SPECIAL OPERATIONS: ADVANCED PATROLLING _ CSM (R) WINSTON CLOUGH & BRONSTON CLOUGH | MENTOR MILITARYSPECIAL OPERATIONS ADVANCED PATROLLING CSM (R) Winston Clough & Bronston Clough Layout, and typesetting by Leon Kennedy Edited by Elijah HenrySpecial Operational: Advanced Patrolling Copyright © 2016-2020 Bronston Clough, CSM (R) Winston Clough AILRights Reserved All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission from Mentor Enterprises, Inc Printed in USA by Mentor Enterprises, Inc. MENTOR’ ENTERPRISES, INC. 123 Castle Dr. STE C, Madison, AL 35758 info@mentorinc.us 256.830.8282 2 Edition, 1* Printing, 2020 ition, 2! Printing, 2 1" Edition, 1% Printing, 2016 ISBN-13: 978-1-940370-08-8 ISBN-10: 1-940370-08-6 ‘The views expressed in this book are those of CSM (R) Winston Clough and Bron- ston Clough, and do not reflect the official policy or position of the United States Army, Defense Department, or the United States Government. No copyrights are claimed on material created by the United States Government Updates and corrections can be found online: http://asktop.net/rpga-2ed Access Code: RPA20CLOUCONTENTS INTRODUCTION ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .. 1 PRE-MISSION PLANNING... Five Basic Principles of Patrolling 1 Receive the Mission. Issue the warning order Conduct a Reconnaissance Backbrief Sample Pre-mission Preparation INFILTRATION/EXFILTRATION TECHNIQUES .. Non-Helicopter Infil/Exfil Methods. Insertion by Helicopter. Dummy LZs/Fake Insertions. Actions on the LZ. Use of Armed Helicopters. Other Contingencies After Insertion Helicopter Unloading Helicopter Landing, EVASION AND COUNTER-TRACKING......... Passive Counter-Tracking Techniques Used to Avoid an Enemy Tracker: Active Counter Tracking. Dog Evasion Dog Types. Myths and Tips for Evading Tracking Dogs. REMAIN OVER-NIGHT (RON), REMAIN OVER DAY (ROD), LYING UP PLACE OR POSITION (LUP), OBSERVATION POST (OP), HIDE SITES AND VANTAGE POINT (VP) ESTABLISHMENT AND ACTIVITIES... Observation Post (OP)/ Hide Sites OP/ VP Tips. BREAK OUT OF AN ENCIRCLEMENT.. Preparations/Plans for Breaking Out of the Encirclement. 85 The Effectiveness of CAS/TAC Air will Depend on. 87, Tips for Restrictive Terrain 87 ‘Supporting Fires 89 Breaking Out of Encirclement in Open or Semi-Open Terrain 90 Inverted Pyramid. Line Formation Wedge Formations EPW SNATCH TECHNIQUES Training and Rehearsals. Selection of the Snatch Site 97 Snatch Operations Concerning Villages/ Living Complexes/Base Camp Areas 98 Other Considerations in Planning a Snatch Operation. 99 ‘Types of EPW Snatch Operations/Ambushes, 100 Review of Lessons Learned and Key Reasons Kidnap/Snatch Missions Fail. 103 UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES (UAVS)... sssseeee LOZ Tactical UAV Employment in support of Special Operations Forces EAL Troop, Ranger Platoon, and Delta Troop). 107 Tactical Usage and Launch of the Platforms. 108 Applications. 108, USE OF THE SENSES TO GAIN COMBAT INTELLIGENCE AND PREVENT AMBUSH ... os All AWARENESS. an Sight a2 Sound (Hearing) nz1g. il. 12. 13. 14. 1s. 16. 17. 18. 1g. 20. Smell Touch Taste. ASSAULT RIFLES/SUBMACHINE GUNS... Magazines Sights Field Expedient CLPs. Stings. Miscellaneous. PISTOLS/REVOLVERS. Magazines Holster. Tips. GRENADE LAUNCHERS.. M-79 Grenade Launcher. M-320 Grenade Launcher M-203. MACHINE GUNS M240 Medium Machine gun Maqg (SAW). M60 Machine Gun: GRENADEG..... Inspection and Preparation of Grenades Smoke Grenades. M34 White Phosphorus. CLAYMORE MINES... Inspection, Preparation and Employment of Mine for Recon Teams & Patrols. ANTI-TANK WEAPONS.. M-72 Series LAW. AT4/ SMAW-D Anti-Tank Weapon. RPG KNIVES/BAYONETS . Tips and Lessons Learned RADIOS..... Tips, Tips For Using Radios NIGHT VISION/OBSERVATION DEVICES. Night Visions Devices. Observation Devices Cameras/Photography. Wiretap/Recording Devices Historical Example SIGNALING Daytime Survival/Signal Panels: Smoke. Flares. Pen Gun Flares. Night Time. Strobe Light. Cyalume Light Sticks (Chem Lights) UNIFORMS AND EQUIPMENT... Hats/Caps. Helmets. Boots Socks. Care of Feet. Jungle Operations. Desert Operations21 22. 23. 24. 26. 27. 28. APPENDIX ....... ABOUT THE AUTHORG.... |» CULTURAL SUPPORT TEAMS. Uniforms Belts Underwear T-Shirts. Dog Tags. LEADERSHIP Tips. PRE-MISSION INSPECTION/CHECKS ... Pre-Mission Inspections/Checks RUCKSACK/LBE TIPS... Four Load Requirements LCE/LBE/LBJ (Load Bearing Junk)/Load Bearing Vests. Items Worn/Carried in Uniform/or on Your Person, THE AUSTRALIAN PEEL.. Overview. Selection and Training Human Terrain Teams ‘Composition. Going Forward, COMMON ENEMY TACTICS.. Enemy Actions at Landing Zones. During a Patrol Enemy Weapons Enemy Ambush Tactics. FAC ANNEX........ Tips for Close Air Support Daytime Marking Methods. Marking your location at night Important points to remember CLOSING PATROLLING TIPS AND THOUGHTS ON OPERATING IN AFGHANISTAN AND IRAQ.. Afghanistan, Iraq, and the Middle East. Jungle Antenna’ 2at Slant-Wire Antenna 242 Thirty Meter Antenna 242 Verticle Doublet 243 Emplacing a Claymore with a tripwire. 244 Tripwire connection to spoon and clothespin 244INTRODUCTION Every Special Forces Soldier, Operator, and Ranger dreams of conducting a night HALO mission to perform a snatch operation of a high-value target. doing a sub- surface swim onto a beach to destroy a critical coastal installation, conducting a mounted operation deep behind enemy lines to disrupt the enemy's lines of com- munication, or being a part of a recon team hiding, spying, and raining death and destruction upon the bad guys. AlLof these are great, but for these dreams to become a reality, you must first be highly proficient in patrolling techniques, weapons employment, survival skills, land navigation, camouflage techniques, and the BASIC SOLDIER SKILLS required of all soldiers! This book is designed to make you think and modify these 'tips of the trade’ and ‘lessons learned! to accomplish any mission assigned to you and help save the lives of yourmen. You MAY NOT agree with some of these tips, but you can modify any of these ‘lessons learned’ to suit your needs. Ifyou have served in Afghanistan or Iraq, then you know what works wellin one tribalarea may not work one valley over, This book is designed for all Soldiers — even the ones conducting short conventional patrols from Infantry platoons and rifle companies. Always keep an open mind! viACKNOWLEDGMENTS Special credit goes to MSG Joe Alderman, who served in Project Delta sth Spe- cial Forces Group and MACV-SOG as a recon Team Leader and advisor. Joe also helped start up the MACV Recondo School. He took it upon himself to compile and help others to publish “B-52 Tips of the Trade and Lessons Learned,” much of which is present in this book. Special credit is also given to SGM Norman Allen Doney Project Delta 5th SFG (A) and MACV-SOG, who was the First Sergeant CCC Recon Company who also provided invaluable information and assistance on tactics, tips of the trade and lessons learned. Special credit must be given to the dedicated "Quiet Professionals” of Detachment B-52, the 5TH Special Forces Group (Abn), Vietnam, MACV Recondo School, and the 5TH SFG (A) Combat Orientation Course School, and Recon Team Leaders course. Much is owed to the heroic men of MACV-SOG and all the special projects such as Sigma, Omega, Gamma, Leaping Lena, Prairie Fire, the recon men of the Mobile Strike Forces and so many others whose lessons learned help to save lives of other recon men and the Green Berets of today, Some of these lessons learned also were provided by G Company Rangers, 75th Infantry (LRRP's) RVN Special mention goes to the 5th Group Soldiers of today for their performance and tips of the trade/lessons learned during their deployments throughout the Middle East and African countries as well as Desert Storm, Somalia, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Some references used in writing this book were the United States Army Institute for Military Assistance Special Forces Reconnaissance Handbook, MACV ReconTeam Manual, Combat Recon Manual the 8-52 tips, PO! 7658 Patrolling FTX Re- public of Vietnam, U.S. MACV-SOG Reconnaissance Teams in Vietnam by Osprey books, G Company Rangers Recondo POI/tips of the trade (RVN), Border Patrol Tactical Unit (BORTAC),/lessons learned, TC2i-1 Recondo Training, Green Berets in Vietnam by Osprey books, Special Forces at War by Stanton, Vietnam studies US. Army Special Forces 1961-1971 Department of the Army. villPRE-MISSION PLANNING Patrol planning and preparation are essential, whether you're a Long Range Patrol. standard Infantry patrol, SF Detachment, or a Recon Team, Detailed and thorough planning, reconnaissance, rehearsals, and preparation is a must for conducting small unit patrol operations or reconnaissance missions. The success of your pa- trol always depends on careful planning! To perform a successful patrol operation, you must consider all possible contingencies. To ensure that all contingencies are considered, the Patrol Leader should follow or use this planning sequence as a guide, Note — sometimes, the available time will preclude completion of one or more of these steps. For example, weather or the lack of aircraft may prevent a Visual Reconnaissance; however, always remember and apply the five basic prin- ciples of patrolling FIVE BASIC PRINCIPLES OF PATROLLING 1 Planning — As soon as possible, quickly develop your plan and keep it as simple as possible, Ensure you have realistic and achievable standards. The more complex or complicated your plan, and the longer you take to develop a plan, the more likely the plan is to fail. There have been Detachments/Pa- trols/Recon Teams that have not been able to execute a mission because they took too long to develop a plan that was too complex. By the time they finished planning, the mission had been scrubbed because the timeline had passed, Just as necessary is the need to communicate and disseminate the plan to all RT/Patrol/ Detachment members and to rehearse every key or critical aspect of the plan. This includes every possible contingency. 