Special Reconnaissance and Advanced Small Unit Patrolling

Special Reconnaissance and Advanced Small Unit Patrolling
Author: Edward Wolcoff
Publisher: Pen and Sword Military
Total Pages: 586
Release: 2021-08-30
Genre: History
ISBN: 1526779102

This comprehensive guide by a Special Ops combat veteran is the ultimate reference for military tactics, techniques, and procedures. Intended for military SpecialOps personnel, this volume presents invaluable operational guidance with lessons learned from the legendary Military Assistance Command Vietnam – Studies and Observations Group (MACV-SOG). Drawing on Special Reconnaissance operations conducted during the Vietnam Era, author Edward Wolcoff provides practical information alongside operational accounts and analyses of specific missions. Wolcoff covers the gamut of specialized SR topics ranging from operational planning and preparation, through execution, logistics and command and control – all in substantial tradecraft detail. Few of the tactics, techniques, and procedures or lessons-learned included in this book have been previously presented in a usable form for SpecOps personnel. This book is intended instruct the Special Operations units of today, and preserve this valuable tradecraft for future generations.

Special Operations

Special Operations
Author: Winston Clough
Publisher:
Total Pages: 247
Release: 2016
Genre: Combat patrols
ISBN: 9781940370088

Small Unit Actions

Small Unit Actions
Author: United States. War Department. General Staff
Publisher:
Total Pages: 240
Release: 1986
Genre: World War, 1939-1945
ISBN:

FM 31-20-5 Special Reconnaissance Tactics, Techniques and Procedures for Special Forces

FM 31-20-5 Special Reconnaissance Tactics, Techniques and Procedures for Special Forces
Author: Headquarters Department Of the Army
Publisher:
Total Pages: 232
Release: 2021-02-03
Genre:
ISBN:

Special Reconnaissance (SR) is defined as reconnaissance and surveillance actions conducted by Special Forces (SF) to obtain or verify, by visual observation or other collection methods, information concerning the capabilities, intentions, and activities of an actual or potential enemy or to secure data concerning the meteorologic, hydrographic, geographic, or demographic characteristics of a particular area. It includes target acquisition, area assessment, and poststrike reconnaissance.Field manual (FM) 31-20-5 provides the doctrinal basis for the conduct of SR missions across the operational continuum. It is a continuation of the doctrinal education process that begins with Joint Publication 3-05.5 and FMs 100-25 and 31-20. This manual provides information and guidance to SF commanders, staffs, and operational personnel at battalion and lower echelons (Special Forces operational detachments [SFODs] C, B, and A) in their conduct of SR.It is a general guide and does not eliminate the requirement for well-written, practiced, and mission-essential task list (METL)-driven standing operating procedures (SOPs). It was written under the assumption that the user understands the basic fundamentals of reconnaissance and surveillance operations. However, it expands on this basic information by providing a number of historical examples to highlight key points throughout the text as well as advanced tactics, techniques, procedures, and references to support future SF operations. Users of this FM should adapt its contents to meet the situation and knowledge and skill levels of the SFOD to be employed through the mission, enemy, terrain, troops, and time available (METT-T) analysis system.The chapters provide general SR mission procedures and information. This information is ordered chronologically from receipt of the unit mission letter through postmission activities. Examples of specific SR techniques and procedures are provided in the appendices. The order of the appendices follows the order they appear in the text. This organization permits the user of this FM to review the basics of SR mission performance from beginning to end without becoming embroiled in a mass of detail with which the user may be thoroughly familiar.For those users only interested in the details of specific techniques, the appendices provide reference material keyed to the generic activities in the text.

Special Operations Forces FM 3-18

Special Operations Forces FM 3-18
Author: United States United States Army Special Operations Command
Publisher: CreateSpace
Total Pages: 158
Release: 2014-05-01
Genre:
ISBN: 9781512095531

There has always been a romantic fascination with special operations forces (SOF). The idea of secret commandos or Rangers striking from the shadows surprising the enemy with overwhelming speed, violence of action, and cutting-edge technology appeals to America's image of highly trained, elite Soldiers. There is, however, another Soldier who fights from the shadows. This one is perhaps less known and far less understood. His real weapons are a deep understanding of terrain, the relationships built, and the influence developed to motivate and train others to take up the fight. These Soldiers are the U.S. Army SF, the "quiet professionals" whom history and popular culture often overlook. Designed to organize, train, and support indigenous personnel in behind-the-lines resistance activities, SF belongs to an organization unique in the Army's history. Founded at the Psychological Warfare Center at Fort Bragg in 1952 and based upon lessons learned and formation used in guerrilla warfare during World War II, its sole purpose was UW. The experience in Vietnam gave SF a second purpose: countering a subversive insurgency. This brief history identifies the precursors and major developments that created modern U.S. Army SF. FM 3-18 is the principal manual for Special Forces (SF) doctrine. It describes SF roles, missions, capabilities, organization, mission command, employment, and sustainment operations across the range of military operations. Topics include: The History of Special Forces-World War II, The Cold War, and Modern Special Forces The Role of Special Forces Special Forces Guidance and Principal Tasks The Organization of Special Forces-US Special Operations Command and the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School Employment of Special Forces-County Teams, Theater of Operations, and Training Programs Unconventional Warfare and Foreign Internal Defense

Fighting Techniques of the Medieval World

Fighting Techniques of the Medieval World
Author: Matthew Bennett
Publisher: Macmillan
Total Pages: 274
Release: 2006
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780312348205

Describes the fighting techniques of soldiers in Europe and the Near East in an age before the widespread use of gunpowder.

