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Movement Techniques and Notes

MOVE UNDER DIRECT FIRE.

Movement Techniques. Your unit's ability to move depends on your movement skills and those of your fellow soldiers. Use the following techniques to avoid being seen or heard by the enemy.

Camouflage yourself and your equipment.
Tape your identification tags together and to the chain so they cannot slide or rattle.
Tape or pad the parts of your weapon and equipment that rattle or are so loose that they may snag something.

Note
The tape or padding must not interfere with the operation of the weapon or equipment.

Jump up and down and listen for rattles.
Wear soft, well-fitting clothes.
Do not carry unnecessary equipment.
Move from covered position to covered position, taking no longer than three to five seconds between positions.
Stop, look, and listen before moving.
Look for your next position before leaving a position.
Look for covered and concealed routes on which to move.
Change direction slightly from time to time when moving through tall grass.
Stop, look and listen when birds or animals are alarmed; enemy may be near.
Cross roads and trails at places that have cover and concealment (large culverts, low spots, curves and bridges).
Avoid steep slopes and places with loose dirt or stones.
Avoid cleared, open areas and tops of hills and ridges.

1. Search terrain to your front for:
A gully, ravine, ditch, wall, etc., at a slight angle to your direction of movement. These features provide cover and concealment when the low or high crawl is used.
Hedgerows or a line of thick vegetation. These provide only concealment, not protection, when low or high crawl is used.
Large trees, rocks, stumps, fallen timber, rubble, vehicle hulks, folds or creases in the ground. These provide both cover and concealment for use as temporary positions. Use the rush if the area between these features has no concealment.
High grass, weeds, etc. These provide only partial concealment, since use of high or low crawl could reveal your location by movement of vegetation. You may have to use the rush.

2. Select your next position (and route to it) as one that:
Exposes you to the least enemy fire.
Does not require you to cross in front of other members of your element and mask their fire.

Fire and Maneuver.

When a platoon or squad makes contact with the enemy, the movement technique stops and the fire and maneuver begins. However, elements performing fire and maneuver are an extension of bounding watch.
Fire and maneuver are conducted to close with and destroy the enemy. They are also used to learn more of his strength and disposition, or to move away from him.
An element may be a single soldier, fire team, squad, or platoon. Regardless of the size of the elements, the action is still fire and maneuver.
Fire and maneuver elements are designated by leaders when enemy contact is made.
The fire element is best positioned on ground that is high to the flank of the maneuver element. This is the practice to ensure the maneuvering element does not come into the fire element's field of fire.
When it moves (and when it can) the fire element moves undetected into a new firing position. Surprise fire from an undetected direction is more deadly then fire from a known position.
When the fire element is in position, it fires at the enemy to suppress him. The enemy is suppressed when he is pinned down and cannot return fire. Once he is suppressed, the rate of fire may be reduced, but suppression must be kept up. When the maneuver element nears its objective, the rate of fire is increased. Fire and maneuver is kept up until there is no more enemy resistance.

Fire Power.

While artillery, TOWs (Tube-launched Optically-tracked Wire-commanded Link Guided Missile), and mortars may support this action, most of a platoon's fire support is from its rifles, machine guns, grenade launchers, and Dragons. If the platoon moves toward its objective with its rifle squads alternately firing and maneuvering (switching roles as fire element and maneuver element), machine guns and Dragons will be part of the fire element. They may move from position to position, joining each element as it becomes the fire element.
The platoon may advance by fire and maneuver using the same maneuver element to maneuver all the way to the objective. The fire element may simply be the platoon's machine guns and Dragons. The fire element may also be one of two squads with these weapons. The fire element may be controlled by either the platoon sergeant or a rifle squad leader in the fire element. The platoon leader always moves with the maneuver element.
As the maneuver element gets in and among enemy positions, it may move into the field of fire from the fire element. Gunners then slowly "walk" (move) their fire across the objective just in front of the maneuver element. They can also shift to another target, cease fire and move forward to join in the organization and consolidation, or in a continuation of the attack.

Maneuver.

Squad and team leaders control and lead by:
Example.
Voice commands.
Arm-and-hand signals.
Other visual or sound (whistle) signals.

They have their men move by the best method for the situation. This may be by crawling or by short rushes from cover to cover. An assault must be aggressive so that the platoon does not slow down as men close with the enemy. As it fights its way through the objective, the platoon must avoid exposure to enemy fire from behind or to the flank of the objective.
At times, a whole platoon may have to assault an enemy position in a single, quick rush. This is done only when:
A platoon is under heavy indirect fire.
There is no cover.
A platoon is being hit by hand grenades, or the enemy who could shoot at it is suppressed.
This type of rush must be fast, accompanied by suppressive fire. A rush must be for a distance so short that the enemy can be quickly overrun.