The Small Kill Team(SKT): More than a Sniper Team

The Modern “Small Kill Team” or “SKT”

Modern

About as modern as the phrase “Once lost, once forgotten, and twice remembered“. Or any of the other ways that’s said. I always liked that quote. “Once forgotten, twice remembered” is the typical parlance. Look up the history of the Army and USMC sniper programs if you think that’s not accurate. Or any other strategic invention of war.

I was recently sent a link authored by Michael Yon. It was one of Yon’s earlier pieces from the collapse of Iraq and the outbreak and onset of massive violence that later defined the entire war. (Linked below)

https://www.michaelyon-online.com/jungle-law.htm

A little confusing if you aren’t familiar with “Sniper Bait” overwatch operations. Or how this tactic was used to great effect by both sides.  That “Sniper Bait” Op was, technically, a textbook SKT. For those who are not familiar; And I don’t blame you for not knowing.

There is basically zero information on SKT‘s on the net, but endless resources on Sniper and Scout operations. For good reason… There isn’t even one single picture of anyone kitted out for an SKT.

Not a single one…

What if you combined Reaper(Sniper) and Ghost(Scout) elements into one team and/or two elements? And tripled their firepower? Bingo; The SKT or Small Kill Team. Which is actually two teams; Over-watching each other. More on that later.

What is an SKT or Small Kill Team? It’s pretty simple, its a small group, of 4-6 men(carnivores only) who are armed to the teeth and deployed into a known, and active, hostile environment. Typically, over-watching an area known for housing trouble makers, quartering enemy, IED hotspots, a weapons cache, or ambush alleys. The SKT has a QRF, or Quick Response Force, ready to quadruple their numbers and firepower should they pick a fight, find a fight, or fall into a fight larger than they can handle.
They are there. Somewhere. Watching, waiting, making radio checks, taking photos, and making range cards. Ready to pounce.

Occasionally things go very, very wrong, because the enemy is paying attention and can, in fact, count higher than their fingers and toes. (Sometimes)

Happens more often than you know…

Note; there were TWO TEAMS watching each other from a kilometer away.

https://www.academia.edu/4994766/The_Longest_Morning_Heroism_Courage_and_Loss_in_the_Face_of_Impossible_Odds_Samarra_Iraq_2007_

That’s my old unit, before I arrived.

2/505th PIR aka “2-Kitty”, “2-P”, “2-Panther” or the officially unofficial title “Psycho-Kitties“.

If the book “Fry the Brain” by John West ever gets an update. Especially to include case studies on the Ukraine War, ISIS, Syria, and North/South African tactics; I hope he includes a case study for this 2/505 PIR event in Samara. And more stories on the modern uses of digitally distributed propaganda. In a war, populations hit a point where they become “switched on” and more “in tune” to the world around them. They see things that they ordinarily wouldn’t pay attention too or care about. They are really, really intelligent. Becoming hardened to the situation and heightened in their senses and smarts. You can feel this. Every frontline soldier, or police officer, knows which neighborhood is watching you closely.
About the story, A QRF is usually 5 minutes away. 10 minutes if they take a wrong turn; Which happens more often than you think. Quick Response Forces(QRF) differ from Rapid Rescue Teams(RRT) because the QRF’s job is to finish the fight and continue mission once on the objective(Assuming no casualties). A Rapid Rescue Team’s job is to pull you out of the fire and then return to base(RTB). Usually a medical evacuation is preplanned because of assumed pretenses; Like marching into a highly contentious area populated with men and women who will shoot at you, and, will hit what they shoot at. An RRT includes ambulances in the march/convoy.

I have done all three in the real world. SKT’s, QRF’s, and RRT’s. I liked QRF detail the best because QRF’s have several radios that reach battalion, company, platoon, and “other” levels. You get to listen to the transmissions and follow the chain of events with much, much more detail than starring down a road over a machine gun and popping a 40mm star-cluster flare for some unknown and mysterious reason. QRF detail is usually followed by another mission since you are “sitting on the trucks” anyway. It’s kinda like two missions in one. The day goes quicker

Unfortunately, QRF only gets “the call” when things go stupid, like a truck stuck in the mud, or, horribly wrong.

https://thefallen.militarytimes.com/army-cpl-brad-a-davis/4060078

RIP Trooper.

