TDG 13: Quick Reaction Force
A TDG is a Tactical Decision Game, a mental wargaming exercise designed to get you practice making tactically sound decisions in a hypothetical scenario. The ability to make sound and timely decisions based off incomplete and imperfect information is a critical skill to have, especially as a team leader.
You will be given a scenario, confronted with a tactical problem, and given a time limit to think about and write out your answer. The time limit is to simulate the pressure of a real-world tactical decision, where you must quickly assess the information you are given and come up with the best answer you can. Then comment below with your answer so you can discuss each others’ solutions.
TDG 13: Quick Reaction Force
Week 5 into WROL. You live in a very small town of 200 people in an area surrounded by forested, hilly terrain with scattered farms. Law enforcement in your county has become non-existent with the Sherriff’s department tied up maintaining order in the county seat. The people of your town have banded together for your security and by this time have a set schedule for everyone to take turns on guard duty. While the town itself is not self-sufficient, your mayor has made trade agreements with neighboring farmers and similar groups with the agreement to also provide security for the area with security patrols and a Quick Reaction Force (QRF) to respond to any lawlessness that may ensue. This is seen as an invaluable service since the Sherriff is unwilling to risk his deputies by sending them outside his secure perimeter.
A large part of your security work has been locating and intercepting groups of refugees from the state capitol and directing them to alternate routes around your area of control. In the last week your security patrols and observation posts have reported 3 large groups of 10 or more refugees that your QRF has had to intercept and turn back. Due to these groups being large, and some of them armed, your QRF has been increased in size recently from 10 to 20 men who can use vehicles, although you try to conserve your fuel by responding on foot to closer threats or small groups.
You are the guard shift leader standing by on QRF duty today. When you take over the watch at 0800, the man you relieve tells you that yesterday they had tried to respond to a group of 14 people on foot that your observation post spotted, but the QRF could not locate the group when they arrived.
At 2017, just after sunset, the alarm signal sounds to summon the QRF to the town’s TOC. Upon arrival, you are briefed that a nearby farmer, Jared Hegel, called on his CB radio to report that he and his family of 4 are under attack at his house by at least 5 men who are demanding that he give them all the food and liquor in the house. When he refused they began firing on the house and wounded Jared’s 19 year-old son in the arm. While he cannot see the shooters, he does know that most of the gunfire is coming from the front of the house (East side).
The QRF is tasked by the mayor with responding to Jared’s house to save him and his family. Your QRF consists of the following:
- 3x 6-man squads each with:
- 1x NVG
- 5x assault rifles (mixed types)
- 1x scoped .308 rifle
- 1x handheld VHF/UHF radio
- 3x Pickup trucks (can fit one squad each)
- 1x drone operator (the drone has a max range of 2km, no night vision or thermals)
- 1x command vehicle (Jeep with a CB radio)
- Your personal AR-15, NVG, and handheld VHF/UHF radio
The time is 2020. Weather is clear but windy (10mph from the West). The moon is a half-moon.
In a time limit of 10 minutes, create a tentative plan for how you would get to the objective and accomplish your mission. Since there are a lot of unknowns, try to build flexibility into your plan.
The green shaded areas represent evergreen forest with thin undergrowth.
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GUNS N GEAR
3 squads in trucks, me and drony in jeep.
Proceed north out of town with head lights and high speed to point 251 where we turn left.
Proceed half the distance to the bend (west of 246) and shut lights. Proceed slowly with NIV
until we reach the small clearing north of the bend that the road runs through.
Dismount.
Plan:
Team A with NIV move north on right side of road to right of house. Report sounds/visualization/contact. Position for assault and assault command.
Team B / Leader with NIV move west by south west to edge larger clearing, then North. Report sounds/visualization/contact. Position for assault and assault command.
Team C and drony reserve response force with vehicles, set up perimeter.
Drony launches since the half moon might provide enough light to see, or at least see muzzle flashes. Reports while Teams A/B move into position.
Once Team A and Team B are in position: if contact has not been made then leader creeps/surveils with NIV until targets acquired. Drony may add intel here. Team A / B get close enough to make out targets using ambient light (half moon).
Shoot the crap out the targets.
