MCWP-3-11.3-Scouting-and-Patrolling

3-2 ______________________________________________________________________________________________ MCWP 3-11.3The direction of travel can be determined by the waytracks pass across ruts, by impressions on the edges ofholes in the ground, how water is splashed frompuddles, or by the way grass, twigs, and branches arebent; for example—l A vehicle (wheeled or tracked) entering a rut pushesdirt into the rut and leaves an indentation on the exitside of the rut.l A wheel going over holes in the ground leaves adeeper impression on the edge toward the directionof travel.l The side of a puddle with the greater splashindicates the direction of travel of the vehicle.l When traveling cross-country, the direction inwhich grass is bent and/or twigs, branches, andbushes are broken indicates direction of travel.A general rate of speed can be estimated by theamount of water or mud splattered. A fast-movingvehicle will throw larger amounts of water or mud agreater distance to the front and sides than a slowmovingvehicle, and it leaves a deeper impression onthe exit edges of holes. The faster the travel, thedeeper the impression.3003. KNOWING THE ENEMYA scout should learn as much as possible about enemypsychology, habits, organization, and tactics. Themore knowledge gained about the enemy, particularlythe enemy’s normal security measures, the better thescout’s chances are to observe and obtain accurateinformation with minimum risk to the mission’ssuccess. Scouts gain much of this knowledge throughexperience, but they also gain a great deal of theirpreliminary information, particularly that pertaining toenemy organization and tactics, during training andmay be updated by unit commanders and intelligenceofficers.