Fighting Skills of the SAS and Special Forces

Fighting Skills of the SAS and Special Forces
Author: Terry White
Publisher: Constable
Total Pages: 416
Release: 1998-03
Genre:
ISBN: 9781854876768

Written by a former member of the SAS, these are the secrets of one of the world's fiercest fighting units. Among the many SAS techniques explained here are: how to board an aircraft flying at 130 mph; how to enter a submerged submarine; how to mount ambushes; how to plan a raid on an enemy base and how to breach security around a building; how to free fall from 30,000 feet; how to set up a safe house; how to train a guerrilla army; how to avoid being tracked and how to storm places where hostages are held.

Uncommon Valor

Uncommon Valor
Author: Stephen Moore
Publisher: Naval Institute Press
Total Pages: 316
Release: 2018-10-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 1682473120

Uncommon Valor is a look into the formation and operation of an advanced Special Forces recon company during the Vietnam War. Code-named the Studies and Observations Group, SOG was the most covert U.S. military unit in its time and contained only volunteers from such elite units as the Army's Green Berets, Navy SEALs, and Air Force Air Commandos. SOG warriors operated in small teams, going behind enemy lines in Laos and Cambodia and along the Ho Chi Minh Trail, tasked with performing special reconnaissance, sabotaging North Vietnamese Army ammunition, attempting to rescue downed U.S. pilots, and other black ops missions. During that time, Forward Operating Base-2's (FOB-2's) recon company became the most highly decorated unit of the Vietnam War, with five of its men earning the Medal of Honor and eight earning the Distinguished Service Cross-America's second highest military award for valor. Purple Hearts were earned by SOG veterans at a pace unparalleled in American wars of the twentieth century, with casualties at times exceeding 100 percent. One, Bob Howard, was wounded on fourteen different occasions, received eight Purple Hearts, was written up after three different missions for the Medal of Honor, and emerged from Vietnam as the most highly decorated soldier since World War II's Audie Murphy.

Eyes Behind the Lines: US Army Long-Range Reconnaissance and Surveillance Units

Eyes Behind the Lines: US Army Long-Range Reconnaissance and Surveillance Units
Author: James F. Gebhardt
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
Total Pages: 187
Release: 2005
Genre: Military reconnaissance
ISBN: 1428916334

Eyes Behind the Lines: US Army Long-Range Reconnaissance and Surveillance Units is the 10th study in the Combat Studies Institute (CSI) Global War on Terrorism (GWOT) Occasional Paper series. This work is an outgrowth of concerns identified by the authors of On Point: The United States Army in Operation IRAQI FREEDOM. Specifically, these authors called into question the use of long-range surveillance (LRS) assets by commanders during that campaign and suggested an assessment ought to be made about their continuing utility and means of employment. This revision contains some important additional information the author received after this book was originally published Major (Retired) James Gebhardt, of CSI, researched and wrote this Occasional Paper with that end in view. In this study, Gebhardt surveys the US Army s historical experience with LRRP and LRS units from the 1960s Cold War and Vietnam War, through their resurgence in the 1980s and use in Operations JUST CAUSE and DESERT STORM, to the advent of the GWOT. The paper's analytical framework examines each era of LRS units in terms of doctrine, organization, training, materiel, leadership, and personnel. In doing so, the author makes a strong case for continuing the LRS capability in the Army s force structure. The variety of environments and enemies likely to be faced by the military in the GWOT continues to demand the unique human intelligence abilities of trained and organized LRS units. As the Army leads the Armed Forces of the United States in combating terrorists where they live, the lessons found in this survey remain timely and relevant.

(SUTS3) the Small Unit Tactics SMARTbook, 3rd Ed

(SUTS3) the Small Unit Tactics SMARTbook, 3rd Ed
Author: Christopher Larsen
Publisher:
Total Pages: 344
Release: 2019
Genre:
ISBN: 9781935886778

SUTS3 is the third revised edition of The Small Unit Tactics SMARTbook, completely updated for 2019 to include ADP 3-90 Offense and Defense (Aug `18); FM 3-0 Operations (Oct `17), FMs 3-90-1 & -2 (May `13), ATP 3-21.8 Infantry Platoon and Squad (Apr `16), ATP 3-21.10 Infantry Rifle Company (May `18), TC 3-21-76 The Ranger Handbook (Apr `17), and the latest versions of more than 20 additional references. SUTS3 chapters and topics include tactical fundamentals, the offense, the defense, stability and counterinsurgency operations, tactical enabling tasks (security, reconnaissance, relief in place, passage of lines, encirclement, and troop movement), special purpose attacks (ambush, raid, counterattack, spoiling attack, demonstrations, and feint ), urban and regional environments (urban, fortified areas, desert, cold region, mountain, and jungle operations), patrols and patrolling.