, we will discuss what to do in case of a near ambush. Reacting to a near ambush can be done in several ways.
1.) While moving in a wedge formation, the squad recieves fire from their left flank. Someone in the team will yell the 2Ds(Distance, Direction).
2.) The squad will now attempt to get on line. In this case, the rear fireteam has been able to set up what will become a flanking manuever, and will now begin to pour on the fire. The first fireteam will now begin to assault through the ambush, and a shift fire signal will be given.
3.) The first fireteam will move to their LOA, and the signal for LOA will be given. The rear fireteam will move through the enemy position to their LOA.
4. Once all the teams have moved into position, the squad leader will move to the apex of the teams, and get the ACE report. The squad leader will report actions to the higher, ammo will be redistributed, and the team will keep moving.
Keep in mind that if the ambush was properly executed, everyone will be dead. A far ambush can be less catastrophic on the squad than a near ambush, and reacting can be the same. In a far ambush, instead of assaulting through, the team may want to break contact, and bombard the enemy with artillery.
Room ClearingThis is a basic run down of breaching and clearing a room. It is actually much more complicated in practice, and there is lots to go over, so I will try to cover it as best I can. Keep in mind, this is just one way of doing it, you will have to figure out what works for you, and what doesn't. The first portion of this will not be illustrated.
Some terms:
Fatal Funnel: any doorway, window or hallway that you are in, which provides a defined sillouette of your person.
Donkey kick: a type of kick used to open the door. Put your back to the door, and kick backwards. This is used so that if your foot goes through the door(I've seen it happen), or the door gives way much easier, you can get out the way quicker.
MOUT: Military Operations in Urban Terrain
Points of Domination: The point that each man will take and control during entry and clearing of the room.
When performing MOUT, there are a few things to remember. First, stay off the walls. About 9 to 12 inches is good. This doesn't neccessarily go for airsoft, but in combat, bullets travel along walls, so getting right up on a wall may result in holes you don't want.
After the building has been approached, the leader of the team will declare a "stack left" or "stack right". All this means is the team will get "nut-to-butt" on the left or right side of the door, staying off the wall, and not flagging their weapon in the door. Maintaining positive muzzle control is very important. If you stick the barrel of your rifle in an open door, the enemy now knows you are there. Bunching up serves several purposes. The first is so that the everyone in front of you, knows there is someone behind them. Put some kind of pressure on them. The second is to easily communicate with taps, and nudges.
SECTORS OF FIRE:
#1 Man: Your job is to watch the door. Anything that comes through the door dies.
#2 Man: You watch everything from the 12, all the way to about the 10, scanning everywhere, that mean up, down, level, or whatever. You're in a 3D environment, bad guys can come from anywhere.
#3 Man: You watch everything from 10 to 8 or so. Again, 3D environment.
#4 Man: The last, but one of the most important man in the stack, you watch the rear. Usually, this man will be the breacher, and the SAW gunner.
Finally before we get started:
This is the order in which you take care of in clearing rooms. It goes the same way every time. It never changes.
1.) People
2.) Doors
3.) Hides
Also, keep in mind, you are ALWAYS looking for something to do.
Alright, lets get down to the meat and potatoes of this.
1.) After a stack has been made, some kind of signal(verbal "breacher up") the breachers(#4 man in this case) will approach the door. He will quickly scan the door for any signs of booby traps. He will then check the handle of the door, to see if its locked. When he is ready to enter, he will give a signal, usually a thumbs up. The #1 man, will reach behind him and tap, letting the #2 man know the breach is about the be executed. The #2 does the same to the #3, and the #3 sends it back up. The #3 man taps the #2, the #2 taps the #1. At this point the #1 man will give the signal to breach. If the door is unlocked, he may choose to just open it, or if it is locked he will execute a "donkey kick" or they may use tools, shotguns, or explosives. After the door has been opened, the breacher will step out of the fatal funnel.
2.) The #2 man(typically the team leader) give the number on man the signal to go(a good bumb with his knee into the backside of the #1 mans leg). The #1 man enters. He may choose to go left or right, taking the path of least resistance. In this case the number 1 man will go right. By going right, he has already visually cleared the corner directly across from him, and will now clear the deep corner. Once that has visually been cleared, he will begin to scan the remainder of the room. Meanwhile the #2 and #3 man is RIGHT behind them.
3.) The #1 man continues into his "point of domination". #2 man is going the opposite way of the #1 man. He will visually clear his his corner, and begin scanning the room, while moving to his point of domination.
4.) The #3 man has entered the room. He will go opposite of the #2 man. He will quickly scan eye level and scan the cieling. At this point the breacher(#4 man) has fallen in and continues to move with the team.
5.) The #4 man has gone opposite of the #3 man. He will quickly scan eye level, and scan the ceiling again. By this time, everyone has reached their point of domination, and any threats have been elimnated*. The #4 man will now watch the door they just entered.
At this point, the team leader will collect a status. It will move down the line starting with #1 and ending at #4("One up" ect ect). This empty room can then be declared as "clear". If the room is occupied, use buddy teams to clear any deadspaces that someone might be hiding behind(there is the "hide" part of clearing the room). The team will then continue on.
*note: the red lines indicate sectors of fire once the points of domination have been taken.
In this scenario(below), there are no additonal rooms, doors, windows, hide, or targets for that matter. During the entering process, communicate. You are already making a racket kicking in doors, and shooting weapons(provided there are targets). When you enter, call out what you see(door left, door right, open rooms, ect ect), just make sure you communicate. If you are attempting to breach a room, and it turns out the room is small, you call it "short room". Yell it out, that way everyone behind you knows that the entire team isn't going to fit. That concludes this excercise. Practice and figure out what works for you and your team.
PLEASE REFRAIN FROM POSTING IN THIS THREAD, AND KEEP IT FOR THE DISCUSSION
