the things worth believing in

Found this Hooah site:

FM 7-21.13 – The Soldier’s Guide, dated 15 OCT 2003

Paragraph 4-27, Traditions, states:

“Hooah!” This informal but always understood sound is less a word than an audible affirmation of the warrior ethos. The soldier that utters that sound understands his task and will not quit until it is completed. That sound means soldiers are ready and willing to accomplish the mission at hand.

Your Family Might Be too HOOAH If…

• All your possessions are military issue.
• Your kids recite their ABC’s phonetically.
• Your kids call their sandbox “NTC”.
• You have pull-up bars outside the kitchen door.
• Your daughter’s first haircut was a flattop.
• Your kids pull fireguard.
• Your newborn’s first words were “all OK Jumpmaster”.
• You always back into parking spaces.
• You have to look up your parents phone number, but can dial the CQ, SDNCO, company, battalion, and brigade with no problem at all.
• Each page of your vacation atlas has two routes marked.
• Your kids call the tooth fairy “Slicky Boy”.
• Your son fails the third grade, but tells everyone he was a “phase three recycle”.
• Your favorite author is Mike Malone or Tom Clancy.
• When your kids are too noisy, you yell “at ease!”
• You don’t own any blue ink pens.
• Your leave always occurs during the last week of September.
• Your wife’s “high-n-tight” is more squared away than your Commander’s.
• You keep a box of MREs at home and in the trunk of your car in case of emergencies.
• When talking to relatives by phone, you end the conversation with “out here.”
• You & your kids refer to your spouse as “Household 6″ or “CINC House.”
• You’ve seen Patton enough times to memorize his speech.
• You call the Post Locator instead of Information to find your friends.
• You take the family camping with no tent or sleeping bags.
• The only time you and the spouse eat without the kids is at the unit “dining out.”
• Your kids can speak three languages by age eight.
• The only suit you own is your Class A uniform.
• You carry your cell phone to the shower.
• Your vehicle is registered on post and in two different states.
• You convince your spouse that all ten of your guns are necessary for home protection.
• You have more money invested in TA-50 than in your car.
• You tell your kids to go to bed at 2100 and they try to explain that it’s only nine o’clock .
• No one understands the stories you tell because of all the acronyms.
• You can explain the Gettysburg battlefield better than directions to your house.
• Your kids know the words to “she wore a yellow ribbon.”
• Your two-year old calls everyone in BDUs “daddy”.
• The phone book lists your rank instead of Mr.
• Your spouse hasn’t unpacked the good china for twenty years.
• You ruin the movie for everyone around you by pointing out the unrealistic military scenes.
• You live on post so you can hear reveille every morning.
• Your family calls you “Sir.”
• All your jokes begin with “there was this soldier, a marine and an airman…”
• You feel compelled to get a haircut every three days.
• All of your shoes are military style, except for one pair and that pair is your running shoes.
• You are convinced that coffee is a nutrient.
• Your home town is convinced that you are a foreigner.
• Your first impressions of civilians are that they all need haircuts.
• All of your underwear is colored OD Green, Brown, or White.
• Civilians exercise and you conduct PT.
• You only wear those dorky military glasses or the geeky aviation glasses.
• Your kids categorize other kids as either military brats or civilian slugs.
• You answer your phone at home by explaining that the line is unsecure.
• Your spouse owns several military cookbooks published by family support groups.
• Half of the mementos in your house are from Korea or Germany .
• Your newborn must attend the newcomers’ orientation briefing within the first 30 days of life.
• Your wife’s two favorite shades of lipstick are light green and loam.
• You go to a barbecue and insist that your family feed tactically.
• You make your children clear housing before they go off to college.
• You require your mechanic to replace the sandbags on your floorboards as part of a tune-up.
• Your POV is equipped with blackout lights.
• Your kids volunteer to pull air guard on the school bus.
• Your doorbell sounds off with the current challenge and password.
• You have sector sketches and range cards posted by every window in your house.
• You give the command “Fix Bayonets” at Thanksgiving Dinner.
• Your kids show their meal cards at the kitchen door, except the oldest, who is on separate rations, and must pay for the meal.
• You make your daughter sign out on pass on Prom Night.
• Your kindergartner calls recess a “smoke break.”
• Your wife takes a “knee” in the checkout line at the supermarket.
• You do your “back to school” shopping at the U.S. Cavalry Store.
• Your kids salute their grandparents.
• Your kids get an LES with their allowance.
• Your grandmother won “All American Week” and “Best Ranger”.
• Your kids initials are AR, FM, TM, or DA.
• Your POV has your name stenciled on the windshield.
• Your kids are hand-receipt holders.
• Your older kids call the youngest one “Cherry.”
• Your wife keeps Mermites in the china cabinet.
• Your wife left you and you held a “Change of Command” ceremony.
• You call your in-laws the “Slice Elements.”
• Your dog’s name is “Scout” or “Ranger.”
• You decorate your Christmas Tree with Stetsons, sabers, and spurs.
• You’ve given your children monthly counselings or an Article 15.
• You cut your own high and tight.
• Refer to every question with “let me check the reg.”
• If you always reply back with “Roger.”
• If your home library consists of FM’s and AR’s.
• YOU CANT SAY MORE THAN 5-7 WORDS ON THE PHONE WITHOUT SAYING “BREAK”

