For detailed information on classifying routes and bridges, refer to FM The reconnaissance platoon reports conditions that are likely to affect the friendly movement in accordance with IAW the SOP and prepares an overlay of the route. Figure is an example of a route reconnaissance overlay using standard symbols.
The following employment considerations apply when planning a route reconnaissance:. During route reconnaissance, the platoon must be trained for and prepared to accomplish a variety of reconnaissance tasks. Based on factors of METT-TC and the commander's intent, the commander may direct the platoon to conduct reconnaissance for a general purpose or to acquire only specific information. To ensure the platoon is ready for either situation, the platoon leader must be prepared to conduct the following tasks:.
The reconnaissance platoon needs to be prepared to conduct two detailed route reconnaissance missions at a time. The following example outlines the aspects of getting all tasks accomplished rapidly and securely:.
The order the platoon leader receives specifies the route the platoon must reconnoiter and defines the route from start point SP to RP. Additionally, the order may specify platoon boundaries, phase lines, LD, and a LOA or reconnaissance objective. These control measures specify how much terrain on both sides of the route the platoon must reconnoiter and where the operation must begin and end. Boundaries are drawn on both sides to include the terrain that dominates the route.
This ensures that the platoon reconnoiters all terrain the enemy could use to influence movement along the route. The LD is drawn from one boundary to the other behind the SP. This allows the platoon to cross the LD and be fully deployed before reaching the route. The LOA or objective is placed beyond the RP on the last terrain feature that dominates the route or at a location out to about 3 kilometers.
Figure shows some examples of control measures for the route reconnaissance operation. The platoon leader may add additional phase lines, contact points, and checkpoints to the graphics he receives from the commander. Phase lines help control the maneuver of the platoon. Contact points ensure that the sections or teams maintain contact at particular critical points. Checkpoints along the route or on specific terrain control movement or designate areas that must be reconnoitered.
In coordination with the FSO, the platoon leader plans artillery targets on known or suspected enemy positions and on dominant terrain throughout the area of operations. He ensures that at least one section has responsibility for reconnoitering the route.
The platoon collects information from local nationals outside of the urban area to gain information on the objective. Depending on the time available, the platoon develops the urban situation progressively as it moves from the surrounding area toward the city.
The platoon leader may refine objectives and routes as he gains and analyzes information. RSTA assets should provide information about the local population to include attitudes and dispositions toward US forces. The reconnaissance platoon then conducts reconnaissance of the urban area. The platoon develops an understanding of the regional, local, and neighborhood-level situation. The platoon members must learn the characteristics of the urban area.
The primary method of employing surveillance teams is in a hide or surveillance site. However, the terrain, mission, and location of the site may dictate that the teams establish a separate surveillance site or sites to effectively observe the area.
Personnel Requirements. Personnel requirements depend on the mission and conditions under which surveillance teams must operate. At least two soldiers are required to conduct surveillance. One observes while the other records the information in the surveillance log. Because observer efficiency decreases rapidly, the observer and the recorder switch duties about every 30 minutes. When using night-vision devices, the observer's initial period of viewing is 10 minutes followed by a minute rest period.
After several periods of viewing, the observation period is extended to minutes. Hide site personnel should be rotated every 24 hours. Surveillance Sites. During limited visibility, two to three normally three members may be required to set up a new surveillance site. The site is near the target area so that information may be collected through close-in observation and sound detection. The remainder of the team stays in the hide site.
The surveillance site and the route to and from it are selected during good visibility. Members go in and out of the surveillance site during limited visibility. One member observes, one records, and one maintains security to the rear and flanks. Only passive night-vision devices are used to help prevent detection. Hide Sites. The hide site may not be suitable for transmitting reports.
When this is the case, a separate communication site is needed. At least two soldiers are required at the communication site; one to send the message and erect an antenna if necessary and one to provide security. The communication site is occupied long enough to transmit the message and conceal any signs of the team's presence. Hasty Sites. These are sites the team plans to occupy for a short period generally less than six hours.
This occurs most often during target-acquisition missions. It uses manmade camouflage materials as required to improve concealment and keeps movement to a minimum.
The hasty hide site is positioned far enough to the rear so it is out of the direct line of enemy observation. The distance depends on terrain and vegetation. It must be far enough away from the surveillance element so that if an enemy force discovers one of the two elements, the other element has enough standoff to prevent it from being discovered also. Team members in the hasty hide site maintain rear and flank security.
Communications are normally conducted after the team moves away from the area. Urban Surveillance Sites. Surveillance teams can construct fixed urban hide sites in occupied and abandoned buildings, on water tanks, in shrubbery, on rooftops, or in attics of multistory buildings or other tall structures. If possible, teams should avoid wooden and significantly deteriorated buildings because of the risk of injury from fire and structural failure.