That was an EFP, not an IED, and the neighborhood was a checkerboard of various terrorist cells. The width of the road/intersection dictated that any EFP attack would be successful because of the size of the vehicle and the “slow roll” to make the turn. The last turn that truck would ever make. The other Trooper, the driver, lost both legs and almost too much blood. The terrorists responsible were shot in face by Delta Force hours later. The riot following the swift application of justice was a little comical and a lot crazy. The Iraqi men stamped a bloody handprint (with brains…) on their faces like the Orks and their white hand of Saruman from “Lord of the Rings”. They went totally feral; Like “Florida Man on Meth before the taser/headline” crazy. Raging out in the streets like lunatics calling for more American blood.

Good luck with that

Gosh, I wonder where J.R. Tolkien got his source material from.

We may never know.

Professional groups will have a QRF available. An insurgency will not.
Anyway… SKT‘s are deployed using a variety of methods. From night time or day time insertions by foot or they are dropped off by trucks or helicopters. Using a variety of tactics, I won’t go into too much detail on their insertion for obvious reasons, but needless to say, “Shell Games” are used to conceal the “missing” soldiers. 24 men go on patrol and 18-20 return to base. It’s that simple. You plant an SKT the same way you plant an Sniper Team, IED, Cache, or EFP; Very carefully. Or, like Michael Yon noted, you completely fake the reason for being there, or not being there. By staging “Combat Theater” and in the fog of war, you make your moves. Believe me, even the troops on the ground are little confused. It works.
This is why an SKT is comprised of the organizational structure they have. 4-6 men consisting of a sniper team and a “Light” weapons team. “Light” weapons team meaning they have two medium machine guns, but instead of the usual 3-4 men gun team, they have only 2 men and two guns. A Machine Gunner(MG) armed with Medium Machine Guns and extra ammo. Technically, this role makes you an Automatic Rifleman(AR) but that’s a lot of semantics and a little too pedantic. Everyone has lots of hand grenades, thermals, smokes, and extra magazines. We would even pack 16 ounze gatorade bottles with C4 and use them as “Super Flash Bangs” in cases of extreme emergency. Like enemy troops in the building. A lesson learned the hard way; As they usually are.

The point being, this isn’t a regular day at the Office for Orientation of Optimized Rifle Fire(Snipers) or the Office for Observation and Orientation of Enemy Objects(Scouts) This is a 4-6 man team of Rambo’s running ’round, except they aren’t running, they are watching the 360 sitting on glass, “rear” gates, rifles, and radio guard.

How does this tactic translate to our situation as armed and prepared American Partisans?

Well, first, you need to know it exists. That “Sniper Team” you spotted, whether foreign or domestic in origin, might be six guys; Not two. And they have two radios, two medium machine guns with 1,000 rounds of ammo, two rocket launchers, 24 40mm grenades, 24 hand grenades, and 40 5.56 magazines. At least. With some friends four times as dangerous 5 minutes away.

Did I mention there are two of these SKT‘s? Watching each other.

I would organize our version of the SKT, that we are gonna call a CRKT, in the following manor.

Let’s run a thought experiment and let me know what you think in the comments.

“Combat Recon Kill Team” Or the “Citizen’s Recon Kill Team”.

CRKT: “The Cricket”

3 Bolt Action Riflemen(BARs): Modeled after combat rifles, not your grandfather’s deer rifle. No thermal shifts on the barrels, plenty of ammo or magazines for a rapid reload, DOPE books, well trained and seasoned sharpshooters. Binoculars and/or spotting scopes. Short range radios with stubby antenna and extra batteries (500 meter range max). Plenty of water, food, and overhead camouflage netting. Medical kits. Soft litter.
3 SSAR’s, SPR’s, Recce Rifles, or ADW Riflemen: Check our articles on these weapons. Mini-RPKs(AK’s) or RPK’s if you run a Kalashnikov pattern. Lots of magazines(600 rounds a man minimum). Short range radios with stubby antenna and extra batteries (500 meter range max). Plenty of water, food, and overhead camouflage netting. Medical kits. Soft litter.
The SSARmen are assigned to the BARmen: Three teams of two. BAR’s and SSARs paired up. 120 degrees a piece. Or, watching both windows, both directions, and a team on the stairwell. ALWAYS watch your direction of infiltration and exfiltration for suspicious activity. Spotting and scanning with the scoped AR/AK’s, the Bino’s, Spotting Scopes, or BAR’s. Work together and communicate. Keep a very low profile. Behave as if you are hunting deer, raccoons, coyote, and geese at the same time; And they are hunting you back. If you are spotted or shot at, you have to be packed, planned, and ready to move in less than 2 minutes. CRKT’s don’t carry extra changes of clothing. You aren’t gonna be there too long, lest you get enveloped and routed with ease. I would say no more than 24-48 hours. Only 48 hours if you see a lot of interesting people who need an extra look, or you need to wait for an escape window to slip through. You should bring at least two men who are competent shooters and qualified medics.