2. Control — You must maintain all-around control of your patrol at all times! All members must have a clear understanding of the entire concept of the ‘operation, and you must understand the Commander's intent. You must havedisciplined communications to bring the might/ firepower of each patrol mem- ber and the team/patrol and if available TAC Air/FAC/Helicopter gunships to allow successful mission accomplishment or to delay/confuse, force the enemy to hesitate, withdraw, regroup or overwhelm the enemy for at least a short time to allow the patrol to withdraw and evade to continue the mission ‘or move to an extraction site. Security — You must maintain all-around security as much as possible, This becomes a problem with a four-, six- or eight-man patrol. You must strive to preserve your force as a whole. One man with a weapon on a small patrol can spell the difference between success and failure of the mission. Other critical security considerations are the speed you use getting around or cross- ing danger areas or potential areas of enemy contact, and the patrol's ability to select RON/LUP sites that provide the best possible defense and (most important) concealment. You want an area that the enemy would never think would hold an RT/Patrol — this can and has saved many a patrol. Another critical element of security is the SAFEGUARDING of information. You must prevent the compromise of your mission by information leaks. Accomplish this by ensuring your planning area, briefing area, and launch site are sterile with no information left behind: refrain from talking or discussing the operation with other teams, detachments, or patrols. Patrols/teams should be isolated as much as possible so as not to accidentally divulge information to anyone outside of the team/patrol Reconnaissance — Reconnaissance is the heart and soul of a patrol. Always try to verify what you believe you know and try to learn what you do not know — your VRis essential for this, Of course, a ground reconnaissance of the area youwill be operating in is nice, but usually not an option when conducting long- range patrols or sending Recon Teams in enemy-held areas. Do a complete map recon to include aerial photos if available, Reconnaissance will or can be greatly aided with the emerging technology of drones, which should provide a significantly increased method of timely and enhanced reconnaissance Common Sense — This is one of the most important of the five principles. Common sense is aided by your use of ALL available information and experi- ence as wellas good judgment to make sound and timely decisions. All patrol members should know what they are supposed to do. when to do it, without having to be told every step of the way. Remember to use your FIVE SENSES — the feeling, the physical ability to be aware of things around you. A good guideline is if it does not pass the common sense rule, then you probably need to reevaluate your plan of actionInteresting Historical Fact: George Armstrong Custer at the Battle of Greasy Grass (Often called the Battle of the Little Bighorn or Fights of the Little Horn River) violated the principles of plan- ning and all of the principals of patrolling and paid for it with not only his life but the lives of his two brothers, his nephew, and brother-in-law as well as the five troops or companies under his direct command at Last Stand Hill. Although Custer did send out mounted patrols, many were done half-heartedly and often received vague or conflicting guidance from the commander. RECEIVE THE MISSION Usually, the enemy and friendly situations will determine the patrol leader's plan Plan the use of available time using the backward planning method. You CAN- NOT waste time, which needs to be used by your team members/subordinates You must try to use NO MORE than one-third of the available time for planning and two-thirds for your patrol/team members/subordinates use. Failure to allow the two-thirds time will cause great frustration and often anger toward the patrol leader. Time is your worst enemy, especially the daylight hours. Start with your time of insertion into your hole, box, or AO. You must consider your method of insertion (HALO/static line, troop ladder, rappelling, fast rope, rubber raiding craft, surface or subsurface swimming, Jacob's ladder, helicopter, walk in, etc.) You will need to consider cross-loading of birds, boats, planes, etc. Remember, the last ones to be on the ground go into the mode of transportation first. Work back to the receipt of the warning order. TIME SCHEDULE — To maximize or make the best possible use of all of your allo- cated time, itis highly recommended that patrol leaders publish a TIME SCHEDULE using the BACKWARD Planning Process ISSUE THE WARNING ORDER Issue the WO at the earliest possible time to all team/patrol members. Patrol leaders must ensure all members are present for roll call and the issue of WO. Patrol members should be kept informed as much as possible and included in all planning to the extent possible so they can continue their preparation. Once the team is alerted, they must be restricted to the FOB, Base Camp, firebase, or their operational area, DO NOT let them talk to other teams or others about the mission! They should stay out of clubs, R& R tents, barbershops. etc, Remember in Vietnam, Somalia, Iraq, Afghanistan, and other areas, most bases have native populations running or working in the barbershops, massage parlors, mess halls, PXs, R & R centers, marketplaces, laundry services, and sometimes as your drivers! Most of the time, they are the ones running your internet and TV services, sometimes yourCell phone service, repairing everything from generators to servicing the cooling and heating in your buildings, plus using the honey trucks to pump out your sew- age. The enemy is among those laborers and listening to gather intelligence. in some places, they may be the guard force or at least part of the guard force for your camp, FOB, compound, etc. DO NOT give your members the complete brief- ing until shortly before launch. (But give enough to do the planning, preparation, coordination, etc.) Conduct a thorough map study and select tentative routes of march, rally points, possible LZs, E & E routes, points or areas of interest, RON/LUP sites, etc. Your map study should be supplemented by aerial photos and target folders of the area and talk to members of other teams that may have been in the same area in the past Check to see if any of them submitted map corrections or field sketches or photos If possible, read their debriefing reports. Check with the S-2 to see if any EPWs, woodcutters, farmers, hunters, or laborers have been interrogated or debriefed from the area you will be operating in and read their reports. Coordinate (Always continuous throughout planning and preparation phase)- En- sure you conduct coordination with the following 1. Airassets (Pilots who are flying the mission. The ones who will be doing the insertion/extraction, gunships, and TAC Air If possible, FACs or FAC Rider (Covey). KEY POINT — always introduce yourself and, if possible, the rest of your team to the pilots and crews who will be inserting you. You want them to know they are not just taxi drivers flying faceless pieces of meat to drop off in the middle of the enemy. You want them to know they are dropping off Bronston, Winston, John, Jake, Bill, etc. Ensure you know their call signs and frequencies and have conducted radio checks. TIP — If you do not get a chance to meet the aircrews beforehand, then when they come to pick you up, DO NOT board the birds untilyou introduce yourself and the team if time permits and let them know who they are inserting, NOTE: If you have someone in your organization as a FAC (Covey) rider. make sure he is experienced as a rider and not a young inexperienced lieutenant or captain, especially ones who just want to take a joy ride or get enough flying hours to get an air medal The worst thing is to call for extraction because you're compromised or the enemy is closing in on you, and you have an inexperienced covey rider say, “Negative, continue mission” The RIDER must have been on the ground and in the hole before and knows if you are calling for an extraction, you really need it and need it now! 2. Artillery — If you should be blessed to be within range of artillery support, patrol leaders always make overlays with all of your pre-plots and target ref- erence points. Ensure the overlay is neat, clear, and concise and take great care to ensure accuracy. The best way to conduct artillery coordination is for the Patrol Leader to take overlays and meet with the actual fire supportteam that will fire the missions; however, it is often unlikely to happen so the individual who does this coordination must make sure the arty can fire your pre-plots or you may have to make changes. Ensure you have their call signs and frequencies and conduct radio checks. 3. Reaction or Exploitation forces — This can range from a Ranger platoon, Mike Force, Hatchet Force, SLAM Company, Security Company, or sometimes a conventional Infantry platoon. Direct coordination with these forces is a must. A big mistake often made is the coordination of their call signs and frequen- cies. When you are making your radio checks before a mission. include these or any forces that may have to reinforce or support you 4. Communication activities — Ensure everyone on your patrol and in the communications center or relay site understands the communications plan Remember, you may have to use either secure or insecure radio relay sites. (a) Call signs, frequencies, codes, (b)_ Types of radios and antennas carried. (c) Type contacts. (d) Actions if contact time is missed. (DO NOT Freak OUT if contact time is missed) Time, weather, and especially enemy activity will often cause you to miss a contact time! You usually should not have a requirement to send a SITREP more than two to three times in 24 hours; set your contact times and make sure you vary them each 24 hours! Remember, the enemy will try to be listening and to use his DRF capability to locate you. (e) What call signs/codes. frequencies are used if in E & E (f) Also, DO NOT contact team/patrol unless necessary: NO UNNECES- SARY RADIO TRAFFIC! (g) Does the team have an extra handset, extra batteries to include pen- lights, crew lights, and strobe lights? Have all radios been double- checked and radio checks made with communications center/site to include radio relay sites? Once again, with reaction forces, BASE, TAC, FAC, CAS, ARTY, MEDEVAC, and your C & C. NOTE: Radios should al- ways be checked as close to their maximum or rated range as possible! (h) Azimuth to Base Station (i) Air Relay flight schedule. (If used) Remember, in most cases, all the above events will be handled by the launch of- ficer, ASO, ASNCO, or S-3; however. it is the responsibility of the Patrol Leader to see they are kept informed and updated on all areas of coordination. You must receive frequent updates and briefs on last-minute changes. TIP: Any time you or one of your team/patrol can do a face-to-face with these units/organizationsDO SO! HINT: Always have the required parties come to your location and not the other way around. Mutual understanding and teamwork between all four elements are vital to the suc- cess of the mission, and safe return, especially during the insertion and extraction WARNING — DO NOT engage in coordination and meetings with a chip on your shoulder, Do not bring an attitude or arrogant behavior to a coordination meeting You all must establish mutual respect, understanding and become like dancers ona stage and think and move as one. REMEMBER these people will be the ones supporting you, inserting you, maybe saving your buns, and coming to pick you up! Select men, weapons, and equipment — Does the team need additional or mission- specific equipment? This will be determined by mission and terrain. 