Fixed sites should not be in buildings that will attract the enemy's attention but should be in rubble, yards, and gardens.
If the site is to be set up in an undamaged part of the urban area, teams select buildings of solid construction with serviceable stairs and basements that can be equipped for the rest and shelter of personnel. Site construction may consist simply of taking a position by a suitable viewing port, or it can be much more elaborate, time being a crucial factor.
The team fills windows, doors, and other openings with bricks, fragments of building materials, or sandbags, if available, and removes flammable objects from the premises.
If the enemy has previously occupied the building, the team takes precautions against booby traps and mines.
When the enemy is near, the team prepares several places in the building for observation and departure. Hasty Subsurface Sites. A hasty subsurface site is constructed when there is not enough time to construct a complete subsurface site. The site is especially useful when there is little natural cover and concealment. The reconnaissance platoon will not perform building-to-building clearance in urban areas.
They may, however, perform urban patrolling to accomplish reconnaissance missions. Urban patrols can be conducted either mounted or dismounted with vehicles in support, depending on the enemy situation.
Patrols should never be conducted lower than section level. Detailed planning, as discussed earlier in this chapter, is accomplished before execution of a patrol. Using maps, aerial photography, and any other intelligence, the reconnaissance platoon leader conducts preliminary route reconnaissance to identify the following features:.
Mounted Patrolling. Mounted patrols capitalize on the mobility of the reconnaissance platoon's vehicles. Mounted patrols never enter an area via the route they will use to exit the area. Vehicles should travel at moderate speeds, with the lead vehicle stopping only to investigate those areas that pose a potential threat or support the essential tasks of the patrol.
Use a vehicle speed of 15 to 20 miles per hour to allow for adequate observation and quick reaction. Slower speeds may allow noncombatants or a more aggressive group to impede movement. On the other hand, vehicles should move at high speeds only when responding to an incident. Equipment stored externally on the vehicle should be secured high enough to prevent the problems of locals trying to snatch equipment and weapons.
When vehicles must stop the vehicle commander is at the ready, and the driver remains in his seat with the engine running. It is imperative that the platoon maintains an accurate COP and awareness of the location of other friendly elements during patrols; this includes orientation on other patrols in the urban area. Other mounted urban patrolling principles include the following:.
Dismounted Patrolling. During urban reconnaissance, dismounted patrolling is used to collect information the battalion needs to be successful. Patrols are organized no lower than team level. Leaders of dismounted patrols must maintain communications with vehicles and the patrol headquarters throughout the mission. In the reconnaissance platoon, vehicles must be prepared to react to any situation the dismounted element may encounter.
Patrols should avoid areas with large masses of civilians that could quickly turn against the patrol. As with mounted patrols, dismounted patrol leaders must be ready to contact other patrols or supporting elements for support in unfavorable or dangerous situations. Subterranean Patrolling. Reconnaissance of subterranean systems can determine enemy use of the passageway, determine subterranean capabilities, or provide support for isolating the urban area.
The team leader organizes his patrol with one soldier tasked with security to the front, one point man, and one soldier tasked with rear security. If available, an engineer should assist the team leader in classifying the passageway or eliminating obstacles. The team leader navigates and records data through the passage. Two soldiers remain at the point of entry as a security post. They are responsible for enemy detection and serve as a communications link between the team leader and higher.
A team member should carry the tools needed to open manhole covers. The point man is equipped with night-vision goggles. All soldiers entering the passageway should carry a sketch of the subterranean systems to include magnetic north, azimuths, distances, and manholes.
They should also have flashlights, gloves, and chalk for marking features along the route. These gases are not detected by NBC detection systems nor are they completely filtered out by the protective mask. Physical signs nausea and dizziness indicate their presence in harmful quantities.
Team leaders should be constantly alert to these signs and know the shortest route to the surface for fresh air. The point man then descends into the tunnel to determine whether the air is safe to breathe and if movement is restricted. The point man should remain in the tunnel for 10 minutes before the rest of the team follows.
If he becomes ill or is exposed to danger, the team can use a safety rope to pull him out. Other team members maintain five-meter intervals.
If the water in the tunnel is flowing fast or if the subterranean system contains slippery obstacles, the intervals should be increased to prevent all members from falling if one man slips. When the team encounters a manhole to the surface, the point man should open it and determine the location, which the team leader then records. Recognition signals with friendly troops must be coordinated to prevent fratricide as the point man opens the manhole. Sealing off manhole covers and emplacing obstacles in the tunnel are options for the commander.