Times two.

Did I mention there are two teams?

For a total of 12 men.

6 on each team.

Just an idea.

 

Thanks for reading,

Johnny Paratrooper

 
 
 
 
 

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About the Author: Johnny Paratrooper

Born and Raised in Baltimore City, Maryland. History Degree. 8 Years Airborne Infantry and Scouts Platoon. Iraq Veteran. 4-5 Years as a doorman, bar back, and bouncer in Baltimore. Worked in Construction, Heavy Equipment Demolition, Corporate Security, Sales, Forest Service contractor, and the Hospitality Industry. Raised Catholic. Hobbies are race cars and sport bikes. Side projects are HAM radio credentials and long range shooting. MY EMAIL IS [email protected]. Founder of Green Dragon Academy https://www.patreon.com/GreenDragonAcademy

55 Comments

  1. Anonymous March 3, 2021 at 04:34

    5

  2. Shillelagh Pog March 3, 2021 at 08:15

    Only difference is we won’t have the luxury of looking like prairie dogs on the hill crest. Concealment will be upped for longevity.

    • Matt Bracken March 3, 2021 at 08:40

      Man oh man, is that ever true!
      That is a luxury that American partisans will never enjoy.
      They’d be droned into a smoking crater in a New York minute.

      • NC Scout March 3, 2021 at 08:50

        That’s why we include things for thermal mitigation.

        • Coop Willis March 14, 2021 at 15:22

          I have to go back and read your story on Thermal Mitigation again. Thanks for all of this. Amazed at the amount of valuable knowledge in this one post and its comments.

          • NC Scout March 14, 2021 at 15:26

            Yeah brother!

    • Matt Bracken March 3, 2021 at 08:48

      One suggestion I’d add is that I would not limit the long-range players to bolt-action rifles. Where available, I’d use every quality .308 gas-gun I could find. Partisans will not be likely to have any kind of a QRF on standby, and the extra firepower of AR-10 type rifles will come in very handy if and when the team is discovered and attacked or ambushed on infil or exfil.
      A decade ago the USSS switched from bolt guns to gas guns for overwatch, because they had to account for, for example, an unexpected van suddenly unloading multiple shooters. Bolt guns were just too slow to account for multiple runners at distance when they will be behind cover in a few moments.
      Long range accuracy does not need to suffer with a good .308 semi-auto platform like the SR-25. If bolt guns and ARs/AKs are all you have, you do what you can with what you have available. But a dual-role .30 caliber semi-auto rifle like an SR-25 is going to be way more useful when the gunfight gets close and personal, and there is no QRF coming to save your ass.

      • Matt Bracken March 3, 2021 at 08:51

        (I meant the above to be a general comment, it was not meant to be directed to Shillelagh Pog.)

      • Johnny Paratrooper March 3, 2021 at 09:27

        Isn’t it annoying how sometimes WordPress magnetizes comments to other comments? I have seen that multiple times and done it myself. Not sure why it happens.
        The only reason I included bolt guns over gas guns is partially because of my own bias. I have many friends with precision bolt guns that are stunningly accurate to 1,000 meters. And while I understand that some people have some AR-10s out there that can be pretty incredible shooters, those results are not typical. Anyone who bought a 6.5 Creedmore Bolt Action Rifle has a 1,000 meter gun in their safe if they put in the work(I know several). I don’t know anyone who has a 1,000 yard AR-10. AR-10’s tend to beat themselves up and lose accuracy. The M-110 had many issues with this problem before Knight’s Armament corrected it with the Generation 1.5 fixes. Namely the trigger group was beating itself to death and the Scopes were getting pretty beat up. I’m pretty sure they did most of the testing with the Silencer on, so the lower recoil prevented those problems from exposing themselves. No doubt there are many shooters who have AR-10’s and haven’t fired enough rounds to notice. A quality bolt gun and some basic AR-15’s are sitting in everyone’s gun safe so I figured I would just keep things simple.
        What’s really interesting is that people have been buying M-80 Ball ammo and Battle Rifles for preps since the 1960’s. So there are G3’s, Cetme’s, FAL’s, M1A’s, and HK-91’s out there everywhere. Now 12 guys with those things would be really, really dangerous! And they would all have the same faithful M-80 Ball round. Problem is that stuff is a little heavy.