1. Personnet Ifyou have an individual or individuals who are out of shape. in poor health, are having emotional or mental problems, have started to display a bad attitude and lack of discipline or attention to detail they should be removed from the patrolif their condition will prove detrimental to the team/patrol. This is where moral courage comes into play. As a leader, you cannot let friendship, apathy, and. peer pressure interfere with your decision to leave personnel behind in the rear. Caution and common sense must be exercised by the team leader/patrol leader and willinclude personnel suffering from exhaustion, colds, and coughs Will cough syrup and codeine allow the man or men to go on the mission? (a) Does the team need a scout/mine dog with a handler? (b) Sniper. (©) FO. (d)_ Ground sensor expert or ground radar technician (e) EOD (Medic (g)_ Translator/interpreter (h) Air Force Weatherman or Weather team (i) Air Force CAS expert. () Pathfinder. (kK) Amember from another team or patrol who has been in the area before. (0 Inrare cases, a trusted laborer, woodcutter, hunter, a Kit Carson, De- fector, or former villager or indigenous personnel. 2. Specific Weapons: There may be occasions when a Patrol may need weapons other than their standard-issue weapons, Some of the special needs weapons include nonstandard, foreign and obsolete weapons that have been used in the past include but are not limited to: (a) Assault rifles — Western, Russian or Communist Bloc AK-47s, AKM or AKS 47s, SKSs. FNs, G3A3, etc. or obsolete or discontinued US.weapons such as the Mi Garand, M1 or M2 carbine, Springfield 1g03A3 of 1903A4, M14, etc, These weapons may not be available or easily procured, Also is ammo available for these weapons. Pistols/Handguns — Handguns may have never won a battle, but when your assault rifle malfunctions or runs out of ammo, the greatest feeling in the world is to have a backup gun with several magazines and to be proficient in its use. In Vietnam, the Browning P35 gmm pistol was favored by many Recon men. | carried a Colt Mig11Ai that was customized by the Army marksmanship unit in Vietnam. Once again, extensive selections of handguns are not something usually found in high demand in Long Range Patrol or Recon Teams. Today you pretty much have the Mg Beretta, the M111 Sig Sauer, Sig Sauer 226, Colt 45, Glock, or perhaps even the Soviet Makarov or a few other Communist Bloc handguns. Again think of ammo and time to procure. NOTE: If the mission dictates that you need to carry some foreign, Western, or obsolete US. assault weapon or handgun, you must be able to disassemble, assemble, perform a function check, fire. zero, and treat the gun as though it is your issue weapon. Also, you must have enough ammo for a basic load plus and even enough to have packed in an emergency resupply. (c) (d) Antitank weapons/Bunker busters — RPGs, LAWs, AT4s, 84mm MAAWs, You must consider the weight of not only the weapon but the weight of the rounds to be carried. The LAW was great, but after firing, you either must destroy the launcher or carry it out with you REMEMBER to clear your backblast area! RPGs were great also. The beautiful thing about having a few LAWs or RPGs with you was when the bad guys starting shooting RPGs at you, and you returned fire with LAWs or RPGs, they often backed off or were confused as to what they had run up against. The Carl Gustav is excellent but is a bear to carry on a long patrol. Submachine Guns — H&K series, Beretta series, or even the older obsolete SMGs like the M3A1 grease gun, British L2A3, or British Sten gun. Some team members carried the Ma5B known as the Swedish K or K gun. Some took the Uzi SMG while others preferred the Dan- ish Madsen M50. The problem with most submachine guns is that they are gmm in caliber and do not penetrate through the brush, bamboo, or densely vegetated areas very well. The same proved to be true of the 30 cal carbine. You will be well-served to remember that some SMGs fire from the open bolt position and have no real selector switch with safety, so if you trip, the weapon can discharge. Keep in mind SMGs are usually kept in minimal numbers and issued out on a first-come. first-serve basis or as a specific mission issue.) @ (h) (i) Shotguns — Useful when walking point in jungle terrain or dense brush. They are great for shooting at an enemy's legs when conduct- ing an EPW Snatch. There have been a few personnel killed in a fire- fight because reloading a shotgun is slower than an assault rifle, and they were killed while attempting to reload, If using a pump-action shotgun, consider how effectively you can engage the enemy when shot in the right or left shoulder or either hand is disabled. You must plan the use of a shotgun very carefully when operating in terrain that goes from dense or thick jungle to open areas. Like a grenade launcher, you may need a variety of ammo for the weapon. Empty canteen covers will hold 25-35 rounds of 12 gauge. Sniper Weapons — Sniper systems are always pretty tightly controlled, and the weapon will do you no good if you are unfamiliar with the system and didn't have a chance to zero the weapon, in which case it is always better to request. trained sniper to accompany you on the mission. NOTE: You must ensure you have National Match ammunition to go with the weapon. Do the terrain, vegetation, and weather permit the use of such a weapon, and will you have a competent spotter to assist the shooter? This becomes critical when requesting weapons such as the Barrett .416 or 50 cal. Light to Medium Machineguns — M249 SAWs, M60 MG, Mig19A6. BAR, MG3, M240B, RPD, RPK, etc. You must determine the necessity of taking one along, Do the terrain and vegetation allow for the effective use of this type of weapon? The man you pick must be a stud to hump the weapon in thick jungte and up and down hills, ridges, mountains, and fighting off the wait-a-minute vines. You must also consider the amount of ammo to be carried. Typically, the gunner should take 500, rounds with each team member carrying another 200 rounds each, except for the commo man. Ifit is a foreign weapon, ensure you can get enough ammo for it. TIP: you must ensure that whoever is car- rying the MG can and will exercise fire discipline, or you will be out of ammo in 10 to 15 minutes, leaving you carrying just a heavy club Lightweight Mortars — If your patrol is large enough, a lightweight mortar can confuse the enemy because the enemy will wonder if they have run into an Infantry company. The confusion may allow youjust enough time to break off contact and evade the force. Again. you have to consider the weight of the mortar rounds, especially, and whether the terrain permits the effective use of the mortar. Grenade Launchers — NEVER, EVER go on a mission without one of these and two is always better! This is a poor man's mortar. Grenade launchers can confuse the enemy and make them wonder what they have run into, and sometimes they will think it is a small mortar. HEand CS work well together. CS will not be very effective in large open areas as the gas disperses very quickly. The grenade launcher can be used to signal with and provide illumination at night {) Suppressed weapons — Great for removal of trackers and their dogs or when conducting EPW snatches. They can often give you the edge when walking point. When the situation permits, they are excellent for knocking off an enemy point man or point team. Quickly get out of the area and see if an opportunity presents itself again to knock off either point or rear security and still get out of the area. This causes confusion and fear when new people are tasked to walk point. When you have a can on your weapon, it makes the weapon longer, and for the silencer to be effective, you must use subsonic ammo. You must ensure the can is on straight: otherwise, you will put rounds through the side of the suppressor. Also, you cannot fire the weapon on rock and roll very much as the suppressor will become ineffective, and the baffles will have to be changed or the can itself replaced. When firing on automatic, you will still have the noise of the bolt moving back and forth. Unfortunately, it is not like the movies! (kK) HOT TIP: Look at the rate of fire of the weapon or weapons you will be carrying. The ideal rate of fire for a rifle/SMG/Light machine gun is 450 to §50 rounds per minute. A higher rate of fire places a burden on the amount of ammo you have to carry, and the faster the rate of fire, the higher the chance of a stoppage and also the quicker the weapon will overheat! What equipment will the team need? The RT/Patrol/Detachment must have in their possession all the equipment to accomplish their mission to include a possible follow on mission Night observation equipment Spotting scopes Special radios extra claymores Wiretap equipment Tape measure Lineman's tool Sensors Boots with different soles/uniforms Extra or special demolitions