MS1
Review individual movement
techniques(IMTs)
Learn and know when to use different
formations
Develop an understanding of contingencies
and battle drills
Apply tactics as a leader
Develop basic understanding of IMTs and
battle drills and tactics leading into MSII year
Why is it important?
Every Officer is expected to know basic tactics
YOU are the one who leads troops into battle
Must know for planning missions
High Crawl
Support the body on your elbows and knees
Move on your elbows and knees
Weapon cradled in arms
Body lifted off the ground
Quicker movement for maintaining a low silhouette
Low Crawl
Lie flat on the ground
Push with legs
Pull with arms
Sling weapon across arm
Face away from the muzzle suppressor
3-5 Second Rush
Move under fire
“I’m up, they see me, I’m down”
Use with buddy teams to cover one another
TL
Squad Column Fire Team
Wedge
R
Basic formation AR
Good dispersion laterally and in
depth, without sacrificing control G
SL
TL
AR R
G
TL
Squad File G
Use in restricting terrain/vegetation
AR
Provides the squad leader with
R
most control but not ideal for
enemy contact SL
TL
AR
R
Squad Line
Provides maximum firepower to front
Used to assault or as a pre-assault formation
TL TL
G G
AR R R AR
SL
Important to know…
All contacts will require you and your unit to perform some form of immediate
“react to contact”
Upon contact, you and your Soldiers will first immediately return fire, hit the
ground (except in near ambush) and then seek to cover and concealment
Success in all your battle drills will depend on your unit’s ability to gain and
maintain suppressive fires
Getting out of or avoiding the enemy’s kill zone will maintain your combat
power
Maintaining communication up and down the chain of command, throughout
the contact, is essential
To maintain your unit’s combat effectiveness, you must consolidate and
reorganize after each direct-fire contact
Cover and Concealment
Cover – Something that protects you as well as
conceals you
Concealment – Hides you but does not protect
you
Suppressive Fires
“cover fire”
Reduces enemy performance
Keeps them in a defensive position
Individual Weapons
M16, M4, etc.
Individually operated
Crew-served Weapons
Operated by two Soldiers
Firer, Assistant Gunner (A-Gunner)
Assistant gunner assists with feeding ammo
React to Contact
Squad/Platoon receives fires from enemy
individual or crew-served weapons
▪ Return fire immediately, take up nearest covered positions, continuing fire
in direction of contact
▪ Team/Squad Leaders locate and engage known or suspected enemy
positions and pass info to squad/platoon leader
▪ Control fires using standard fire commands
▪ Alert, Direction, Description of Target, Range, Method of Fire, Command to Commence Firing
▪ “3 D’s” (DISTANCE, DIRECTION, DESCRIPTION)
▪ “Enemy bunker, 1 o’clock, 200 meters, suppressive fire”
Break Contact
Squad/Platoon is under enemy fire and must break contact
▪ Squad/platoon leader directs one fire team/squad (alpha/bravo, assault/support) in contact to
support the disengagement
▪ Squad/platoon leader orders the first fire team/squad to move in a distance and direction to a
terrain feature (ORPs, RPs)
▪ Direct base-of-fire element to move to it’s next close location
▪ Continuing to suppress the enemy as it breaks contact, the squad/platoon continues to bound
away from the enemy until: it breaks contact, passes through a higher-level of support-by-fire
position or fire teams/squads are in position to continue next mission
▪ If disrupted move and meet at next rally point
▪ Consolidate and reorganize
React to Ambush
Squad/platoon enters kill zone and the enemy initiates an ambush with a high
volume of fire that produces casualties
▪ Near Ambush
▪ Soldiers in kill zone Immediately return fire
▪ Soldiers not in kill zone – Identify enemy positions, initiate immediate suppressive fires, take up covered
position, shift fires as Soldiers in the kill zone assault the ambush
▪ Far Ambush
▪ Soldiers receiving fire immediately return fire, take up covered positions, and suppress the enemy by
eliminating mass casualty producing weapon, obscuring the enemy (smoke), sustaining suppressive fires
Soldiers not receiving fires move by a covered and concealed route to a vulnerable flank of the enemy and
assault using fire and movement techniques
Soldiers in kill zone continue suppressive fires and shift fires as the assaulting team/squad fights through
the enemy position
▪ FO calls for and adjusts indirect fires
▪ Consolidate and reorganize
React to Indirect Fire (Dismounted)
Squad is moving through open terrain, when suddenly you heard incoming
rounds and shells exploding in the vicinity of your position
▪ Any Soldier announces “incoming”
▪ Immediately assume prone position or move to immediate available cover
▪ Squad leader orders the squad to move to a rally point by giving distance and direction
▪ Analyze the situation
▪ Soldiers will look for your additional instructions
▪ Creates a single line of command and prevent mass confusion cause by too many people trying to determine proper location
▪ After the impacts, Soldiers move rapidly in the distance and direction to the designated rally point.
▪ Squad/platoon leader contacts higher headquarters
▪ Issue a situational report (SITREP)
▪ Report attack in SALUTE format (size, activity, location, unit, time, and equipment
▪ Continue mission
Characteristics
Surprise – under cover and concealment to avoid
detection by the enemy
Concentration – massing of overwhelming
combat power to achieve a single purpose
Tempo – rate of military action (violence of action)
Audacity – boldly executing your plan of action –
getting results
Attack
Hasty – seize opportunities to destroy the enemy or seize initiative.
Usually occur during movements to contact and defensive operations
to take advantage of agility and surprise
Deliberate – Highly synchronized operations by detailed planning and
preparation. Use when enemy cannot be bypassed or over come with
a hasty attack.
Other kinds of attacks: Raid and ambush.
Movement to Contact
Offensive Operation used to develop the situation
and establish or regain contact with the enemy
Two methods
▪ Search and attack – enemy forces are dispersed; expect
enemy to avoid contact or quickly disengage and
withdraw or to deny movement
▪ Approach march – expect enemy to deploy using
relatively fixed offensive or defensive formations
Recon
Use to gain specific information on enemy (PIR or IR)
Three kinds
▪ Area – obtain info about specific location and area around it
▪ Zone – obtain info about enemy, terrain, and routes within a
specified zone
▪ Route – obtain detailed info about one or more routes and all
the adjacent terrain, or to locate sites for placing obstacles
Methods
▪ Fan
▪ Box
▪ Cloverleaf
Ambush
Used to disrupt enemy movement
Two Categories
▪ Hasty – conduct when enemy has not detected your
patrol
▪ Deliberate – conduct against a specific target at a
predetermined location
Ambush Cont’d
Types
▪ Point – deploy to attack enemy in a single kill zone
▪ Area – two or more related point ambushes
Formations
▪ Linear – assault and support elements deploy parallel to
the enemy’s route
▪ L-Shaped – assault element forms the long leg parallel
to the enemy’s direction of movement along the kill
zone. Support element forms the short leg at one end of
and at right angles to the assault element
