M
MikeL
Guest
This was originally posted on lightfighter.net by a US Army Infantry NCO
http://lightfighter.net/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/9046084761/m/69120968863/p/1
http://lightfighter.net/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/9046084761/m/69120968863/p/1
MickFury's Arghandab Megaforce Multiple Faceshootings Muthaf**kin’ Year In Review
ATTENTION GETTER! Just like school taught me. See, I learned. This is how I reel you in with something short and cool, so you feel you have to read all the long drawn out stuff I spent writing in my downtime
MickFury's Megaforce MCLMM Files
This is where I will showcase the little tricks of the trade that helped us in our endeavors where maybe you can pick up some tips to help in your particular mission. I'm sure these concepts have been around forever and I don't take any credit whatsoever for innovation – in many cases I am simply re-inventing the wheel. Not all may be common knowledge though, hence why I am sharing. I believe reason and methodology behind a decision is just as important (if not moreso) than the decision itself and will include this as well.
VOLUME I: The Team-Level ASP
PURPOSE:
We instituted the idea of the Internal ASP, though I am certain it's been around for a long, long time. We needed to be able to come back, re-set, reload, and head back out immediately on select mission sets. As such, the jumping through hoops of a traditional ASP where you needed to find someone with keys, open it up, sort through what you want, maybe even sign for it or annotate how much you drew out if people have went full retard, et cetera was time consuming and counter-productive. Do not interject admin tasks when your guys are all geared up and raring to go with a combat mindset. I liked the "hide in plain sight" approach. Our area had a bunch of empty boxes, cases, et al that no one was able to look into aside from us that were conducive to storing ammunition in. Battlefield Circulations from Higher would have had an issue with a stockpile of ammo cans in our area, but didn’t have a clue with this particular low profile solution. We dedicated cases to certain roles so everyone can grab and go as needed and Leaders cycled folks through according to LACE reports their Soldiers gave them. This allowed Leaders a chance to lead while reinforcing both Big Boy Rules and Skill Level 1 aspects for Soldiers. It was an efficient and streamlined process which I stand by.
I personally inspected, function tested, and handloaded 80 x M4 magazines with M855A1 to 28 rds capacity for our element's reserve (on top of vehicle resupply / bail out bag stuff)- I wanted to be absolutely sure that all the magazines we had were good to go, and this was the only way I could be certain of that. I talked to teammates as to what I was doing and why if they were interested and showed them the ropes. Machine gunners did much the same thing with inspecting linked ammunition. Hand-held munitions were taped IAW internal SOP. Basically, everything needed for the fight was done prior so we could concentrate solely on the fight when the time came. Grab and go ain’t just for fast food drive through’s. Take the time to do things right internally, it will benefit you in the long term. "frig anyone who ain't us" was a common thought process in our element. I would never want to rely on other people for my tactical needs - this is how magazines jammed with ammo from stripper clips haphazardly in a TOC happens when an element in contact is in a TIC and requests resupply, a failure to forecast and plan accordingly. Be self sufficient. It's your war, dictate the terms in your favor. Why settle for anything less? "Was this event foreseeable?" "Did I do everything in my power to plan for contingencies?" These are the questions we asked ourselves with our planning process, when what-if'ing scenarios, and during hotwashes. Take ownership of mistakes, learn from them, but don't dwell on them and resolve never to make the same one again. This is how we learn.
METHOD:
We opted to try and get the good stuff as quickly and in as much quantity as possible - match grade, armor piercing, various color smoke, frags and bangs, Claymores, LAW’s, specialty stuff, HE/Frag and not just HEDP, et cetera. Initial procurement was everything from traditional requests, getting stuff from the previous element rotating out, horse trading and wheeling and dealing, to the standard crafty approach that Leaders best have plausible deniability with. I was really good at the last one...
My line of thinking was that as long as you did not frig over the next guy, come to me with what you have and I would take the heat, if any. This allowed my teammates, some of whom were relatively new, a cutout so they wouldn’t get in trouble, and as someone who had previously deployed I’d take the responsibility for the ***-chewing if it came to that. I’d make sure to give credit to the dude once given the all-clear and commend him for his resourcefulness. Sensitive Items were declared a no go to procure from the get go, obviously. We never had any issues aside from one idiot ******* around with demolition equipment (firing initiator) and that was during mission preparation, not procurement, with the entire element there. Thankfully, no injuries resulted.
ENDSTATE:
The end result is that you have an internal stockpile that can last you for days when done properly, with a minimum time for reset and resupply so you can focus on the job at hand. It is not easily identifiable as to what it is by anyone outside of your element. It is an incredible resource that allows you to stay insulated from higher elements and be more self-sufficient. The less we had to deal with anyone other than us, the better.
Plus, you know, it just looks awesome when you open it up.
This was the Coffee Table in preparation for loading up into the boxes / cases. Note systematic classification where you can have one dude work/inspect on one type of ammunition / munition in order to make it as quick and efficient as possible. Leaders or SME’s initially train Soldiers on SOP and what to look for as well as imparting knowledge on ammunition / munitions, then provide supervision once Soldiers demonstrate proficiency. Eventually, Leaders should only have to do the occasional spot check as their Soldiers demonstrate consistent aptitude and application. Stair-stepped, reality-based training with outcome- based evaluations. At the end of the day, Soldiers just wouldn’t have a team-level ASP but a knowledge base for what best to employ and when for ammunition and munitions. Leadership in all things…
Confidence. Accountability. Adaptability. Problem-Solving. Breed these qualities in your element.
That’s all I have for VOL 1. It may not be in accordance with some Army Regulations but hey let's be honest - that’s never stopped me before... it worked, and it worked well. I hope this helps in some capacity and you can take something away from it. If you have any questions or RFI’s please let me know and I will try and answer them as best I can. Thanks for taking the time.
Regards,
Mick