Grenades — Fragmentation, WP, Tear Gas. V40 mini-fragmentation grenades, mini-smoke grenades. thermite, colored smoke to include white. White will often confuse the enemy because they think it is CS and will also help screen your movements. MK3A2 Concussion grenades can be used in tunnel opera- tions and are great for EPW snatches.Special cameras . Climbing equipment 120-foot ropes for water crossings or emergency climbing or descending Special camouflage suits or material Special Forces or Aviator survival kits New Lightweight survival rations or indigenous rations NBC equipment Anti-personnel mines/toe poppers, time pencils, and anti-intrusion devices Scout swimmer equipment Satchel charges MK 13 MOD O signal flares Heavy-duty wire cutters Extra §50 cord and extra duct tape Hand and leg restraints, zip ties NOTE: This is not an all-inclusive list, but most of the equipment or special items that have been used in Vietnam, Somatia, and the War on Terror. You must ast yourself if the item is mission essential or just nice to have or just plain cool CONDUCT A RECONNAISSANCE Reconnaissance could be the single most crucial element of the team leader's preparation. Do as many visual recons (VRS) as can be made without drawing the enemy's attention to the purpose of the flight; usually, this is no more than two. AVOID circling the potential LZ so as not to tip your hand. If possible, the helicopter mission commander should also fly the VR. For this reason, the 0-2 or newer air~ craft is the desired aircraft. Having sufficient seats enables the FAC, the helicopter mission CO, and the team leader to make the VR simultaneously. The VR should be aimed at confirming or refuting the information from the map and photo study and determining the general level of enemy activity. The helicopter mission com- mander picks flight routes, air control points, and orbit areas. Together, the team leader and helicopter mission commander choose at least two and preferably three LZs. Always try to have a primary LZ, a secondary LZ, and a supplementary LZ. NOTE: There will be times you will only be able to find one or two possible LZs in your box and occasionally none. LZs for helicopter landings should ideally have the following characteristics Keep in mind LZs and PZs should be located to allow takeoffs and landings into the wind and along the long axis of the PZ/LZ! Size of the LZ or PZ should allow helicopters to land on a plot of ground slightly larger than the width or spread of the landing gear, with clearance for the rotor blades. The critical factor is the diameter of the rotor blades because a blade strike can disable the bird. Also, you must allow a little safety factor in allowing for rotor blades. This is not an inclusive list, but a rough planning guide, as the pilot will determine or make the call on bringing the bird in. 10Light observation helicopters, such as the OH-58, need roughly a circular diameter of 25 meters. UH-1H series need a circular diameter of 35 meters. UH-60 series and AH-64 need roughly a circular diameter of 50 meters. Cargo helicopters, such as the CH-47 series, need about 80 meters. Generally, helicopters are considered to have a climb ratio of 1'5, Some of the later models have a 1:10 ratio. This means great care should be exercised to ensure that there areno obstacles higher than 20 meters within 100 meters of the touchdown or hover area. Here is an example: An obstacle clearance ratio of 10 to 1 is used in the planning approach and departure of a PZ or LZ, For example, a ten-foot obstacle requires 100 feet of horizontal distance for approach or departure If possible, there should be one approach path to the LZ or PZ measuring ap- proximately 75 meters wide If possible for night operations, there should be an area 60 meters in diameter cleared to the ground for utility helicopters and 80 meters for cargo/large helicopters. Always consider GROUND SLOPE — 0-6% land upslope, 7%-15% land sideslope. Over 15%, no touchdown terminates in a hover! If landing sideslope always load and unload helicopter from the downslope side and never the upslope side as death or severe injury will result. NOTE — When you are engaged in Special Operations Recon, Long Range Patrols, Ranger or Special Forces Operations, operational considerations in combat may and usually will necessitate relaxation of one or more of the above requirements. However, requirements should be complied with to the extent possible. REMEMBER, the helicopter flight commander is the final authority on the suitability of LZs! IMPORTANT NOTE — In wartime operations involving high-risk insertions and extraction, safely margins will be significantly reduced. The above planning guidelines are not necessarily in compliance with air assault or pathfinder doctrine! However, you must allow higher margins for night operations. if you have a cliff to your back. a pilot can often place the front portion of the skids or front wheels on the cliff. and you can climb on one at a time and still cheat death ANOTHER IMPORTANT NOTE — When you select an LZ/PZ (especially your extraction PZ), remember the better job you have done selecting a suitable PZ, the better your chances of getting out alive! You want to pick one that appears unsuitable to the enemy. Keep in mind the aircraft does not have to touchdown, but instead hover to get you in or out. The pilot will be the one making the final call on coming into the PZ you have selected. if possible, you want to keep the PZ under surveillance and look for boobytraps. Below are several examples of effective boobytraps, which are just as effective today and still copied or used in third-world countries. These diagrams come from the Handbook for USS. Forces in Vietnam. 1BAMBOO PROPELLER GRENADE BAMBOO PROPELLER STRINGVC MINE PRESSURE PLATE *CBU FRAG BOMBLET NOTE: APPX ACTUAL SIZE APPX WEIGHT 2 LBS “CBU frag bomblets are sometimes found with only a piece of paper or cigarette package wrapper lying on top of the pressure plate. PRESSURE PLATE CBU FRAG BOMBLET \ / US FRAG BOMB OR ARTILLERY SHELL VC DH-10 MINEComplete Detailed Plan This is an area that often does not receive the emphasis it should. This is not the time to take shortcuts! You should be assigning duties to each team member and doing your preparation for your backbrief. (If not done already) This is where you make adjustments to your original plan based upon the changing intelligence situ- ation, estimates, and on the information you gained from your VR. Here is where team leaders often make the mistake of not including one or more of the helicopter pilots, the ones who are inserting and extracting you and the FAC and Covey rider: Remember, this is the final preparation plan Rehearsals and Final Inspections IF POSSIBLE, rehearsals should be conducted on terrain similar to that the team/ patrol will be operating in. Rehearsals let the patrol leader check their plans and make changes if needed. They also help ensure the proficiency of the patrol. It is through tough, realistic rehearsals that all team/patrol members become entirely familiar with their duties during the patrol. Rehearsals often determine mission failure or success. Below are some of the rehearsals you should conduct: a. Loading, If time permits, rehearse the loading of the aircraft. Remember that personnel getting off last go in first! Unloading aircraft Actions upon landing d. Actions upon emergency extraction. Every man must know his order of ° extraction, where he sits, actions in A/C. Team Sergeant, APL. Assistant Recon Team Leader counts each team member as they get on the bird and gives an up to the patrol leader who gives an up to the aircraft commander. Hand and arm signals. f Rappelling, Fast Rope (FRIES), Jacob's ladder or Troop tadder if used. g. Immediate action drills. (ADs are one of your life insurance policies! They must become second nature to all Team members to include attach- ments. REHEARSE, REHEARSE, REHEARSE h. Actions to be taken upon enemy contact after leaving the LZ i Actions at danger areas j. RON/LUP procedures k. Ifyou are occupying a trail watch position, occupying an ambush site, hitting an objective. preparing for an EPW snatch. or only occupying your RON/LUP site, you always rehearse your actions on the objective if you have no time to rehearse anything else! Usea detailed terrain model/sand table that gives you a three-dimensional repre- sentation of your AO to brief the team. Orient your terrain model north, south, east, and west. Ensure you have a legend and do not forget to brief the legend! Alwaysbox in your AO with natural or man-made terrain features that are quickly identified, such as roads, large trails, swamps, marshes, streams, rivers, ridgelines, or other distinguishable features. Also. place East/West and North/South grid lines. You can show danger areas, tentative route of March (Primary and Alternate), obstacles, tentative RON/LUP sites, possible rally points, and ORPs. You can use colored yarn to depict LZs, hills, ridges, tentative E & E routes, EPW snatch location, ambush positions, etc. You can use food dye or ground-up colored chalk to add colors to your sand table, but spray paint is usually best. (black, blue, brown, red and green) It is a good idea to have colored yarn and some small toy soldiers to clarify your movement and actions. NOTE: It is recommended that you keep a sand table/terrain model kit ina footlockerts) or box with several cans of spray paint (assorted colors), colored yarn, or thick string (assorted colors). Black is excellent for laying out gridlines: commo wire is even better! Toy soldiers, racks, bottle caps. pieces of paper, cardboard, or empty shell casings can also come in handy. Much of the stuff can be acetated so they can be used over and over again. If you have clear plastic, you can make holes or trenches: line them with plastic and fill them with water to show swamps, streams, and other water obstacles. A good kit will save whoever is tasked with building the sand table/terrain model a lot of time and will not waste time scrounging for the items needed. NOTE: Hopefully. you will have an inside area big enough to house the sand table ‘and charts and team plus seating for the people being briefed. If you have to build the sand table outside, then you must be sure it remains covered to