Another good find from Spartan Cops.

Go over to my brother in blue’s site SpartanCops and check out his post on scenario training and the OODA loop.

He links to this video that shows what is called the “hooded box drill”.

I have done this drill at my PD and it is a great tool. Go read Spartan’s post for more  info.

Musashi said:

Waiting is bad. Always quickly re-assume your attitudes to both sides, cut the enemies down as they advance, crushing them in the direction from which they attack. Whatever you do, you must drive the enemy together, as if tying a line of fishes, and when they are seen to be piled up, cut them down strongly without giving them room to move.

The idea here is simple and is almost identical to the military term Enfilade.

A formation or position is “in enfilade” if weapons fire can be directed along its longest axis. For instance, a trench is enfiladed if the opponent can fire down the length of the trench. A column of marching troops is enfiladed if fired on from the front or rear such that the projectiles travel the length of the column. A rank or line of advancing troops is enfiladed if fired on from the side (flank).

The benefit of enfilading an enemy formation is that, by firing along the long axis, it is easier to hit individual troops within that formation. Adjusting the elevation of the weapon merely directs the fire to a different point along the axis of the formation, although traversing the weapon is more likely to result in a miss. Enfilade fire takes advantage of the fact that aiming at a target is easier than correctly estimating the range to avoid shooting too long or short. Finally, projectiles that miss an intended target are more likely to hit a different target within the formation if firing along the long axis.

To “dumb it down” for you. What this means is that it’s not ideal when your enemies are spread out so that you have to direct fire at each one in turn. If they are, you will have to “traverse”, better known as moving from left to right (or vice versa), to shoot at the other targets. If you miss nobody else in the enemy formation is going to be too concerned and ss you are shooting at one all the rest are able to maneuver, find cover, and shoot back at you.

If you are lucky and the enemy is lined up “enfilade” to you things are tilted in your favor. If you miss your target, or have a weapon with enough juice to punch clean through, there may be another unlucky sap over there that you will hit. All you have to do to engage this cluster of enemy is change the “elevation” (move your sights up or down) of your fire.

An idea to toss around in your head is exactly how you can catch the enemy in this situation.

You may just be lucky and catch them napping, you could “channel” your opponents by placing obstacles like wire or minefields, or you can take advantage of positioning yourself so that features like trenches, streets, hallways and other features that “line em up” can do the work for you.

Conversely, remember that THEY are looking to this exact same thing to YOU!

Follow the link to YouTube for the remainder of the episodes.

Coffee City Texas.

