McCullough - The Ultimate Guide to US Army Combat

The Ultimate Guide to

U.S. Army
Combat

Skills, Tactics, and Techniques

The Ultimate Guide to

U.S. Army
Combat

Skills, Tactics, and Techniques

Edited by
Jay McCullough

Skyhorse Publishing

Copyright 2010 by Skyhorse Publishing

All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without the express written consent of the publisher, except in the case of brief excerpts in critical reviews or articles. All inquiries should be addressed to Skyhorse Publishing, 555 Eighth Avenue, Suite 903, New York, NY 10018.

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ISBN: 978-1-61608-569-8

Printed in Canada

CONTENTS

Part I
HAND-TO-HAND COMBAT

Part II
COMBAT WEAPONS

Part III
REGION - SPECIFIC COMBAT

INTRODUCTION

The U.S. has the best-equipped and well-trained Army in the world. Barring unforeseen political considerations or a catastrophic act of nature, it can deploy nearly anywhere and accomplish almost any reasonable mission. This is due in large part to the Armys experience as an institution in a variety of wartime environments. Its hard-earned wisdom about how to cope with almost every imaginable scenario, on a soldier-by-soldier basis, distinguishes it as a service of excellence whose individuals are highly adaptable. They are well prepared, they accomplish the mission, and when the circumstances are truly unfavorable to life itself, they are survivors.

The keys to this preparation are contained in the Armys many sensible, well-written, voluminous, and scattered publications. They address nearly every aspect of running, provisioning, or being in the Army, and include what constitutes really the best information on combat operations available anywhere. With the exception of being a professional soldier, I can think of no better way to learn about combat than from these many volumes. The task of culling every bit of useful information about combat from every U.S. Army publication would take months however, so Ive done it here for you in The Ultimate U.S. Army Guide to Combat Skills, Tactics, and Techniques . You could say, it practically wrote itself. Anything useful you find within these pages is due to hard working and dedicated Army personnel who took the time to research and assemble this valuable information. Anything incorrect or inconsequential is my fault for including it.

Ive tried to make the selections useful to a general reader who may find him- or herself in a combat situation, whether they are alone or in a small group. Here you will find information on how to defend yourself with your bare hands, how to pick through an urban battlefield, learn how to draw a bead on someone or something, and how to avoid having sniper get the best of you. On a battlefield you may need to recognize grenades, boobytraps, and natural defensive locations, and they are all discussed here. Since you may have occasion to find a machine gun, there are also Sections about the tactical considerations of using one. Alas, since you are unlikely to become a tank commander, or forge a tank in your back yard (and because the stingy publisher would give me only a thousand pages), you will find no information on how to conduct a classic set-piece tank battle on the plains of central Europe. But, you will discover the weaker points of Soviet-era and modern Russian tanks. Useful stuff when you need it!

As a final note, Id like to suggest some of what Id consider the best advice about combat I can give. Just as hospitals are excellent places to get sick, battlegrounds are excellent places to get dead. War is a conflagration; it does not seek peace, rather, like many human institutions, it seeks its own continuance, jumping from country to country like a wildfire or a pestilence, and it ceases only when it has destroyed everything in its path and utterly exhausted all a peoples political oxygen, ruins or expends all their resources, and has crippled or killed all their children. So, its probably best to avoid combat situations for reasons large and small. But some wars are unavoidable, and for those times, the ability to survive, and yes, even thrive belongs to those who are best trained, properly equipped, and who are adaptable to rapidly changing conditions. Your training starts here.

Jay Mccullough
December 2009
North Haven, Connecticut

PART I

Hand-to-Hand Combat

Introduction to Combatives

Very few people have ever been killed with the bayonet or saber, but the fear of having their guts explored with cold steel in the hands of battle-maddened men has won many a fight.

PATTON

DEFINITION OF COMBATIVES

Hand-to-hand combat is an engagement between two or more persons in an empty-handed struggle or with handheld weapons such as knives, sticks, or projectile weapons that cannot be fired. Proficiency in hand-to-hand combat is one of the fundamental building blocks for training the modern soldier.

PURPOSES OF COMBATIVES TRAINING

Soldiers must be prepared to use different levels of force in an environment where conflict may change from low intensity to high intensity over a matter of hours. Many military operations, such as peacekeeping missions or noncombatant evacuation, may restrict the use of deadly weapons. Hand-to-hand combatives training will save lives when an unexpected confrontation occurs.

More importantly, combatives training helps to instill courage and self-confidence. With competence comes the understanding of controlled aggression and the ability to remain focused while under duress. Training in combatives includes hard and arduous physical training that is, at the same time, mentally demanding and carries over to other military pursuits. The overall effect of combatives training is

The culmination of a successful physical fitness program, enhancing individual and unit strength, flexibility, balance, and cardiorespiratory fitness.

Building personal courage, self-confidence, self-discipline, and esprit de corps.

BASIC PRINCIPLES

Underlying all combatives techniques are principles the hand-to-hand fighter must apply to successfully defeat an opponent. The natural progression of techniques, as presented in this manual, will instill these principles into the soldier.

a. Mental Calm. During a fight a soldier must keep his ability to think. He must not allow fear or anger to control his actions.

b. Situational Awareness. Things are often going on around the fighters that could have a direct impact on the outcome of the fight such as opportunity weapons or other personnel joining the fight.

c. Suppleness. A soldier cannot always count on being bigger and stronger than the enemy. He should, therefore, never try to oppose the enemy in a direct test of strength. Supple misdirection of the enemys strength allows superior technique and fight strategy to overcome superior strength.

d. Base. Base refers to the posture that allows a soldier to gain leverage from the ground. Generally, a soldier must keep his center of gravity low and his base widemuch like a pyramid.

e. Dominant Body Position. Position refers to the location of the fighters body in relation to his opponents. A vital principle when fighting is to gain control of the enemy by controlling this relationship. Before any killing or disabling technique can be applied, the soldier must first gain and maintain one of the dominant body positions.