protect it from the elements and prying eyes. After briefings and rehearsals are complete, ensure your terrain model is erased! Remember that anything that takes a battery needs to be rechecked. Ifa finaltest-fire was conducted of all the weapons, do not break down the weapons — thoroughly clean only the areas that you can get to without breaking the weapon down. DO NOT disassemble them again. if you do, you will need to conduct a test fire again. IMPORTANT TIP: If insertion aircraft are picking you up in a sandy area, have a cheap cover to slip over your weapon, So when you get on the bird and on the way to the insertion LZ, you will not have a weapon packed with dirt and sand. The cover will not take up much space and weighs nothing. Once airborne, you can remove the case and tuck it in your LCE until on the ground, and then it can go in your rucksack. | found out I had to have a small cover for my pistol and the same procedures applied for that weapon also. You now have an extra bandage, pressure dressing, or sling. I have seen some teams depart for a mission with their weapons packed full of sand or alt. 15BACKBRIEF The backbrief is the patrol leader's tool to show the patrol members understand the mission. The format is similar to the five-paragraph operations order. Some com- manders like to have the team/detachment give the backbrief in full camouflage to impress commanders and their staff. If a team wants to do this, make sure you are inserting shortly after the briefing. DO NOT JERK your team around and place unnecessary stress on the team! You will have all the stress that you will need starting with insertion, and every day in the hole, you will have numerous chances to impress the commander and his staff. Every day on patrol will be a chance to excel! The Brief Back is where you sell the staff that you are the right team for the right mission. The Brief Back covers, but is not limited to, the following points Situation Team Leader describes the enemy and friendly situation as it pertains to the team’s operation. Also. any attachments. Mission. The team leader states the mission as he understands it. (There must be no misunderstanding of the mission!) Always include the 5 Ws: WHO, WHAT, (THE TASK), WHERE, WHEN and WHY (The PURPOSE of the RECON/PATROL). When stating the mission, always read it twice and ensure it is clear, concise, and to the point. NO SUBPARAGRAPHS! Execution. STATE THE COMMANDERS INTENT. Concept of Operations a. Organization of team b. Planned routes. 1. Infiltration/Exfiltration LZs/PZs. 2. Primary and Alternate routes of march 3. Rally Points 4. Areas of interest. Formation of patrol and location of each team ° d. Flight plan 1. Checkpoints 2. Flight time. e. Actions upon landing 1. Fired on before landing 2, Fired on after landing 3. IFaircraft is shot down, f Security. 1. During movement. 2. Short and long halts. 3. During radio contacts 164. Overnight. g. Immediate action drills. 1. Break Contact 2. Actions after contact h. Designation of rally points. 1. How tong to wait. 2. Subsequent action i Methods of marking exfiltration LZ and confirming signal to aircraft. i Artillery and air support available. k. Special Mission procedures. (EPW, Wiretap, specialized equipment, etc) Administration and logistics L Rations and equipment to be carried by each patrol member. m. Shortages n. Physical and mental condition of the team Command and Signal 0. Signal 1. Type of radios and antennas carried 2. Type of contacts and contact schedule. 3. Air relay flight schedule. 4. Actions if contacts are missed Frequencies Pp. Base qQ Artillery 1 Patrol Ss. Air t. Azimuth to the base station u. Command 1. Chain of Command. 2, Position of each American in the team. WySAMPLE PRE-MISSION PREPARATION The following example is idealized in that five days are available for planning, This will seldom be the case. The time frame is extended so that all of the procedures can be illustrated Before D-5, the patrol leader receives the warning order and then alerts the team of the expected launch/target date D-5, US. team members receive operations and intelligence briefing. Always ask how they got the intelligence (Source) and how old is the intelligence. OP briefing consists of an operations order. Intelligence briefing concerns the latest intelligence pictures of the target area. Conduct map and photo studies, selecting possible LZs, points of interest, routes, rendezvous points, etc. Using large scale maps, the team constructs a sand table, depicting the terrain of the area D-4. Patrol leader makes VR to confirm or deny information gained from map and photo study, He also attempts to determine the level of enemy activity. While VR is being conducted, the rest of the team practices SOPs such as hand and arm signals, IA drills, RON procedures, etc. Upon completion of VR, the team updates information and continues planning D-3. Planning Continues. Special equipment and communication gear are obtained and tested, Begin rehearsal in an area similar to the target area — practice the special phases of the mission D-2. Continue planning and rehearsals. Stay abreast of intelligence situation as this may save your life! D-1. Patrol leader and flight leaders conduct final VR to confirm earlier information and plans, and to choose air routes to and from the target area, orbit areas. The pilot should determine the suitability of the LZs (at least 2). Upon completion of the VR, the patrol leader and flight leader should discuss special signals and the method of insertion, The assistant patrol leader supervises cleaning and test firing of weapons and conducts equipment checks. The patrol leader should then lead the team through a talk-through of the mission. Everyone packs their gear. The leader presents a backbrief D-Day. Conduct final inspection of personnel and equipment. Conduct thorough communication checks. Move to the launch site and receive a final briefing. The briefing should be given to all U.S. team members as well as the FAC and heli- copter pilots. 18INFILTRATION/EXFILTRATION TECHNIQUES Recon teams can be infiltrated and exfiltrated by land, sea, air, or combinations of these. The most common method used today is by helicopter. This section will concentrate on the use of the helicopter in inserting and extracting patrols; however, the patrol leader should not lose sight of the fact that other methods of infiltration may be better suited or appropriate. NON-HELICOPTER INFIL/EXFIL METHODS Walk-In — This is where a Recon Team/Patrol walks into their AO. This eliminates the chance of the mission being compromised by the noise of the helicopters or the enemy watching all possible insertion LZs, This method reduces the risk of injury as often occurs during other modes of insertion. This method may incur an increased risk of early fatigue and reduced load carrying capacity depending on the distance. Walk-Off — In Vietnam and other areas of operation, some teams would do walk- offs from FOBs, fire support bases, combat outposts, etc. The problem with this is the enemy usually has these sites under 24-hour surveillance! Stay Behit or larger unit that is being airlifted or conducting air assault operations id — This is where the team/patrolis inserted with a company, battalion, TIP: Ensure all patrol members wear the same uniform as the conventional unit you insert with. Also, no special uniforms or face paint unless the conventional unit is wearing them as well. Change after insertion to the team uniform and go into full camouflage. When the conventional unit departs the area, you stay behind, or you move off in a different direction than the unit you inserted with. NOTE: in some cases, Recon Teams or patrols have been inserted with an ‘armored or mechanized infantry unit. When the unit moved out again from a security halt or conducting a sweep, the RT/patrol remains behind. 19Another Stay-Behind technique that usually works very well is the “Fake Extrac- tion." For this to work, the personnel involved need to become actors. a Have personnel from your unit dressed in full camouflage inside the extraction aircraft with the doors closed coming into the PZ The bird or birds need to move to the vicinity of the PZ and should touch- down or hover for about ten to twelve seconds. Slide doors open, have men sit indoors on the floor, as the birds depart the LZ have the door gunners fire a few short bursts with weapons (Not in the direction of the team on the ground) When the helicopters leave, it appears as if a recon team or patrol has Just been extracted. The team already on the ground faking the extraction must do a complete recon of the PZ to make sure there is no enemy there. It helps if, during the fake extraction, a gunship makes a few passes firing some ordnance — again, not near your actual position After leaving the PZ, you will still need the birds to do anoth- er false insertion at the pilot's discretion NOTE: False insertions were often not used as it was felt it unnecessar- ily exposed helicopters and crews to possible enemy contact or ambush. (Sometimes it did!) For a fake extraction to work, you must have the aircraft fly and do ev- erything exactly like a real extraction to include gunships, FAC, C & C bird if possible. If you decide to let staff personnel dress up and fly the fake extraction, make sure they look the part. The worst thing is to have two or three staff wearing spit-shined or highly brush shined jungle boots and clean starched or pressed camouflaged uniforms and no camouflage on their hands or faces! Another stay behind technique, which is another form of the FAKE extraction, is essentially the same as above except the personnel on the incoming bird to the LZ/PZ contain another Recon Team, and when the bird touches down, they jump out. and the other Recon Team climbs aboard and leaves. This appears to the enemy as an extraction, but in reality, you have a new team on the ground Consideration should be given to Walk-Outs as well as extraction by helicopters. This prevents your team from being compromised by the noise of helicopters and gunships. In some cases. it might provide you with a higher degree of security. Again with this method, the distance to be covered will have a tremendous impact ‘on this option HALO, HAHO, or Static Line—Requires that everyone must be very proficient in parachute operations and to avoid detection usually must be done during periods of reduced visibility. 