        • SOG March 3, 2021 at 10:01

          ”So there are G3’s, Cetme’s, FAL’s, M1A’s, and HK-91’s out there everywhere” sounds like a new JP article! come on bro! write one on these platforms :)

          • Johnny Paratrooper March 3, 2021 at 10:41

            I know very little about these platforms other than the M-80 ball is a pretty serious general purpose cartridge and the iron sights on many of these guns are DOPE’d for the M80 ball. When combined, the weapons are very effective out to 800 meters.

        • Matt Bracken March 3, 2021 at 10:05

          Compared to most insurgencies, if Team Tyranny drags us into a battle for freedom, the freedom fighters will begin with a cornucopia of weapons. Some old Irish guy with a beat-up iron-sight WW1 Enfield stashed in the attic rafters would be thinking, what a problem to have, a thousand-yard bolt action vs. an 800 yard .308 gas gun…
          I suppose my larger point though, is not the max range of BAs vs GGs, but the utility of the GG over the BA if ambushed on infil or exfil, or if being attacked in position. For countering an attack at close range, a BA is a big slow club after the few rounds in it are slowly cycled. Your description of a military SKT is spot-on, but in an insurgency, I don’t think a QRF is going to be available.
          The SKT will have to fight their way out of problems on their own, and BAs are just too slow to be effective, no matter how accurate they are at 1,000 yards. A guy armed with just a BA and a pistol will be a liability in a firefight compared to a guy with a 20-round .308 gas gun.

          • Johnny Paratrooper March 3, 2021 at 10:37

            I should add some clarity to the article. I didn’t mean to imply an insurgency will have QRF. I meant to imply the professional forces will. And you are correct on the grab bag of weapons. I know that very few of my friends have standardized on anything. Despite attempts to agree on something. They always seem to come home with whatever they decided to buy that week.

          • Johnny Paratrooper March 3, 2021 at 10:47

            I’ll write up a short piece on how BAR’s and SSAR’s can work together. I have run some KD courses of fire with and AR and Bolt gun working in conjunction and it’s pretty effective. Especially since our team isn’t made of 22 year old Rangers and Marines who can carry 100 pounds of gear for weeks at a time.

          • OAF19D March 3, 2021 at 17:56

            Since there are 2 teams how about one of each? 1GG vs 1BA?

          • hitman March 4, 2021 at 11:54

            I need to get to the range. I built an AR-10 up in 6.5 Creedmore last year that I think will be a great shooter. I didn’t scrimp on the barrel and it has an adjustable gas block that should help keep it from beating itself up. You have to take into consideration that the Gas Guns usually get a much higher round count more quickly than a bolt gun too. Otherwise, I have two precision rifle builds in the works that should be 1500 yard guns, not 1000.

        • hitman March 4, 2021 at 15:32

          Just saw this. You’d like it. 8 mm instead of .308 though. I was going to try and re barrel one to .308 when I worked for Mike Rock Barrels, but never got it done.https://floridaguntrader.com/index.php?a=2&b=966205&fbclid=IwAR0pVkYlf2NtM5xRW_Marz-jxQAb7_-fi8nSsE3ffJIc_BnHatV9Uun8JJU

  3. Matt Bracken March 3, 2021 at 08:15

    Great stuff, thanks.
    I think you meant to write “recce” rifle, aka reconnaissance?
    This is the British term for good old American “recon.”
    As in “Marine Recon.”

    • NC Scout March 3, 2021 at 08:19

      It’s a South African term commonly used by both us and the Brits.

      • Matt Bracken March 3, 2021 at 08:37

        I know, I know….but it still sounds stuffy and prissy to me.
        “Rupert, brew up some tea, the recce patrol shall be returning at dawn.”
        Recon just sounds more American. Recon Marine, recon patrol etc.
        I worked with SBS and SAS troops in my day, and for some reason, they became the model we all had to copy.
        Sure, they had some good ideas, like fast roping. We started that in the early 80s based on SAS/SBS input.
        But I can’t imagine Vietnam LRRPs / Lurps saying, “we’re going on a recce patrol.”
        I’m just old school, and I’m proud of our American military heritage. I put our history behind nobody’s.
        Copying British military slang like recce, to me, was a way of saying, “I’ve worked with the SAS, so I’m cooler than you.”

        • NC Scout March 3, 2021 at 08:47

          Don’t care what it sounds like.
          Care more about training people to do it.
          As for the origins of the term in American use, we had a large number of Vietnam LRP /LRRP (two different things, btw) go to Rhodesia post-war and end up in the RLI or Selous Scouts. They brought it back here. Met some of those guys.

