Von Steuben Training: TDG 10 Part 2 – The Raid Answer

This is the “final answer” to the tactical decision game first put forth by Von Steuben Tactical here. To summarize, We’ve been tasked with destroying a small Russian fuel depot in our area and after some brainstorming we’ve identified some information (RFI’s) we needed to gather to help us do that. These RFI’s were:

• How many enemies are there and what is their pattern of life?
• What do the depot defenses look like?
• Where and how is the fuel stored?
• What is the civilian populations pattern of life on the main road and at the gas station?

We took our RFI’s and conducted a fan style reconnaissance of the depot, which was planned in detail in this article. Von Steuben Tactical has provided me with the “results” of our reconnaissance in this article. Because of the information gathered during the reconnaissance we were able to answer all four of our RFI’s and can now begin planning the raid itself. We now know that:

• There are approximately 6 Russian soldiers guarding two fuel trucks. Although we don’t have a full schedule, we observed them changing post at 0600.
• There is a two man roving patrol walking a circuit around the area of the trucks and 1 man manning a PKM. Soldiers are armed with AK’s, a PKM and RPG-22’s.
• The fuel is stored on two fuel trucks.
• There were no civilians observed near the objective and no civilian traffic was seen on the road. There are a couple houses near the objective and we have to assume there are civilians in them until we know otherwise.

Currently our squad is sitting in a cigar shaped patrol base located southwest of the objective. It is the day after the reconnaissance. Everyone is rotating through priorities of work like setting security, weapons and equipment maintenance, hygiene, chow and rest. All three fireteams have finished topping off their water from a nearby seep in a hill.

Based on the information gathered during the Recon I will conduct a METT-TC analysis, which is a decision making tool. It helps us organize pertinent information to come up with a course of action.

• Mission – What’s my mission? As stated in part 9, To conduct a raid on the fuel depot and destroy it.
• Enemy – What do I know about my enemies strength and disposition? There are 6 soldiers at the depot armed with small arms and rockets. They have two fuel trucks. Their QRF is believed to be staged up in Oreokastro. There appears to be convoys on the main road at night.
• Time Available – How much time do I have to complete my mission? No more than 12 hours. Currently the depot is lightly guarded and vulnerable. We need to hit the depot before they move or are reinforced.
• Troops Available – What troops and equipment do I have to achieve this mission? I have a full squad that is well armed and moderately trained. While we have trained assaults and raids this will be their first one.
• Terrain and Weather – What’s the terrain like and weather like? How will this affect our mobility? What does our KOCOA analysis look like? (KOCOA is a Terrain analysis tool. It stands for Key terrain, Observation, Cover and concealment, Obstacles impeding movement and Avenues of approach. It should be used both from the perspective of yourself but also your adversary.) We are very familiar with the terrain from our Recon, it gives good cover and concealment to the south side of the objective. The main road running through the objective is a high speed avenue of approach for enemy QRF and is also a road that civilians use. The terrain to the south is fairly rough and wooded which should help us evade QRF if need be. The weather this time of year is dry and cool, there doesn’t appear to be any indication of a change in weather from last night.
• Civil concerns – What civilians are in the area? How will they respond to our actions? Currently there are civilians in the area, none have been observed on the objective though. We anticipate them to approve of our raid on the fuel depot.

Since we are planning a raid there are some things we should know. A raid is an attack with the intent of destroying or disrupting the enemy without planning to occupy the enemy position. They can be conducted for many reasons, such as:

• Killing or capturing personnel
• Rescuing people
• Destroying or capturing equipment
• Causing confusion and fear in an enemies rear area

All successful raids are characterized by the same criteria:

• On the objective they utilize surprise, speed and violence of action to quickly overwhelm the enemy.
• Once the objective is achieved they quickly need to exfil because they will be easily overran if the enemy is allowed to recover.
• They have a clear cut objective (destroy X, capture Y).
• Their plans are not overly complicated. While the mission may be challenging, the plans need to be simple.
• Everyone involved fully understands the entire mission.
• Everyone involved is qualified to be on the mission.
• Complete secrecy and security during the planning and rehearsals.
• Proper exfiltration planning
• Proper escape and evasion planning
• They are well rehearsed (including contingency planning) to the point of near perfection in as close to the same situations as the raid itself

The following is my Five Paragraph Order, once again delivered to the whole squad around a terrain model in the dirt.

