Lesson-7-scouting-and-patrolling

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Scouting is done by small numbers of troops (typically two members of a rifle squad) and isgenerally limited to the immediate front of the sending unit. Scouts may move down a road tolook for enemy activity, or move to a higher observation point to observe. Sometimes they simplyform a point element ahead of the lead unit in a column. But they are there to discover and reporton the enemy within a limited area; if they get into a fight their mission is compromised.Patrols are detachments from a unit, task organized for a longer mission (longer duration andprobably a longer distance from the home unit). They may be reconnaissance patrols, which arelike scouts but usually larger in number, or they might be combat patrols, organized and directedto achieve a specific outcome: a raid on an enemy position that requires stealth and a high degreeof coordination with the application of limited force; an ambush to disrupt enemy movements.Scouting is generally done by application of standing unit SOPs and skills mastered in trainingand combat. Patrols are often intricately planned and unique to a specific task.We will examine scouting first.ScoutingGoing into WWII, the US Army’s rifle squad had two designated scouts. These were to beriflemen expressly trained in “sneak and peek” reconnoitering techniques. This soon changed.The first problem was that the designated scouts were as apractical matter more likely to be exposed to enemy detectionand fire; they moved frequently, operated to the front, and wereobliged to expose themselves more often than the other squadmembers. I suspect designated scouts soon resented this unequalexposure to danger; but resent it or not, scouts will on theaverage be more exposed to danger than the other squad mates,and would take casualties. Soon enough, the designated scoutswere gone, and had to be replaced with other riflemen or newreplacements. (It is a sad fact, to which the writer can attestfrom bitter experience, that a common practice in poorly-led units involves using “fresh meat”—new replacements—as sniper bait. This is extremely bad practice.)In any case, the prewar system was soon abandoned and all the squad’s riflemen (not theBAR team) were expected to function as scouts, and trained to do so.A catch: as the Manual sagely informs us:Although all soldiers should be able to act as scouts, some are better suited than others for thiswork. Men selected to be scouts should be reliable, persevering, intelligent, patient, and should beable to read and write clearly. They should be physically and mentally hard, have unimpaired visionand hearing, and be able to swim. Scouts must be resourceful and possess courage and initiative.They must be good shots and good close-in fighters. Men with hay fever, night blindness and impairedsense of smell should not be given duty as scouts, for they will betray their own and others'presence. [FM 21-75, 1944: para 3]Translation: “any soldier can function as a scout, but some live longer doing it than others.”Folklore suggests that Americans are bred to be eagle-eyed, skilled trackers and scouts. In practice,they are as good as they can be trained to be, subject to personal potential. It’s a good ideato have every rifleman trained as a scout, but if one or two are klutzes in the field they should not2
be considered expendable (exceptions involve such complications as gambling debts). Use whatyou have.Training scouts. A scout must master several skills, including: Map reading and use of the compass for land navigation. This is a basic soldier skill, buta scout has to be very proficient, with a “feel” for ground and high accuracy in finding locationsand specifying them as map coordinates. Tactical movement—how to move by day and night, using cover and concealment, creepingand crawling— is essential. Camouflage methods are an essential skill: if the enemy can see you, your scouting careerwill be short. A scout must learn arm and hand signals. Shouting back over his shoulder to the guys toreport enemy activity can result in a report like “Hey! There’s krauts moving up the—” (Notethat all infantrymen should learn those same hand signals so they can understand what the scoutwas trying to say; and last, somebody has to have his eyes on the scouts at all times. They canonly whistle so many times.) Range estimation: Locating enemy activity or other points of interest requires a scout tobe able to estimate the distance from his position to the target (as well as the compass azimuth.Training methods and goals. Here are the suggested ways of training reenactors as scouts.(Practical details of military training methods can be found in TM 21-250.) Map reading. Learning to read a map—recognizesymbols, estimate distance, specify map coordinates andazimuths (compass directions) and similar skills to alevel suitable for a “simulated” soldier requires aboutthree hours in the classroom, with table space, sampletopographic maps, map protractors, and other gear.Time can be shortened by taking the map reading onlinecourse at ReenactorPro, but classroom time and coachingare still required. Land navigation—moving by map and compassacross unfamiliar ground—can begin in the classroom,but will require practical exercises in the field using asurveyed compass course. Since methods are differentfor day and night navigation, set aside a full day.The first requirement is to prepare a training area. While map reading can be taught in a developedarea, application is difficult unless the soldiers can walk through buildings. Basic mapand compass skills are best taught in open areas where trainees can simply shoot an azimuth andmove until they find the marker corresponding to their destination.Survey of the training course requires precision. Since this is fairly complicated, a permissiblecrib is use of a simple inexpensive laser range finder to judge distances. The course shoulduse at least two “legs”, movements along a prescribed compass azimuthSkills required include use of map, compass familiarization (including LARS rule), and practiceestablishing a pace count (e,g., how many walking paces an individual counts moving over afixed distance (usually 100 meters)). The actual exercise should use two-man teams, rotatingfrom point to point.3
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Page 5 and 6: Patrolling.A patrol begins with a r
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Page 11: LESSON SUMMARY1. The tasks of scout

Lesson-7-scouting-and-patrolling

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