    • Johnny Paratrooper March 3, 2021 at 09:14

      Bracken really doesn’t care for the “Recce” rifle term. LOL. I have seen you mention this on other boards before. It’s technically a Recon rifle because the MACV-SOG and SOF units started using the CAR-15 in Vietnam. The problem is, all that stuff was very hush-hush. But the South African’s were quite honest and public about their rifle setups. So their term got picked up first and was more widespread. Frankly, the CAR-15 with nothing on it would make a better recon rifle since recon’s job is to watch, listen, send radio reports, and take pictures. NOT get into a gunfight. The implied task with a “Recce” rifle is that you can use it for recon and to pick a fight. But that’s probably a little pedantic.

      • SemperFi, 0321 March 3, 2021 at 21:42

        I was a Recon Marine in the early-mid 70’s, all we had was the M-16A1 and M-79, the Army used the XM177/E2 versions (CAR-15) which we drooled over and never saw one in use.( Can’t tell you how many Recon wannabe’s I’ve met who told me they carried Uzis, MP-5’s and MAC-10’s just like they saw in SOF Magazine). Worked with 5th/7th SFG at Ft. Bragg, they carried plastic AK’s in the bush, no shit!
        Spent yesterday parkerizing and assembling a XM-177E2 copy w/ mostly original parts, sighted it in today. Awesome light little gun that easily hits everything out to 300m with a 2.5x Primary Arms scope. I used to own a Class3 MAC-10 .45 and prefer the CAR-15 hands down in every way. SMG’s have a lot of sex appeal, but don’t hold a candle to a short rifle caliber in power.
        For the life of me I do not understand why people goober up an M-4 with so much junk it now outweighs a scoped M-14. Light weight means less fatigue and easier handling, besides, when you pull the trigger you just compromised the recon mission. Your job is reconnaissance, not busting caps. Leave that to the grunts.

        • Johnny Paratrooper March 3, 2021 at 23:02

          The call of modern warfare requires modifiers. If you had my M4gery in your hands and I ran you through the drills you would understand. Not to say you are right or wrong, I am just merely declaring that the game has changed. There is a lot to be said about a 6.5 pound weapon that is useful out to 800 meters.

          • SemperFi, 0321 March 3, 2021 at 23:31

            Naaah, we’re also from different schools. I still learned to run light; no helmet, or flak jacket, and barely more than an NVA carried.
            For the modern guerrilla fighter you have to think back to the beginning, of Roger’s Rangers, or VC/NVA, or Taliban, they ran circles around the average grunt unit which couldn’t keep up with casualties from sniping and booby traps. The modern guerrilla fighter won’t have the luxury of calling in a $1 million dollar bomb to get rid of 1-3 enemy. Things are going to be different for YOU, no more back up when shit goes hot, you’re now the Taliban. You’re going to be running for your life while they chase you with drones.
            Let that sink in for awhile.

          • Johnny Paratrooper March 4, 2021 at 08:57

            I meant to imply that things for rifles have changed. I’m aware I won’t have million dollar bombs. The notion never even crossed my mind. I was in Baghdad so we couldn’t drop million dollar bombs anyway. And no-one did that I am aware of.

        • hitman March 4, 2021 at 10:56

          Th XM177E2 sounds like fun. I built an XM 607 (SEALS carried them in Vietnam) clone a few years back and love it. It is as minimal, skinny, light and handy an AR as possible and weighs almost nothing. Has a slick side upper. I have a RRA entry stock on it, not the original style telescoping stock and it has an 11.5 inch barrel with a lengthened pinned and welded moderator to bring it to a legal 16 inches. I love the thing and it shoots great. I can hit a 6 inch steel gong all day at 100 yards with it. Nothing on it, so don’t have to worry about running outside with it in the FL summer here. https://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b390/FrogBait4/XM-607/fixed607_1.jpg?fbclid=IwAR3lZ7BiLTgnyJFRsO007mG5OoBGUhAfPVws3Ldw8JzIncVOD66UFL2BC9w

          • SemperFi, 0321 March 4, 2021 at 19:01

            I took the round 609 handguards off and put the short triangular ones on, so mine’s a 629 clone with 607 handguards. Really f’n cute! Where did you find the 607 buttstock?, they’re shorter and different than an A1 butt, not to mention rare!