20The team must have a freefall assembly plan while in the air. You must avoid getting a wide separation between jumpers in the air and becom- ing too widely dispersed on the ground IFyou are conducting tree landings, initially. you may become easy targets for the enemy while hanging in the trees. Be aware if you are wearing a rough terrain suit that it is hot, bulky, and can restrict your movement somewhat. ‘Always have a rope for use as a lowering line to lower yourself to the ground as you can land in trees that may be 50-100 feet tall. Disposing of parachutes and air items usually requires time to bury or hide them, and they must be well hidden or the burial site well camouflaged to prevent compromise of the mission by patrols or trackers, Rappelling — the advantage of rappelling is that you do not need a large LZ, and you do not have to use likely areas of infiltration that the enemy may have under surveillance. This allows you a great deal of leeway as you do not need much of an opening in the jungle/wooded area, and even a bomb crater or smallerarea will do a. Although rappelling often allows you to achieve the element of surprise and enter into an area of heavy enemy traffic relatively undetected, this method involves a moderate degree of risk, and patrol members must be well trained in this type of insertion. if inserting by rappelling, you must practice often to avoid wasting time in hooking up and getting on the skid or in the door. Although somewhat uncomfortable, you should already be hooked up into your Swiss seats or rappel hamess and snap link attached to Swiss seat or harness with gloves on. When using this technique, all ropes must be checked for burns, dry rot, cuts, and fraying The floor of the helicopter must be padded as well as the edges so that the ropes do not rub on the metal flooring. Never let the ropes rub together. Allowance should be made for maximum separation of ropes in the door. If using birds with skids, the skids should be padded also. You must have a squared away safety/recovery NCO to make sure you are hooked up correctly. IMPORTANT NOTE: The individual you have picked to be the safety or Recovery NCO for this critical task must be proficient in rappelling as well as fast rope procedures and troop ladders, (As usual. the military has come up with official-sounding titles for safeties, They are often referred to as "Rappel-Masters’ or “Stabo-Masters" — the more troop ladders get used, | guess we will have to have "Ladder-Masters” instead of safeties or Recovery NCOs The safety must wear a headset to maintain internal communications at all times with the pilot, Crew chief, and any other safety personnel or Rappel Master. In the early days working with the MH-6o. Special Forces and Rangers had come to rely on the UH/MH-6o's Doppler radar system to tell them aa22 the height above the jungle floor or ground. It did not take long to find out the system often gave a false reading, especially in densely wooded areas or jungle canopy. The safeties are the ones who must ensure the ropes are touching the ground! DO NOT EVER let a radar/pilot or crew chief tell you to go! Soldiers have been killed because they left the he- licopter, and the ends of the ropes were still 20-40 feet off the ground. Attach small- or medium-sized Chem Lights to the running end of the rappel ropes, and you may want one on the team member/rappeller also. NOTE/SAFETY TIP: DO NOT fall into the habit of wearing NVGs while conducting night operations in helicopters. You will find itis much easier to see outside of the aircraft, remain oriented, check the terrain, check ‘on team members, use your flashlight (with filter) and stay oriented with your map. if you must wear eye protection, use clear lens goggles or clear lens ballistic eyewear, This applies to Fast Rope, Troop Ladder, and all other activities as well When conducting rappel operations, you should typically have the seats removed, and the doors locked in the open position or removed. Rap- pelropes should be stowed in a rappel rope weighted deployment bag and the ropes stowed per team SOP. Many prefer the good old kit bag (weighted). The key is no tangled ropes or a big bag of knots! If using a helicopter with skids, ensure the rope deployment bag is not dropped or thrown between the skids! When throwing out the rappel rope deployment bags, remember the patrol leader always goes first! Rope deployment depends on which door the patrol leader is in. Assuming he is in the right door, throw out the right forward D bag and left rear D bag first. Next, throw out the left front and right rear D bags. This prevents entanglements and greatly aids in helping to stabilize the helicopter. Atways use double ropes! If possible, use figure eight descenders as they are a great aid when conducting rappel operations. This was an item | wish we had in Vietnam, Rappellers must wear proper gloves. In Vietnam, we would wear wool glove inserts inside the work glove. Some would wear aviator gloves with work gloves over them. Another technique was to put moleskin on the palms of your hands, then wear glove inserts with work gloves over them. Some would take the Army issue black glove and have rough cowhide or other animal hide sewn on the palm of the glove. Today the soldiers have access to gloves made out of Kevlar, fireproof or flame-retardant material, double wrapped palms that are great for rappelling and fast roping as wellas holding a hot weapon. A good pair of gloves can cost over $80.00. Carabiners/snap links are often an under-inspected piece of life support equipment. This is the one item that generally keeps the rappeller at- tached to the rope. If possible. it is preferred you use one with a locking gate. You must check the opening gate every time, especially the littlepin that is in there before using it. | have seen several opening gates fly off during rappelling operations. Many individuals like to purchase the cheaper high-speed aluminum ones that fall apart under extreme heat, There is nothing wrong with the standard-issue snap link except it does not have a locking gate, and you must camouflage the snap link. Usu- ally, spray paint works very well. Some units already have top-of-the-line lightweight alloy snap links that will not burn through, Surplus stores will try to push the cheap, low-grade aluminum ones on you, but they are not the ones entrusting their lives to them! It is strongly discouraged for rappellers to wear NVGs during descent. While in or on the helicopter, the rappeller maintains eye-eye contact with the safety and takes commands from him and only him Patrol members must learn to brake every 25-30 feet and keep eye con- tact with the ground and not look up at the aircraft. The safety always ensures the rappellers are off the ropes before giving the go-ahead to the pilots to leave. ALL team members must be trained to do a brake and execute an emergency "LOCK IN" or "TIE OFF" if the helicopter takes off with you still attached to the ropes. Always coordinate with the pilots/crew chief to retrieve the ropes or cut them. If possible, always have the crew retrieve the ropes. If the ropes are cut, this is just another problem for the team as they will have to dispose of the ropes. Fast Rope/ FRIES — Like rappelling, you only need a tiny opening to insert a team or patrol The most significant advantage is you can put several troops on the ground in a brief time. Another significant advantage is that you can use this system to extract teams/patrols out of a minimal area, and once hooked in, there is very little danger of falling off if wounded. Fast roping is far more hazardous than troop ladders or rappelling as the only thing keeping you on the rope are your hands, knees, and feet. You must ensure when you reach for the rope that you grab hold and do not miss the rope even if the bird banks, lurches, hits an updraft, or gets hit by enemy fire. People sometimes do miss the rope. a. Asignificant disadvantage is this system/method is not suitable for heavy equipment. Itis recommended that you only carry 40-60 pounds of gear. Another significant disadvantage is if you are hit by smallarms fire during insertion, you usually will fall off the rope, Another disadvantage is severe rope burns if not wearing proper glove protection. An advantage is this is a straightforward method that does not require doughnut rings, special rigging, or special knots. Patrol members will need extensive training to use this method of inser tion safely. 23The ropes have to be inspected for excessive wear, frays, dry rot, or breaks in the rope The ropes are relatively heavy and, as such, do not need weights or weighted bags. Ropes, however, must be neatly coiled ready to throw. You need suitable gloves to protect your hands from severe burns and blisters. Use the same criteria used with rappelling, As in rappelling, never trust Radar, pilots, crew chiefs, or door gunners to tell you when to go. That is the job of the safety. You will need a safety who knows what he is doing. The safety and NOT the pilots/crew chief or radar will decide when the ropes are touching the ground. As with rappelling, attach chem-lights to the running ends of the Fast Rope and also at intervals on the rope so the patrol members can see the rope and its angle to the ground. The safety must wear a headset to maintain communications with crew chief and pilot. Some units will tell you to only have one man on a fast rope at a time, but this defeats the whole purpose of using fast ropes (speed). After the first man or men on the fast ropes start their descent, count to four and send the next two down (assuming you are using two ropes). This usually eliminates pile-ups, especially during night operations. It has become common practice to drop the fast ropes after insertion so helicopters can make a quick getaway. It is strongly advised to have the aircrew retrieve the ropes as it will be time-consuming to bury the ropes, and the ropes may be needed for another mission, SAFETY TIP: If signaling helicopters for emergency resupply or night extraction. once the aircraft is locked in on your location, turn off your infrared strobe light if used, It will play