Situation

Currently there is an enemy forward supply depot located 50 meters east of the gas station (grid 057201). This refueling station is being used to support the enemies attack on the Marines located to our north. The enemy strength is approximately 6 soldiers armed with AK’s, 1 PKM and a few RPG-22’s. They are currently guarding two Ural fuel trucks.

The enemies Most Probable Course of Action (MPCOA) during our raid will be to defend the fuel trucks and call for reinforcements from Oreokastro. The enemies Most Dangerous Course of Action (MDCOA) will be to reinforce the area with armor and air assets.

There are no higher, adjacent, or supporting forces in the area. There are civilians located in the houses near the gas station and in the houses to the west of the gas station.

Mission

At 0300 tomorrow our squad will conduct a raid on the fuel depot in order to disrupt the enemies ability to refuel vehicles there.

Execution

The commander’s intent is to disrupt the enemies ability to refuel by destroying the fuel trucks and the fuel on them.

At 0000 our squad will move to the Objective Rally Point (ORP) in the vicinity of 057197. Movement will be in a Squad column and we will set en route rally points every 100 meters, at which point we will conduct a short halt and SLLS, get accountability, and continue. Once at the ORP Team 1 and 2 will get into a cigar shaped perimeter while team 3 conducts a security sweep 100 meters around the ORP. Once the sweep is done all teams will conduct priorities of work focusing on:

• Security for each teams sector
• Final weapons and equipment maintenance in preparation for the raid
• Caching of nonessential raid gear at the ORP

Once these tasks are complete the teams will take on the following roles:

• Team 1 – Assault element
• Team 2 – Support element
• Team 3 – Security element

Team 3 will move to a position similar to that used during the Recon to provide overwatch of the objective and report any significant changes. They will provide overwatch of the road leading to and from the objective, keeping an eye out for any incoming traffic. They will also provide overwatch for the support and assault elements as they move into position and provide covering fire for them in the event they need to withdraw.

Once team 3 is in position, teams 1 and 2 will move to their attack positions. Team 2, as the support element, will provide a base of fire south of the objective for Team 1 as they assault the objective from the East (opposite the PKM emplacement). Once Team 1 is in their attack position they will notify Team 2 via radio and Team 2 will begin suppressing the objective, focusing on the PKM and the roving patrol. Once team 2 begins firing Team 1 will assault from the East by buddy team bounds.

Once they are at the edge of the objective they will notify Team 2 to lift fire and they will assault through the objective. Their limit of advance (LOA) will be the PKM position on the west side of the objective. At this point they will notify Team 2 and Team 2 will sweep through the objective, reengaging each enemy as they pass them. Their LOA will be 25 meters past the trucks.

At this point both teams will consolidate. Once consolidation is complete the site exploitation team will begin gathering up the RPG’s and PKM as well as anything else of value. (If we had higher headquarters to give information to I would also look for anything of intelligence value and take photos, but currently we are on our own so I really just want things that go boom) This should take no more than 5 minutes. Once the site exploitation team is finished the demolition team will light each truck on fire using the Molotov cocktails we made. In case the Molotov’s don’t work we will open all the valves on the trucks, letting the fuel run out on the ground and engage each trucks engine block with a couple rounds to disable it.

Once the trucks are disabled Teams 1 and 2 will move back to the ORP in a Squad column. Once at the ORP team 3 will move back to the ORP. We will consolidate again, recover our cached gear and distribute any loot. At this point we will move to the Emergency Rendezvous point (ERV) at 061194.

Go / No Go Criteria

The only GO criteria is if the objective is in the same or weaker condition as it was when we finished our Recon. Team 3 will confirm this prior to the assault starting.

The following is the No Go criteria:

• If civilians are observed on the objective. If possible we will wait for them to leave then assault.
• If traffic is observed on the main road. We will wait for it to pass then assault.
• If the objective has been reinforced or changed considerably since the recon. At this point we will conduct a new reconnaissance and reevaluate.
• If we are compromised before the assault can commence. At this point we will head straight to the ERV.

