Infantry Rifle Platoon and Squad - Sakai

Fundamentals of Tactics
1-228. The ultimate goal of security operations is to protect the force from surprise and reduce the
unknowns in any situation. Leaders employ security to the front, flanks, or rear of their force. The main
difference between security and reconnaissance operations is that security operations orient on the force or
facility being protected, while reconnaissance is enemy and terrain oriented. Security operations are
shaping operations.
Troop Movement
1-229. Troop movement is the movement of troops from one place to another by any available means
(FM 1-02). Troops move by foot, motor, rail, water, and air. There are three types of troop movement, with
corresponding levels of security based on the presence of the enemy: administrative movement; road
march; and approach march. (See Chapter 4.)
1-230. Successful movement places troops and equipment at their destination at the proper time, ready for
combat. Commanders use various forms of troop movement to concentrate and disperse their forces for
both decisive and shaping operations. Therefore, leaders and their Soldiers need to be familiar with all of
the methods and types of troop movements and their roles within them.
Relief in Place
1-231. A relief in place (RIP) is an operation in which all or part of a unit is replaced in an area by the
incoming unit. The responsibilities of the replaced elements for the mission and the assigned zone of
operations are transferred to the incoming unit. The incoming unit continues the operation as ordered (FM
1-02).
Passage of Lines
1-232. A passage of lines is a tactical enabling operation in which one unit moves through another unit’s
positions with the intent of moving into or out of enemy contact (FM 1-02). Infantry platoons and squads
perform roles as either the moving or stationary unit.
Combined Arms Breach
1-233. Combined arms breach operations are conducted to allow maneuver, despite the presence of
obstacles. Breaching is a synchronized combined arms operation under the control of the maneuver
commander. Breaching operations begin when friendly forces detect an obstacle and begin to apply the
breaching fundamentals. However, they end when battle handover has occurred between follow-on forces
and the unit conducting the breaching operation (FM 1-02).
SECTION VIII — SITUATION
1-234. Every military situation is unique and must be solved on its own merits. To better equip leaders to
solve tactical problems, this section discusses some of the background issues that directly or indirectly
affect Infantry platoons and squads. They are—
• The human dimension.
• The laws of war.
• The operational environment.
HUMAN DIMENSION
“Were we able to examine all battles through a military microscope, it is probable that we
would almost always find the small seed of victory sowed by a determined leader and a
handful of determined men.”
Infantry in Battle, 1939
1-235. One of the toughest challenges faced by Infantry platoons is the need to reconcile the necessary
orderliness of doctrine and training with a disorderly battlefield. The human dimension of “Army life” in
28 March 2007 FM 3-21.8 1-43