MURPHY’S LAWS OF COMBAT OPERATIONS
1. Friendly fire – isn’t.
2. Recoilless rifles – aren’t.
3. Suppressive fires – won’t.
4. You are not Superman; Marines and fighter pilots take note.
5. A sucking chest wound is Nature’s way of telling you to slow down.
6. If it’s stupid but it works, it isn’t stupid.
7. Try to look unimportant; the enemy may be low on ammo and not want to waste a bullet on you.
8. If at first you don’t succeed, call in an airstrike.
9. If you are forward of your position, your artillery will fall short.
10. Never share a foxhole with anyone braver than yourself.
11. Never go to bed with anyone crazier than yourself.
12. Never forget that your weapon was made by the lowest bidder.
13. If your attack is going really well, it’s an ambush.
14. The enemy diversion you’re ignoring is their main attack.
15. The enemy invariably attacks on two occasions:
– when they’re ready.
– when you’re not.
16. No OPLAN ever survives initial contact.
17. There is no such thing as a perfect plan.
18. Five second fuzes always burn three seconds.
19. There is no such thing as an atheist in a foxhole.
20. A retreating enemy is probably just falling back and regrouping.
21. The important things are always simple; the simple are always hard.
22. The easy way is always mined.
23. Teamwork is essential; it gives the enemy other people to shoot at.
24. Don’t look conspicuous; it draws fire. (For this reason, it is not at all uncommon for aircraft carriers to be known as bomb magnets.)
25. Never draw fire; it irritates everyone around you.
26. If you are short of everything but the enemy, you are in the combat zone.
27. When you have secured the area, make sure the enemy knows it too.
28. Incoming fire has the right of way.
29. No combat ready unit has ever passed inspection.
30. No inspection ready unit has ever passed combat.
31. If the enemy is within range, so are you.
32. The only thing more accurate than incoming enemy fire is incoming friendly fire.
33. Things which must be shipped together as a set, aren’t.
34. Things that must work together, can’t be carried to the field that way.
35. Radios will fail as soon as you need fire support. Corollary: Radar tends to fail at night and in bad weather, and especially during both.
36. Anything you do can get you killed, including nothing.
37. Make it too tough for the enemy to get in, and you won’t be able to get out.
38. Tracers work both ways.
39. If you take more than your fair share of objectives, you will get more than your fair share of objectives to take.
40. When both sides are convinced they’re about to lose, they’re both right.
41. Professional soldiers are predictable; the world is full of dangerous amateurs.
43. Military Intelligence is a contradiction.
44. Fortify your front; you’ll get your rear shot up.
46. Weather ain’t neutral.
47. If you can’t remember, the Claymore is pointed towards you.
48. Air defense motto: shoot ‘em down; sort ‘em out on the ground.
49. ‘Flies high, it dies; low and slow, it’ll go.
50. The Cavalry doesn’t always come to the rescue. (more…)

How to cross the street.

Sometimes your team may have to cross a danger area like a street or yard. If the distance is within a 3-5 second rush what you typically do NOT want to do is cross the area one person at a time.

The reason you don’t want to do that is because it alerts the bad guys that that you are there and gives them a clue that more are probably coming.

The bad guy knowing where you are is usually a bad thing….

There are a few better ways to solve this problem.

You can obscure the opponents vision with smoke, if you have it. You can distract him by having another nearby team pin him down with fire as you move. You can simply rush the entire team across the gap (put some space between you all…don’t bunch up). Or you can do as I have illustrated.

One man lays down some cover while the rest of the team moves across the danger area.

Once the team is across the danger area, one member provides immediate cover for the remaining member to cross over.

Hello. My names Tom and Im a Tolkien geek.

I have been a fan of Tolkien since I picked up a copy of the Hobbit at the local library when I was a grade schooler and have read the Trilogy every few years ever since. I even packed a copy to take with me on deployment. The scene above is one of my favorite parts. Theoden, an aging king is answering a call for aid from an ancestral ally. It is a battle he knows is hopeless. Drastically outnumbered, he goes anyway. This passage in the book has always spoken to me. It speaks of duty, honor, courage,  good vs evil and standing up for what is right against all odds.

The film of course took liberties with the original text and it wasn’t quite portrayed “the way I saw it in my imagination”, but I still get that hair prickling on the back of my neck feeling when I watch it.

Then suddenly Merry felt it at last, beyond doubt: a change. Wind was in his face! Light was glimmering. Far, far away, in the South the clouds could be dimly seen as remote grey shapes, rolling up, drifting: morning lay beyond them.

But at that same moment there was a flash, as if lightning had sprung from the earth beneath the City. For a searing second it stood dazzling far off in black and white, its topmost tower like a glittering needle; and then as the darkness closed again there came rolling over the fields a great boom.