The patrol's report is converted into an overlay for the urban operations sketch, which is sent to battalion. The platoon leader receives and analyzes the information gathered by the reconnaissance and surveillance teams. He then assesses the area of operations according to the mission and intent of higher headquarters. The assessment includes, but is not limited to, these elements:. The efforts of the reconnaissance platoon can be a critical factor in shaping the urban area of operations and in maximizing the effectiveness of the battalion.
A summary of the platoon's tasks in the urban environment includes the following:. One of the common tasks associated with reconnaissance missions is location and reconnaissance of obstacles and restrictions that may affect the trafficability of a particular route or axis.
The reconnaissance platoon's ability to deal with an obstacle or restriction is extensive in certain aspects and somewhat limited in others. The reconnaissance platoon has the capability to reduce or breach small obstacles; however, this is generally limited to point obstacles that are not integrated into the enemy defense and are not covered by enemy fire and observation. Such obstacles are usually found along routes and not at enemy strongpoints. When the reconnaissance platoon encounters obstacles that support an enemy defense, it has the capability to assist the infantry with breaching.
Deliberate Obstacles. Most importantly, the platoon reconnoiters tactical obstacles, including supporting enemy positions, and determines possible breach sites. Another important reconnaissance task is to locate bypasses around obstacles and restrictions. The battalion may task-organize engineer reconnaissance teams to the reconnaissance platoon to aid in obstacle reconnaissance. An engineer squad is often attached to the reconnaissance platoon to aid in reconnoitering obstacles and restrictions.
In general, however, the following five steps ensure an organized and efficient operation under most METT-TC conditions. During reconnaissance operations, the reconnaissance platoon must locate and evaluate manmade and natural obstacles and restrictions to support the movement of its parent unit.
Detection of obstacles and restrictions begins in the planning phase of an operation when the S2 conducts IPB. The reconnaissance platoon combines the S2's work with the reconnaissance conducted during the troop-leading process normally a map reconnaissance only to identify all possible obstacles and restrictions within AOs. The platoon leader then plans the reconnaissance based on the orders he receives, the S2's IPB, and the platoon leader's own map reconnaissance.
It visually inspects terrain for signs of mine emplacement and other obstacles. It also must be alert to dangerous battlefield debris such as bomblets from cluster bomb units CBUs or dual-purpose improved conventional munitions DPICMs. It may need to dismount the vehicles several hundred meters short of a suspected obstacle and approach the obstacle on foot to conduct reconnaissance. The platoon looks for disturbed earth, unusual or out-of-place features, surface-laid mines, tilt rods, and tripwires.
It can incorporate vehicle-mounted thermal sights into the search to help detect surface-laid mines. Detection occurs when a vehicle, soldier, or countermine system physically encounters a mine.
This method does not indicate the boundaries of the obstacle. The reconnaissance platoon must probe or conduct additional visual inspection to define the extent of the minefield. Area Security and Reconnaissance. Enemy forces often cover their obstacles with observation and fire. Whenever platoon members encounter an obstacle, they must proceed with their reconnaissance assuming the enemy can observe and engage them.
The reconnaissance element that detects the obstacle establishes overwatch before it proceeds with the reconnaissance.
The members in overwatch look out for signs of enemy forces in and around the obstacle or in positions that allow observation of the obstacle. They visually search the dominant terrain on the far side of the obstacle for evidence of enemy positions or ambushes. Once they confirm the enemy situation from the near side, the element not in overwatch moves mounted or dismounted to find bypasses around the obstacle.
If it finds a bypass, it moves around the obstacle and establish OPs on the far side to provide degree security of the obstacle. If it is unable to find a bypass, it must conduct its reconnaissance from the near side under the security of the overwatch elements. Obstacle Reconnaissance. After establishing security, the reconnaissance platoon then moves dismounted to the obstacle.
The soldiers take care when reconnoitering it. Trip wires or other signs may indicate enemy usage of booby traps or command-detonated mines to prevent friendly forces from determining pertinent information about the obstacle OBSTINTEL.
The platoon collects all potentially important information, especially information that may help in planning a breach and verifying the enemy template. The reconnaissance element reconnoitering the obstacle prepares an obstacle report with this information and forwards the report through the platoon leader or PSG to the commander.
Before recommending to the battalion commander a possible course of action, the reconnaissance platoon leader analyzes the situation and the factors of METT-TC and considers the following options. A bypass is the preferred technique the reconnaissance platoon uses when it encounters an obstacle. A good bypass must allow the entire force to avoid the primary obstacle without risking further exposure to enemy ambush and without diverting the force from its objective. Bypassing conserves reduction assets and maintains the momentum of the moving unit.
If the platoon leader decides to bypass and his commander approves, the unit must mark the bypass and report it to the commander. It may be required to provide guides for the main body if the bypass is difficult to locate or visibility conditions are poor. If the obstacle is part of a prepared defensive position and the only available bypass canalizes friendly forces into an enemy engagement area or ambush, the platoon must find an alternate bypass.