heltwith the pilots’ vision because it is so bright it will often WHITE OUT the crew's NVGs. Depending on security and the enemy situation, you can use a regular chem-light or an infrared chem-light on a string and use a twirling motion SPIES (Special Purpose | rtion and Extraction) — This is another system that requires very little space such as a bomb crater or a small opening in the jungle canopy, and may be used in rough terrain areas and on the water. a. 24 During night operations or periods of reduced visibility, you will typically pass signals from your location on the SPIE rope to the aircrew using chem lights Asignificant disadvantage is that you wear a special harness with a snap link hooked up to one of the D-rings spaced on the rope, There is a safety D-ring that will require a second attachment The patrol members hook up to the rope. Once all team members are hooked up, the senior or designated individual uses a hand and arm signal to let the aircrew know to lift off. The aircraft will move to a safe area and lower the team to the ground.If you come under fire during the extraction, it is recommended that you fire your weapon from the hip or underarm position and in a direction that will not endanger your fellow patrol members. If the patrol is being extracted from the water, the rope will have small flotation devices attached to keep the rope on top of the water. The patrol is going to have to swim to the rope and hook up. As the aircraft starts to lift the patrol, you may be dragged through the water. Rehearse/practice rolling over on to your back Asyouare pulled clear from the water, lower the muzzle of your weapon to allow water to drain from the barrel. Troop Ladders — suitable for water as well as land. They also have the advantage of needing a minimal area to use for insertion. a Ladders have a significant advantage as a means of extraction when you are in the shit as several team members can hook in and enjoy the ride Ifyou get hit by small arms fire, you will not fall off. Asin Fast Rope or Rappelling, the safety must have a headset to maintain communications with the pilot and crew chief The safety/Recovery NCO tells the pilot when the ladders are touch- ing the ground. Never let anyone else determine when the ladders are touching the ground! Ladders must be inspected for frays, cuts, broken or missing rungs, broken cables/ropes, (Rope Ladders for dry rot), and damage from smallarms fire. Ladders must be rolled straight and tight. The safety must ensure patrol members are clear of the ladder when the safety deploys the ladders Ensure the ladders are not deployed between the skids instead of over the skid A significant disadvantage is when you are using the full length of the troop ladder for insertion, it is the slowest means of insertion, especially with a heavy rucksack. Unless you fall off, then it is the fastest means of insertion in the world, and you beat everyone to the ground In Vietnam, we learned to have the rucksack lowered by rope alongside the ladder, and ifwe had to come back up the ladder or hook in, then the rucksacks could quickly be pulled back inside of the bird. If insertion was no problem as we stepped off the ladder, we unhooked our rucksacks and continued with the mission, Another disadvantage is that the aircraft cannot fly as low and use NOE or low-level flight Another disadvantage is airspeed and maneuverability are reduced. When ascending or descending the ladder, it should be straddled from either side instead of climbing down in the middle. IT IS NOT a painter's ladder or stepladder! When ascending or descending troop ladders al- ways have your Swiss seat rope secured under your arms with snap link hooked, so if you become fatigued or start losing your grip, you can hook in. 25When using troop ladders, have a rappel rope or similar type rope that runs the entire length of the ladder or two ropes running down the whole length of both sides of the ladder so it can be pulled back up to the helicopter. Be careful when you try to add length to troop ladders so you have go- 100 feet of ladder. If using a Huey or Blackhawk, the ladder when rolled up will not fit in the bird as it is too long or too large when rolled up. The Jacob's Ladder is like the fast rope as the only thing keeping you on the ladder are your hands and feet as you have no special harness. Also, ‘only two personnel on the ladder at a time. Remember, if doing a water extraction, you and your equipment will be water-logged, which adds additional weight that you must climb with, and your hands can be slick from the water. The adage “hang on for your life” holds very true here. McGuire Rig — This is a last resort, save your ass means of extraction. The ad- vantage of this system is you can come out on strings from almost anywhere. The second advantage is that there is nothing high-tech to this method. It does not get any simpler than this. a 26 A significant disadvantage is you tend to twirl, spin, or start oscillating, To cut down on oscillation, place both arms out to try to reduce oscilla- tion. If there are two to three of you, the outside men place their outer arms out, and everyone else grabs hold of each other's harness or use snap link to snap into middle man's harness or link arms so if one rope gets shot through or breaks, you can still hold onto each other and not fall to your death. Other disadvantages are reduced speed, reduced maneuverability, and a higher than usual nap-of-the-earth flight You need to check everything that is made of rope for the usual frays, dry rot, burns, breaks, etc. WARNING—If one strand of rope becomes frayed or broken. remember that strand of rope extends the entire length of the rope, and the whole rope must be replaced, Ensure you check the A-7 strap as well. Keep in mind the ropes have a 20% stretch factor before they became unsafe. This creates a problem when you replace one of the ropes with a new rope because now you have one shorter rope. In Vietnam. we would take the new rope and use a low tech method to stretch the new rope. Tie it to the bumpers of two jeeps or trucks and slowly stretch the new rope to the same length as the older ropes Always try to lock your arms or snap into each other because you may have one man who looks like the Incredible Hulk and weighs 220 pounds, while the second man may weigh 165 pounds while the third man is built like a marathon runner. The result will be you are all hanging from different heights. Never let the ropes rub or go on the floor without the edges being padded.The safety must be able to see the rig at all times and watch the team members toa safe touchdown area, which should be as soon as possible. Some units added modifications to the McGuire rig, such as having D-rings or snap links added to the bottom of the seat to attach rucksacks. You usually just hooked the rucksack with a snap link around the A-7 cargo strap. Units made modifications as they needed them. There are several methods/modifications or techniques that teams/ patrols have used to come out on strings. This is just an example of one. A sandbag was tied to the 15-foot loop of a cargo strap with a snap link through the knot in the middle of the loop, Then the folks being extract- ed must hook their rucksacks into the bottom D-Ring of the saddle or around the A-7 Cargo strap. Usually, three rigs were dropped at once, with the center rig having a snap link attached to it. When all three saddles have team members in them, they are snapped together by the snap link attached to the middle harness. When you snap the rigs together, this keeps all three team members at the same height or level and aids greatly in preventing a man from falling off. Look at the McGuire rig as a playground swing, You sit in the seat and adjust the strap. There is a wrist loop for the left hand; ensure you get your hand through the wrist. loop. Then ensure you attach your weapon with the snap link over the carrying handle to the right side of your harness, Many patrol members preferred to wear Swiss seats and snapped into the line instead of just counting on the wrist loop to keep them in the rig. Another disadvantage is that many times people being extracted failed to get their snap link hooked in, or their hand in the wrist loop so when the helicopter takes off the person is left trying to hang on with his hands to keep from falling out of the rig and may wind up hanging upside down. Think of a time when you sat fora long time in a swing trying to sit upright with your weapon, LBE, possibly wounded and exhausted from trying to evade trackers. Men have fallen to their death and never been found. Another hazard with the rig is many an individual has been dragged through the jungle canopy and killed slamming into trees or become tangled. If it is necessary to save the bird in case of entanglement in the trees or loss of power, the recovery NCO/Safety will cut you loose. This is why the safety/Recovery NCO has to maintain visual contact at all times and warns the pilots of any obstacles or a patrol member is hanging upside down. The problem is that you are hanging 100 to 120 feet below the helicopter, and the pilots are flying between 100 and 120 knots and from their seats do not see any problems Often these types of extractions are done at night, so team members should be instructed to turn on their strobe light Asignificant disadvantage is it is challenging to place effective fire on the enemy during extraction because you can only use one hand. 27It is also challenging to get a wounded or unconscious man into a Mc- Guire rig, A good thing is you are not wearing these rigs on patrol, and if needed, they are dropped to you TIP: You will need to have the ropes stowed, and this can be done by using a modified M-1950 weapons container/Griswold weapons/equip- ment container or any container that you have that the riggers modify. Whichever system you use, it must serve three critical functions 1, To protect the ropes from any sharp edges, especially the outer edges of the floor. 