Do You Know How To Walk? by Scipio

I am not asking a 10-month-old that question. More precisely, the question should be, “Do you know how to walk tactically? There is a difference, a big difference.

It’s similar to running. There’s a big difference in jogging and running. I didn’t realize how much different they were until I started running with the Atlanta Track Club when I lived in Atlanta. My friend got me started and at first it was pure torture. I thought running would be like my old infantry days where you just endured the pain in your physical conditioning. I was wrong.

I learned the need to and how to warm up before a run and how to cool down. I learned how to breathe properly. I learned that you run differently up hills and down hills. And most importantly I learned the “mind game” you played with yourself and how you were your greatest competitor.

I learn to get the right shoes, shorts, and singlets. I learned to ditch my hat. I learned there were “gently rolling hills” on any foot race course. I ran my first 10K race in approximately 48 minutes and learned to bring that time down to 39 minutes three months later. I was age 30, eight years out of the army.

I learned a lot about running, now I want to teach you a little about walking tactically.

Keep in mind walking tactically will help you achieve your mission. It also may save your life or those around you. Stumbling into an ambush with the bad guys because you telegraphed you’re coming a mile away is not the way you want to end your race. “I’m not infantry” you say, and “I am going to be doing something else in my group”. Well in a SHTF or a WWOL situation everyone becomes infantry to some degree, so you need to know some basic infantry stuff.

Remember in the movie “Saving Private Ryan” the scene where private Upton was recruited by Captain Miller to join his squad. Pvt Upton said that he only had basic and just weapons familiarization. Suddenly he was now infantry, not a clerk MOS. He quickly learned FUBAR and other tactical stuff on his walk. Perhaps you will be drafted into a similar infantry type situation in your A0 by your group.

I am not going to discuss infantry formations, spacing, fire team movement and maneuvering, hand signals, etc. or any other group skills. There are others who have written about these topics extremely well. Check them out. My focus is simply how you should walk in order to mitigate noise and maintain OpSec.

First keep your big mouth shut and your little mouth open. There will be times when you shouldn’t talk at all, then you will need to know hand signals.

While on patrol you should be always speaking in hushed tones. You should be practicing this anytime you are outside walking with other people even in a park setting. Sound travels amazing distances and can give your position away.

Remember in the movie predator when the CIA operative, Dylan, slid down an embankment making noise. Mac came behind him with a knife to his throat and said “I don’t care who you are back in the real world. You give up our position away one more time and I’ll bleed ya real quiet”. Being quiet is that serious. Voice discipline is where you start training first in your tactical walking.

Become cognizant of your surroundings and terrain. It will have a tremendous impact on how far sound travels. For example, if you were in a ravine or a valley then sounds you make there will work as a funnel sending sound and amplifying it up and down the ravine.  It’s like one of those megaphones you see cheer leaders using in football games. Deep and dense foliage on the other hand muffles sound. However, it can be a two-edge sword giving the bad guys the same advantage just neutralizing any vantage you may have had. Similarly, standing at the edge of a large body of water such as a lake or pond pushes that sound over a large area.

It may sound overly simple but how you place your feet and where are you place your feet on the ground in your walk is important.  In fact, once you have mastered voice discipline, where and how you place your feet becomes paramount. In your stride your foot should land on your heel and your foot then roll forward to the ball of your foot. Walking flat-footed will make a “thud” sound and will be very painful for you if done over long distances. That is why flat-footed people generally are not put in the infantry.

Another obvious consideration is to avoid stepping on twigs and small limbs that will make piercing cracking sounds. Sometimes there is so much debris on the ground that you must walk on it. Try putting your foot down at a slight 10° angle, rolling your foot inward striking the debris at an angle.

As far as foot placement is concerned make sure it is in a place where you can keep your balance. Beware of rocks that might slip under your feet, muddy embankments, or other potential loose material.  If possible, in those situations use your hands to ensure your stability. Beware of pulling too hard on branches for support because they will move back-and-forth vigorously creating a larger area of movement than your body alone would.  A stumble and a thud and a jingling pack will telegraph your position more than you can imagine.

Here is an exercise you may want to try. To hear for yourself what I am talking, about put your ear to the ground as your buddies walk past you and notice the sound signatures they are making. Ask them to walk normal not tactical and see what you hear.

Another cardinal rule is to step in the same footsteps of the person in front of you as nearly as possible. For one it obscures the number of people in your group in case bad guys stumble upon your trail. Secondly if the guy’s foot placement in front of you didn’t trigger an IED then you’re following him will produce the same results.

Occasionally you will come across an only slightly visible root or tip of a rock that’s obscured by groundcover. Those are almost impossible to detect, and a slight stumble is inevitable. No matter how good you are, you cannot move completely silent. However, when you do notice such a protrusion or something else that will cause those behind you to stumble, be sure to point it out to the person behind you. That person in turn should point it out to the next person behind them and so on until that warning has been passed to the end of your group.

I alluded to balance and your pack earlier. It is imperative your pack fits so snuggly that if you must lean in an awkward angle, you won’t lose your balance and stumble or fall.

Remember, keep your mouth shut, watch how you put your feet down, watch where you put your feet, keep your balance, step over organic matter that would make a cracking sound, ID terrain features that will amplify your sound.

By the way I forgot to tell you, while you’re doing all this keep your head up and on a swivel looking 360° for the bad guys. Have fun!