          • hitman March 5, 2021 at 09:57

            Semper Fi, I am currently running a Rock River Arms entry Buttstock. Not sure if they are still available, but they resemble the 607 Buttstock in the fully closed position. It’s short, but I can get behind the sights with my nose on the charging handle. Here is a link to a reproduction of the original stock. Not in stock, but I put my name on the list if they do become available again. Mine looks like the top one in the picture, with a barrel and moderator like the bottom one. https://ordnanceresearch.com/607-stock/?fbclid=IwAR24ocECuSxwAc1VMAkj5L1V5X2UY5bUIzQ8ylCe_gyzNaj809gTWl2xJZE

  4. David March 3, 2021 at 08:52

    Tolkien was a WW1 vet

    • Johnny Paratrooper March 3, 2021 at 09:14

      I did not know that.

    • SOG March 3, 2021 at 09:56

      i believe he wrote a lot of his drafts in the trenches!

  5. 71M March 3, 2021 at 08:57

    JP
    Out (as usual)-freakin’standing JP! And you gave me notice that you had more great info coming. 110% great

    • Johnny Paratrooper March 3, 2021 at 09:27

      Thanks brother.

  6. CPB March 3, 2021 at 09:28

    Dammit always giving our secrets away. Now if we can just get people with balls…

    • Johnny Paratrooper March 3, 2021 at 09:39

      We have plenty of balls. People aren’t angry enough. These things take time and there is a natural path that these events unfold along.

      • JD April 11, 2021 at 22:17

        Amen brother

  7. Bret March 3, 2021 at 14:40

    Any thoughts on adding a mag fed shotgun like a saiga 12 to the team as an area denial weapon/force multiplier ?great series of articles by the way

    • Mike March 3, 2021 at 15:19

      Due to their limited range and bulk, shotguns simply don’t fill the role nearly as well as a rifle.

    • Johnny Paratrooper March 3, 2021 at 16:00

      I think you should sell your Saiga 12. They are finicky, bulky, and shotgun rounds are very heavy, and not very useful past 100 meters. Saiga’s are fun range toys. But a quality Duck Gun or Trap gun like a Beretta Silver Pigeon in 12 or 20 gauge are very lightweight and excellent quality. Plus, you can go to a Skeet and Trap club and practice fast reloads and shooting moving targets. A lot of Skeet and Trap clubs do not allow tactical shotguns. I have a tactical shotgun for home defense only. And I quite literally mean out the front door/ Back Yard kinda stuff. They simply aren’t good for much else.

  8. Ray March 3, 2021 at 21:47

    I am sure they are some bad dudes and i’m sure there are many that would have no problem killing American citizens. Just put these guys in a blue state when all hell is breaking loose in a big city and see how effective they are. Honestly, if our military is ordered to kill us then you are talking about CWII squared as Matt mentioned in one of his books. When citizens are being sniped you can expect the country to grind to a complete halt. We all know they got the best training, hardware and support but do they really want to turn America into another middle toilet hell hole?

    • Johnny Paratrooper March 3, 2021 at 23:00

      They do. And they want to auction the land to the highest bidder. Or lowest. Whatever takes us down and off the grand chess board. Research “Grand Strategy”

  9. VoorTrekker March 4, 2021 at 03:10

    I have a piece I had written a couple of years ago similar to yours and based on guerilla/partisan theory. Mine was more on engage, maneuver, retrograde in bounding and overwatch and reposition. One small request: some of the acronyms are stifling our understanding of terms. SSAR? KD?
    When I was in Iraq we called the QRF Quick Reaction Force, but I like Response Force better.

  10. Juri March 4, 2021 at 05:41

    Is this good idea or bad ? Well, it depends.
    Normally, war is planned from top to bottom. First Grand Strategy. Who are the enemy and what they want ? Who are we and what we want ? How our victory should look like ?
    Then the War Theatre. Where we will fight ? Is the area small or large, what the terrain looks like. Mountains, desert, forest, swamp Weather , cold or hot or moderate. Is there any towns or cities and what we gonna do with them ?
    Now operational level. How we will build up our battles ? Do we use hit and run short attacks or do we want seriously conquer like in WW II ? Or something between it. For example conquering some land mass and send the battle groups out to hunt commies. Or other way. Building up defense and let the commies attack our well prepared positions.
    And last thing is tactical level. Considering all previous, we will build up our fighting groups and supply them with weapons and equipment. For example, this 2 group tactics. In some terrain, going one kilometer takes hour or even more. When the first group has trouble, the another one will never arrive on time. When you can keep enemy away, then bolt action sniper rifles are very effective. In close combat, accuracy is irrelevant, but reloading speed is critical. Russians making those heavy 70 round drum mags for this reason. No time for mag change.
    So, let,s plan a war first and next we will see, what units, tactics and weapons are needed.