At that sound the bent shape of the king sprang suddenly erect. Tall and proud he seemed again; and rising in his his stirrups he cried in a loud voice, more clear than any there had ever heard a mortal man achieve before:

Arise, arise, Riders of Théoden!
Fell deeds awake: fire and slaughter!
Spear shall be shaken, shield be splintered,
A sword-day, a red day, ere the sun rises!

Ride now, ride now! Ride to Gondor!

With that he seized a great horn from Guthláf his banner-bearer, and he blew such a blast upon it that it burst asunder. And straightaway all the horns in the host were lifted up in music, and the blowing of the horns of Rohan in that hour was like a storm upon the plain and a thunder in the mountains.

Ride now, ride now! Ride to Gondor!

Suddenly the king cried to Snowmane and the horse sprang away. Behind him his banner blew in the wind, white horse upon a field of green, but he outpaced it. After him thundered the knights of his house, but he was ever before them. Éomer rode there, the white horsetail on his helm floating in this speed, and the front of the first éored roared like a breaker foaming to the shore, but Théoden could not be overtaken. Fey he seemed, or the battle-fury of his fathers ran like new fire in his veins, and he was borne up on Snowmane like a god of old, even as Oromë the Great in the battle of the Valar when the world was young. His golden shield was uncovered, and lo! it shone like an image of the Sun, and the grass flamed into green about the white feet of his steed. For morning came, morning and a wind from the sea; and darkness was removed, and the host of Mordor wailed, and terror took them, and they fled, and died, and the hoofs of wrath rode over them. And then all the host of Rohan burst into song, and they sang as they slew, for the joy of battle was on them, and the sound of their singing that was fair and terrible came even to the City.

While most of my “preschool” has been oriented towards individual, fundamental and mostly “concrete” concepts; in this lesson we are going to take a little field trip into the realm of military tactical theory, namely the USMC’s doctrine of maneuver warfare. As you look at these concepts, do so with the mindest of translating them into your personal understanding of tactics.

Military Judgement

Military judgment is a skill gained through acquired wisdom and experience. When combined with situational awareness, military judgment allows one to see patterns, identify an opponents vulnerabilities and concentrate available combat power.

Understanding the Situation

For every situation, you must determine what pieces of information are reliable and important.

You have to get a clear picture of what is happening and how it will develop. You should be striving to see the situation as the enemy see it. In every situation, the commander must think of what actions will prove decisive. Pattern recognition is an important skill. Decisions must be made in dynamic situations of friction, uncertainty and danger. Sometimes there is time for analytical decision making, sometimes there is not. When you have time to plan, you should compare several courses of action and choose the best one. When engaged, the commander will have little time for analysis. Intuitive decision making is necessary to gain speed and momentum. Intuition is a developed skill based on experience, education and practice.

Leaders with situational awareness and broad experience can act intuitively.

Acting Decisively. When an opportunity arrives, it must be exploited fully and aggressively, committing every ounce of combat power and pushing your effort to the limit.

Critical Vulnerabilities. You must focus all available combat power on the enemy’s critical vulnerabilities in order to destroy some capacity that the enemy needs. Pit your strength against the enemies weakness’ at a time when he is not prepared. Your mindset should be one of committing the greatest damage to him at the least cost to you. Just because a target is vulnerable does not mean that it is worth attacking. Strike at vulnerabilities which will produce the greatest effect upon the enemy. Critical vulnerabilities may be hard to recognize and are different in each situation.

Shaping the Operating Area. Shaping includes planning fires, deception, objectives and routes of advance. Shaping activities can make the enemy vulnerable to attack, blunt his actions, or facilitate your own actions. Shaping forces the enemy to take courses of action which will lead him into a trap.

Main Effort. The main effort is where you center your combat power. The unit designated as the main effort has priority for whatever support is available. Other units must support that effort so that the whole force can succeed. The use of a main effort implies economy of force. Forces not in a position to directly support the main effort can be used in feints or distractions, or for security of rear areas. While there should always be a main effort, the situation may demand that it be shifted. As battle is unpredictable, another unit may make a breakthrough while the main effort is stalled. The successful unit should then be designated the main effort and receive whatever boost in combat power the original main effort had.

Boldness and Ruthlessness. Boldness refers to daring and aggressive behavior. You must desire and dare to “win big”. Ruthlessness refers to pursuing goals mercilessly. Once you have gained the advantage, you must exploit it and increase the pressure on the enemy.