2, To preserve the ropes if accidentally walked on 3. To prevent the ropes from getting tangled, fouled, or becoming a massive bunch of knots when thrown out of the aircraft NOTE: Standard length of most troop ladders is approximately 30 feet, with some rope ladders being forty feet STABO Harness — This is another one of the last resort, save your ass methods that will leave you promising yourself you will always fly first class from now on! Same advantage as McGuire rig in that you can come out anywhere to include going straight up through wooded area or jungle canopy. The same safety checks apply to STABO, but instead of just checking ropes, you are checking the harness, D-rings, and straps a 28 Asignificant advantage is STABO is it is much safer to use and there is very little danger of ever falling out of the harness, even if severely wounded big plus is that it is far more comfortable, and you can fire your weapon using both hands. The same disadvantage of the McGuire rig as far as spinning and oscil- lation go and the same procedures to try overcoming this. Other disadvantages are reduced speed, reduced maneuverability, and higher than normal NOE. Asin the McGuire rig, you need to have the edges of the floor well-padded and ropes double-checked for dry rot, frays, bums, breaks, cuts, etc Be aware STABO harnesses come in small, medium, and large sizes and plan for this. Ensure your leg straps are correctly adjusted and no portion of your sex equipment is under either leg strap, or be prepared for the worst pain in your life with the possibility of fatherhood significantly diminished. Again, the safety needs to maintain constant visual contact with extracted members at all times as people on STABO rigs have been dragged to death It is recommended that personnel on STABO should be landed at the earliest possible safe areaJj. If extraction occurs during the periods of reduced visibility, then patrol members who are being extracted at night need to remember to turn on their strobe lights. Remember, you are hanging 100 to 120 feet under the helicopter. k. The STABO harness was not set up well for use as a replacement for the LBE/LCE, The rig was relatively heavy, did not wear well under a ruck- sack, and you had to have your leg straps rolled up out of the way until needed. You did not have as much space to place things on the pistol belt, and it usually seemed like the rig would lean toward one side if the gear was not carefully balanced \_ Thighly recommend you keep one or two weighted kit bags in the aircraft during insertion and extractions in case you have to bring out aircrew from a downed aircraft or EPWs are snatched during the mission. This saved a few aircrews during Vietnam, but if bringing out an EPW, make sure you have a team member on each side of him, or he may try to unhook himself and fall to his death. The same goes if you have an EPW inside the aircraft. In Vietnam, it was not uncommon to have one jump out of the aircraft. This is considered a HANO jump. (High altitude no opening) m. Another advantage of bringing an aircrew out on strings is the aircrew gains a great deal of insight, understanding, and respect for extractions that require bringing out patrols on strings. Emergency Extraction by Swiss Seat — You are really in the cheap seats on this one, and this will be unlike any amusement park ride you have been on. You will need two snap links and two Swiss seats. The first one is put on as if rappelling with the snap link, and the other is worn underneath your armpits with a snap link. When the bags with ropes are dropped there usually would be a loop to hook your snap link from your waist into, and there would be another loop somewhere around chest high to hook the snap link from the rope under your armpits into, Your rucksack is still worn on your back and it is a matter of life or death that you hook into the top loop as well! Team members have forgotten to hook into the top loop and the bird takes off and it becomes impossible to hook in. Now you are trying to stay upright by holding onto the rope with your hands to prevent falling over backward. If it is only a five- to eight-minute flight, you might be able to hang on, but after that, you cannot even bend over to kiss your ass goodbye. Next, you will fall over backward or upside down and you will start to slide out of your Swiss seat and you can watch your Swiss seat slide over your waist and down your legs. Your gear starts to slide over your neck and if the bird does not land quickly, you fall to your death unless you are close to touching down, NOTE: If inserting by fast rope, troop ladder, Jacob's ladder. or rappelling. DO NOT HOVER high in the ait! Have the pilots hover just above the treetops or jungle canopy. This makes it very alfficult for the enemy to see the helicopter and cuts down on time on the ladders or ropes. When we used this technique in Vietnam, the skids of the helicopter were usually 10-15 feet above the treetops. 29{n Vietnam, we found out that it was a good idea to dual rig the helicopters for rappelling when doing troop ladders. Many times the ladders were too short, and the jungle canopy was too high, so we had to be prepared to switch to rappel op- erations. Today this happens when using the FRIES/Fast rope system. The Fries system winds up being too short in the high jungle canopy so you must switch over to rappel operations. NOTE: Anytime you can duat rig, do it, whether it is ladidlers, STABO, McGuire Rig, or FRIES. It should also be kept in mind that the enemy is quite familiar with the helicopter tactics that have been employed over many years. It is incumbent upon everyone concerned to use imagination and ingenuity in adapting the described techniques to their situations. In all cases, avoid setting a pattern for the enemy to detect INSERTION BY HELICOPTER General Considerations: A standardized routine of insertion procedures should be avoided, This applies to the time of insertion, flight formations, VRs before insertion, LZ preparation, and employment of gunships. The general routine which has been established in the past is now well-known by the enemy with the result that they have formulated effective counter-tactics to be initiated whenever they sense or guess this routine taking place. Try to vary all insertion methods whenever possible! Always load aircraft in reverse order, so personnel getting off last load first. As in extraction/exfiltration, ensure every man knows the order in which he boards the aircraft, where he sits, and his actions in the aircraft and actions upon debarkation. Try to have each team member seated so they can exit the proper door. NOTE: When inserting by rotary-wing aircraft, always be prepared not to land regardless of the insertion plan! Always be prepared to hang from skids or jump offat a low hover or use a short 10-12 foot section of the troop ladder, regardless of plan. TIP: The patrol leader is responsible for following the flight route from pick-up point to insertion LZ with their 150,000 map and ensure they are landing in the right location, Itis NOT the responsibility of the pilot! If the pilot has to take evasive action, make sure you get with pilots and get reoriented again Time of Insertion. The weather, friendly and enemy situation will often dictate the actual time of insertion, but in general, two times should be avoided. These are the afternoon "POK’ time and absolute last light. “POK" Time or “PAC’ time (Vietnamese Siesta when the enemy rested from the midday heat from around noon until one or two o'clock.) Many other countries employ this same practice also. This time should be avoided because no one moves during this period except Americans and some of our Allies. So a team moving away from an LZ or moving in the jungle 30is certainly to be determined to be American, Absolute last light does have the advantage of providing additional cover and security for the insertion, but it has the significant disadvantage of not allowing the team sufficient daylight to move very far from the LZ and establish a good LUP/RON site. This puts the team/patrol in a very precarious position if the enemy has determined the location of the LZ. Additionally. if the LZ has turned out to be a hot LZ that the team must call for an immediate extraction, there should be enough time left so TAC air and gunships can better identify targets, and the extraction can occur during daylight hours. Consider night insertions, which have the advantage of making the helicopters and crews less vulnerable to enemy ground fire and make it much harder for the enemy to locate the team's insertion LZ. Night insertions also have some disad- vantages. First, aircrews require a much higher state of training and mental aware- ness, Usually, you will have to use larger LZs. Multiple ship insertions on one LZ become more difficult at night. From the team’s standpoint, assembly, orientation, and movement are difficult. If the enemy does succeed in locating the LZ, then the team/patrol may have to run/evade alll night or attempt a problematic night extraction often under fire. Helicopter Resources: The composition of the helicopter insertion team is usually as follows — one to four helicopters to carry the team (depending on the size of the patrol) and the factors mentioned in para 4.2 above. You should always have one recovery helicopter with a medic on board to be used if one of the other helicopters goes down. You should have a command and control helicopter from which the insertion can be directed In some operations instead of using a helicopter for the Command and Control bird, a FAC (Forward Air Control fixed-wing aircraft) will be used. If possible, you want one or two fire teams (two or four armed helicopters). NOTE: The composition of this team is often a matter of SOP of the supporting aviation unit and cannot be changed by the patrol leader, This example is only one type of composition or configuration that may be employed. Although you cannot change the aviation unit's SOP, you should coordinate with the unit and flight leader to see what configuration they plan to use and why. Sometimes you will have two FACs flying support of the mission, one to direct air strikes if needed and one to direct artillery if you are in range for artillery. You want two Fast Movers (TAC Air) flying cover for the insertions. WARNING: All types of aircraft are at a premium in a war zone. If another recon team, patrol, or conventional unit is heavily engaged, some of your air support may have to be diverted to help or keep them from being overrun 31