    • wwes March 4, 2021 at 07:51

      I would strongly disagree that accuracy is “irrelevant” at closer range. Accuracy is always relevant and always important. If you aren’t connecting lead with whatever you are shooting at, you really aren’t going to accomplish anything. Shooting at close range may not require the level of precision marksmanship that you need at longer ranges, but that doesn’t mean that you should be spraying and praying.

  11. Anonymous March 4, 2021 at 07:32

    4.5

  12. Latigo Morgan March 4, 2021 at 10:15

    Great writeup. When I have more time I’ll relate the “experiment” I was a part of in the mid-80’s as a PFC. I was Mechanized Infantry and they attached our company to a tank battalion. Our main purpose was to be hunter-killers behind the scouts. The abridged version is that a platoon of Infantry stayed one terrain feature behind the scouts. If they found something interesting, we’d come in and engage. Tanks would stand off and be ready to pick off any armor.
    It was a bit more complicated, as we’d often wind up scouting as well because there were so few of them at the time. Mechanized Infantry meant we could stow a lot of unnecessary gear on the M113, not ride into battle.
    There is a lot more to it, but the experiment was so successful that our unit was the very first to go undefeated at NTC at Ft. Irwin against the Reds. Our tactics baffled them at the time. I guess one of the biggest compliments a grunt could get at that time was when the Marines attached to the Opfor accused us of being Airborne Special Forces.

  13. VoorTrekker March 4, 2021 at 11:36

    I had written a similar note about small teams and composite weapons systems with maneuvering and movements. Interesting. What are these acronyms: SSAR, KD, ??

    • Johnny Paratrooper March 4, 2021 at 11:42

      Squad Support Assault Rifle and Known Distance.

  14. PatriotBeliever March 4, 2021 at 20:40

    Gents,
    Been following all of you for some time. Thanks for all you’re doing!
    Know that many are watching (and learning) but have to be careful about coming up on the radar because of what we do.
    Keep it up. It’s working.

  15. SGM S March 9, 2021 at 11:44

    Great article, and great discussion.
    When I’m asked “what calibers should I get,” I reply “who has the most ammo in the US?” Answer: US Military (particularly the Army). And the calibers they use? 5.56mm NATO, 9x19mm, 7.62×51 NATO, 300WM (for sniping), .50BMG. I have read that they have some 6.5 Creedmore, but don’t know that this one is Military Ubiquitous yet. Most of this will be acquired by Battlefield Pickup.
    I emphasize the use of Ballistic Advantage, which means effectively engaging them at ranges they likely won’t even try, or would only be spraying & praying when returning fire. This requires rifles, ammunition, and training capable of accurately reaching out to at least 600 meters (AR15/5.56), 800-1000 meters (7.62) and possibly 1500 meters with 300-magnum or .50/.338, etc.
    For 5.56, you get this level of accuracy with match-grade ammo (at least 69 grain), a 20-inch barrel, bipod, and at least a 10X scope. An alternative for the “Bolt Gunners” would be to carry the heavy, long-range, low-rate-of-fire rifle in a bag, and a 16″ barrel AR (or even an AR pistol) for immediate self-defense.
    Tactically, we don’t want to mix it up at short-ranges with any superior OPFOR, so it makes sense to me to hit them while you enjoy ballistic advantage, then withdraw as they move into effective range of you. This is where, also, that second SKT can have a disruptive effect on the OPFOR: Set up Engagement Areas (EA) which the other SKT covers by fire in order to disrupt the other guy’s advance against you. While SKT2 is engaging, you withdraw/displace to another pre-planned position which would allow your SKT to cover the displacement of SKT2.
    Remember, in these cases, WE are doing “guerilla stuff” against a superior enemy. We also can NEVER afford casualties – replacements will be too hard to find!
    Which brings us to Our Mobility. I remember the US Army “Light Fighters” mantra: “Too Light to Fight; Too Heavy to Run!”
    We won’t have the logistics tail necessary for resupply, and we must ALWAYS assume that we’ll be short on AMMO, and we must carry what we have, so parsimonious precision semi-auto fire MUST be the order of the day! We might carry 300 rounds of 5.56mm or 7.62mm, but can we move with that weight in order to escape encirclement? Consider mountain-bikes or (while fuel is available) quiet dirt-bikes/ATVs where possible to get in and out of target areas.
    Regarding slick rifles: Easier to carry, but not good for ballistic advantage. AT LEAST mount a variable-power magnifying optic which allows you to identify and engage targets beyond 300-400 meters. This means that, rather than toting a plethora of binoculars and spotting scopes, every rifleman can scan on low-power, switching to higher-power to more closely scrutinize possible targets, spot splashes for the big rifles; then more accurately engage bad-guys as they approach the 300-meter “let’s get out of here!” line. (Note: Laser rangefinders are NOT a luxury!)
    I saw no mention of night combat in the comments above. If you have Night Vision Devices, you must be able to aim your weapon with them, which implies using weapon-mounted IR lasers in conjunction with head-mounted NVDs, or weapon mounted NVDs that work with day-sights – ie clamp-on night scopes in front of day-optics. (Yes, I know: EXPENSIVE!) Red-dot/holographic sights? Not good beyond 200 meters, so keep them as short-range backups to your magnifying optics.
    Finally, periodically I get the argument “we never get shots beyond 100-200 meters around here.” Yes, many times all you have is closer-in engagement possibilities, but EVERYWHERE (except in the depths of thick forest) there are opportunities for longer-range engagements – one must only look for them. If our, and jihadi, snipers could get 1200 meter shots inside Baghdad and Ramadi, it can be done in American cities, towns, and rural areas.
    Here’s hoping that my rant engenders more discussion, and more relevant ideas: No one of us is smarter than all of us!
    SGM S.