When the reconnaissance platoon locates a large obstacle that cannot be easily bypassed, its primary option is to support a breaching operation. The unit performs additional reconnaissance and security tasks as necessary.
These may include determining the amount of time and resources required to reduce the obstacle and locating the best available reduction site. NOTE: If he expects to encounter large obstacles during an operation, the commander may direct engineer reconnaissance teams to move with the unit to determine much of the information needed for breaching.
If he expects to encounter large obstacles during a mission, the reconnaissance platoon leader should request an attached engineer reconnaissance team or, as a minimum, an engineer NCO to serve as a technical advisor.
The information it provides is used by the commander and his engineers to prepare the suppression, obscuration, security, reduction, and assault SOSRA plans for the breach. Table of Contents. How do you assess an argument? How do you write a review essay?
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A combination of raveling overwatch and bounding overwatch is used to cross the open area. The traveling overwatch technique is used to save time.
At any point in the open area where contact may be expected or once the squad or platoon comes within range of small-arms fire of the far side about meters , the squad or platoon moves using the bounding overwatch technique.
Once beyond the open area, the squad or platoon reforms and continues the mission. A platoon has about troops there isn't really a set number, that's how many you see the most. A platoon sgt. There can be men in a squad and squads in a section and then sections in a platoon. Every squad has a squad leader. This is how it is in the Marines. Typically and ideally, there are 4 per fireteam, 3 fireteams per squad, 3 squads per platoon, add the platoon Sgt, Commander, and the Guide and 3 Squad Leaders and this comes to Check your drill manual.
According to FM Infantry Rifle Platoon and Squad , an infantry platoon in Infantry, Air Assault and Airborne divisions consists of: Platoon Headquarters: Platoon Leader lieutenant Platoon Sergeant sergeant first class, usually, and this is aside from the sergeants who command a section, and each fire team of say 4 would be lead by a corporal.
Platoon radioman probably a specialist or a PFC Three rifle squads consisting of nine men each--one squad leader sergeant , two fire team leaders corporals , two riflemen, two automatic riflemen and two grenadiers One weapons squad consisting of a squad leader sergeant plus two machinegunners, two assistant machinegunners, two antitank gunners and two assistant antitank gunners. Total number of troops: A rifle platoon in a Ranger company contains 40 men--they drop the two antitank crews and replace them with three, three-man machinegun crews--gunner, assistant gunner and ammo bearer.
Army infantry platoons used to be a lot larger--they had man rifle squads with two riflemen, one automatic rifleman and one grenadier plus the fire team leader in each fire team.
This changed when the Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle came out--it won't hold an man crew, so they had to change infantry doctrine to accommodate the equipment. Given that, there's not really such a thing as a "standard" platoon outside the combat arms. I've been in soldier platoons.
It all depends on what unit you're in and how it's structured. Three or four, depending on the platoon's composition. If there's a separate weapons squad, it'll be four. Otherwise, the machine gunners and AGs will be assigned to the line squads while in garrison.
In alot of running cadences st peter is in them because he is at the gates of heaven and you would see him before god. Back to my point he is just in them someone thought of a catchy cadence with him in it. A "troop" would normally indicate a single unit of a body of troops. However, the military use is as a subunit equivalent to a "platoon" consisting of two or more squads.
A modern infantry platoon would typically be between 15 and 30 soldiers, and a squad between 8 and 12 soldiers. In World War 2, however, the basic rifle squad consisted of 12 men, and there were usually 3 squads per platoon, which with command personnel made a platoon troop 45 to 50 men, commanded by a commissioned officer. With a squad leader and assistant squad leader, and two or more heavy weapons, such as the BAR and submachine gun, a squad would often split up and engage tactically in 6-man teams.
There are several ranks of sergeants. Buck sergeants three chevrons and staff sergeants three chevrons with one rocker led squads, usually of about twelve men. A platoon had four squads. There was a platoon sergeant three chevrons, two rockers , the top enlisted man in a platoon.
The platoon commander was supposed to be an officer, a second lieutenant or a first lieutenant. Platoon leaders got killed a lot. Platoon leader was the single most lethal job of the war. When the lieutenant went down the platoon sergeant took over, until a new lieutenant was assigned. So, squad leaders reported to either the platoon sergeant or the platoon commander, and the platoon sergeant reported to the platoon commander, unless he had become the platoon commander.
If the platoon sergeant was leading the platoon he met with the captain or the first lieutenant commanding the company, with the other platoon commanders, when officers were called to company HQ to discuss plans or receive orders. Log in. US Army. Study now. See Answer. Best Answer. Study guides.
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