Our contingency plans and brevity codes are as follows:

• Soft compromise (dog) – If we are detected by civilians we will detain only if necessary and move to the ERV.
• Hard compromise (cat) – If we are spotted by enemy we will engage only if necessary and move to ERV.
• Enemies spotted (tiger) – record SALUTE report for future use, only engage if necessary.
• Injuries (horse) – Complete objective unless extraction is necessary (hike vs. helo). If extraction is necessary we will move to ERV.
• Abandon assault (Burner) – If Team 1 takes casualties or otherwise cannot complete the assault they will return to the ORP via their attack position. Teams 2 and 3 will suppress the objective and focus their fire on the trucks in an attempt to damage them. Once Team 1 is clear they will move to the ORP.

Our lost plan is as follows:

• Move to previous en route rally point and wait there for three hours. If still lost at that time move to the ERV.
• If we are engaged by overwhelming force we will disperse into our two man buddy teams and E&E to the Emergency RV (ERV) at 061194.

Admin and Logistics

Everyone will carry their standard loadout of equipment for a three day patrol. Once at the ORP only our line 1, line 2 and 3A gear will be brought. All 3B gear will be cached.

Key leaders will have NVD’s.

RO’s will carry UV5R with two spare batteries.

EPW teams will carry a pillow case and large zip ties.

Aid and litter teams will carry a large aid bag and a medium canvas tarp.

Demo team will each have two Molotov cocktails (We made these from some gas we found in an old gas can and some mason jars in the shed at 056196.)

Site exploitation team will each carry 2x drum liners.

The following are the special teams:

Team 1 

• Aid and litter & Site Exploitation – Tim/ Juan
• EPW/ Civilian detainment- John/ Ezekial

Team 2

• Aid and litter & Demolition – Henry/ Steve
• EPW/ Civilian detainment – Peter/James

Team 3

• Aid and Litter – James/ Jed
• EPW/ Civilian detainment – Greg/ James

Command and Signal

The following is the command structure and billets:

Team 1 (Callsign Hammer)

• Tim – Team Leader/ Assistant squad leader
• John – Automatic Rifleman/ Pacecount
• Ezekiel – Assistant automatic Rifleman/ Pointman 1
• Larry – Rifleman/ Pointman 2
• Myself – Squad Leader/ RO

Team 2 (Callsign Anvil)

• Joe – Team leader/ Team 2 RO
• Pedro – Automatic Rifleman
• Juan – Assistant Automatic Rifleman
• Steve – Rifleman
• Paul – Rifleman

Team 3 (Callsign Spike)

• Henry – Team Leader
• Greg – Automatic Rifleman
• James – Assistant automatic Rifleman / rear security
• Jed – Rifleman/ rear security

The following is the signal plan:

• Primary: VHF/UHF frequency pair 3
• Alternate: VHF/UHF frequency Pair 4
• Contingency: VHF frequency 3
• Emergency Day: Signal mirror 3-2-1, Pink signal panel
• Emergency Night: Red flashes 3-2-1, Whistle 3-2-1
• SARNEG is PATHFINDER starting with 3
• Challenge/ pass is Glitter/ Monkey
• Running password/ duress word is Fireball
• Near far recognition signal day: pink approach, orange responds 
• Near far recognition signal night: Red flashes 3-2-1

Pause for questions

If there are no further questions Team leaders prepare your teams for inspections and rehearsals at 2100.

Author’s note

This represents my humble attempt at writing a five paragraph order for a raid. There are no doubt many out there who can do a far better job than I can and I welcome any criticism. On the flip side, if you find yourself in the position of being confused or overwhelmed by planning I’d encourage you to get some training and start practicing. If you can’t produce something at least as good as I can you’ve got work to do.

The plan I’ve laid out above is a very basic plan, consisting of nothing more than two elements (Team 1 and 2) conducting a single envelopment assault and another element (team 3) providing overwatch. These are very fundamental tactics dating back centuries (Prototactics) and are taught to every young infantryman. Once again, if this is new to you you’ve got work to do.

Every person in the fictitious squad above would need to be a competent planner so they would understand the plan itself and would need the training to know how to employ the tactics. Hard skills like shooting, communications, medical, Bushcraft, etc. all get much more attention than planning, yet if you can’t plan all the hard skills in the world won’t matter. I said it in a recent article and I still believe it: Quit buying gear until you are a competent planner.