    • NC Scout March 9, 2021 at 11:54

      SGM, first, thanks for reading and commenting- its an honor to have you. You are 100% correct (as usual). Its these same realities you’ve pointed out that should sound extremely familiar to everyone who’s taken the Scout Course with me. That’s why I train the students to shoot to 400m (inside danger close but outside the confident engagement range of most troops) and give them limited rounds of blanks for the SUT exercises. It emphasizes the challenges they’ll have to overcome. Your comment on red dots is literally a block of instruction I gave on the range, only for it to be proven correct. Optics are the biggest force multiplier on the ground.
      I want to post your comments as a standalone piece, with your permission.

    • Johnny Paratrooper March 9, 2021 at 12:24

      Thanks for this post, this is great. I am glad we had some people discuss this situation as I requested. Much of what you say is included in my piece, but is left unmentioned. You’re piece about optics is certainly true. As you mentioned, the mix of LPOV Optics and red dots on the AR’s combined with the high power bolt gun glass is a good mix of both worlds, and is the standard now. Plus, you could, in theory run a team heavy with SSAR’s and another team heavy on BAR’s depending on where you place them(MET-TC).
      There are some people who mock bolt guns as being obsolete, and almost certainly they will be one day, however that isn’t going to be in our lifetime IMHO. There are bolt guns and shooters in this country who far exceed any military sniper I have met. Obviously the military sniper has more experience, is likely more fit, and has more ready and willing friends. But for nearly 10 years the 6.5 Creedmore has been the industry standard, and that is 100% a 1,000 yard gun; Easily. Even the cheap ammo is good out to 1,000 yards. For 5 years the entire firearms industry has been trying to copy the same effect the 6.5 Creedmore had on the industry, and there are A LOT of rounds that come close. Especially with the new “ELD” or “Extreme Long Distance” highly aerodynamic bullets on the market.
      I don’t know if you have ever seen these new performance rounds before, but if you visit a Long Range club or an Extreme Long Range club you’ll be absolutely shocked with the level of precision we have these days. My friends(several guys) have 6.5 Creedmoore’s that are guaranteed head shot guns at 1000 yards. It’s really incredible. To not incorporate this force multiplier into your team is, frankly, suicidal at the worst, and wildly optimistic at it’s best. Also, to answer your question on availability, the police have adopted the 6.5 Creedmoore in many departments. I don’t know of any military units who have, but I am sure that there are lightweight Long Range teams who use them. The 6.5 Creedmoore is a fairly light round compared to the 300 WinMag, and it provides about 75%-80% the same results. The .300 WinMag is a “true mile” cartridge with the right bullet; I have done it myself(Several friends own them). The 6.5 Creedmoore is with us forever. It’s never going to die off or disappear.

  16. […] following was a comment left by a retired Sergeant Major commenting on the Small Kill Team (SKT) article by our own Johnny Paratrooper. His sentiment should echo much of what I’ve advocated over the years and taught in my […]

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