It is said that since the days of Christ, the foot soldier has fought with 60 pounds of battle gear. Let’s talk “battle rattle” by looking at it in various forms, keeping in mind that each variation is designed to aid the modern warrior carrying and using a range of…
Read MoreAfter Action Review: Process-Oriented Enhanced Performance
There is no better than adversity. Every defeat, every heartbreak, every loss, contains its own seed, its own lesson on how to improve your performance the next time. – Malcolm X The US Army has used the After Action Review (AAR) since the end of the Second World War, although…
Read MoreLeadership Styles: Calling warriors to do their best
There is no single, magical solution in leadership style. The cliché of “one size” does not and will not fit all situations. For this reason it is best if we are aware of the various leadership styles; the situations in which each is best suited; and the limitations of each…
Read MoreKnow Your Gear: Night Vision & Observation Devices
For the record, Night Observation Device (NOD) is the more encompassing term, as compared to Night Vision Goggles (NVG) and Night Vision Devices (NVD), which generically refer to both passive and active light amplifying equipment. This distinction may seemed nuanced, but when we think in terms of NOD we must…
Read MoreWorst Case Scenario: Behind Enemy Lines
“We’re paratroopers, Lieutenant. We’re supposed to be surrounded.” – CPT Richard “Dick” Winters at the Battle of the Bulge It’s an oddity of battle that there are numerous tactical reasons to find oneself behind enemy lines. An envelopment or in the case of airborne troops a vertical envelopment will almost…
Read MoreBattle Rattle Radio: Decisive, Shaping, and Enabling Operations
This article was originally published on odjournal.com (Olive Drab: the journal of tactics) and has been transferred here with permission.
Read MoreFull Spectrum Training: Which conflict…this one, or the next?
A warrior who picks up too many stones, soon drops all of them. – Native American proverb I’ve heard the grumbling for a handful of years now. This mild dissention is understandable. An artillery captain in the 10th Mountain Division at Ft. Drum, NY tells me his troops train so…
Read MorePrinciples of War: Tactical guidance for small unit leaders
The brilliance of Carl von Clausewitz’s essay Principles of War (1812) is that his words are as relevant today as they were 200 years ago. This work places Clausewitz, along with Sun Tzu, as one of the most quoted military philosophers of all time. Yet Clausewitz was not the only…
Read MoreBattle Rattle Radio: OPFOR Types and Functions
This article was originally published on odjournal.com (Olive Drab: the journal of tactics) and has been transferred here with permission.
Read MoreMission Planning: In Seconds, Minutes and Hours
Let’s begin by separating planning from decision-making. Though clearly related and even intertwined, it helps to think of these as two distinct processes. Planning can be found in Troop Leading Procedure (TLP) and its parallel build, the Military Decision-Making Process (MDMP). Decision-making is also very much a part of these…
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