Immediately launch the drone and have the pilot ride with me along with another guy to get someone at Jared’s on the line for live intel. Convoy will follow my Jeep north on the road and we will dismount just SouthWest of Jared’s house, getting the vehicles inside the tree line and out of sight if possible. One squad to move East and come in behind the house, join the fight and get Jared’s son immediate medical attention. Two squads move NorthWest to flank the opposing force, close with the enemy and destroy them. Advise all team members of the previous report of a larger force of refugees and the possibility that they will be in the area.
Good Lord, I just wrecked my own plan with the wrong cardinal directions. I will proceed to self-exile and roam the wasteland like The Book of Eli…Should have been head North, dismount on the West side of the road just SouthEast of Jared’s house, all squads move NorthWest towards the house, the squad reinforcing the house/medic for Jared’s son breaks off and heads further W by NW to loop around behind the house and enter from the rear (Jared already informed and expecting), main 2 squads move to a flanking position just South of the opposing force.
This is why I comment, to learn, also one day after I’ve finally taken these courses I can look back and hopefully see how far I’ve come.
One thing I keep coming back to is that there is a distinction between between fighting a known uniformed enemy and fighting people who were once my fellow citizens. Clearly these animals just tried to kill this man’s family over food and liquor, so justice for them will be swift. But is there women and children with them? Can I positively ID non-combatants at range and in darkness, it wouldn’t stop the fight, but it would be on my mind. And lastly, in a leadership position I would want to make sure there were no massacres, no killing out of emotion or revenge (and I mean against women and children). In a WROL situation there is a propensity for things like that on both sides, I’d imagine.
One of my main concerns would be an ambush. If we have “moved along” other groups they certainly know by the Bamboo Telegraph that there is some kind of “militia” etc…in the area. If the group was 14 and now there are 5- assumes same group etc… Where are the other 9? That roadway in has a perfect curve close to the farm for an ambush.
I would approach but would dismount at least a half a mile from that curve and send one squad on a swing to the right through the woods and the other two to the left of the road toward the farm through the woods. The squad moving to the right will likely bump into any flank security an ambush team would have in place- assuming they put any out, if not they will roll up into the ambush force or if no ambush set, simply continue to the objective and will catch the enemy in a pincer.
On the one hand I think the drone will not be very useful in these circumstances and just a distraction with limited man power. I don’t want to get “tech fixated”. But, we have comms and someone to operate the drone so likely I put it up as we dismount and get our shit squared away before setting out, IF they see anything they can let us know while we are moving toward the farm.
Use the drone as a sacrificial lamb. Run it low along the tree line. Desperate rebels won’t know it’s capabilities and likely to assume it will see them even without NV or thermal capability. The likely hood of a direct hit on this asset will be extremely small unless using shotguns and will definitely expose them and their location. Those with scoped rifles should concentrate on the direction of the distant muzzle flashes as the drone shooters expose their locations. Otherwise the drone has no adequate purpose as you state.
Am worried about those 9, + they were observing many 10 personish groups going through the area lately. It seems exposure of the QRF may be key.
1 squad quietly park their truck on the east/west road just north of line 22 and walk north. Position ambush along that road north of Jared’s on east side to avoid crossfire.
1 squad position south of Jared’s on the road, east side of the road as well.
1 squad park south of Jared’s at the T intersection and walk northwest, positioning in a line formation spread out behind the house. Each squad’s field of fire strictly defined as directly west and north for nothern road ambush, west and south for southern road ambush, and directly east only for squad behind the house.
One each squad member has NVG and Radio. After each is in position, radios to Command vehicle their sitrep with special focus on count of attackers.
Jared and family told to take cover.
After all 3 in position, command vehicle gives go for scoped rifle in each squad to fire at whoever appears to be in charge at will. As attackers flee, NVG/Radio guy updates the rest on position and fires with assault rifle when possible. Others fire with assault rifles when light is sufficient. Those fleeing hopefully spotted by ambushes.
Attackers killed or captured count compared with count before operation. NVG’s and drone used to spot any fleeing from above.
Remove the IR protection lens from the drone cam, if any of the intruders are using IR nightvision you can see their position.
#1 truck// i am dropping 1 team of 6 off at the east side of the road. they are the ambush and clean up crew./
#2 trucks/jeep 2 and 3 come in short of the road and bypass the road. to flank to the sides of the farm entrance road. lights stay on and it is slow drive in using head lights to flank the house and push back towards the main road.
#3 we launch the drone and look and listen for muzzle flash and gun fire. we have 12 guys here/ 2 guys go into th house stop the bleeding and internal security. 10 guys left. you split into 2 -5 mans [right and left echelon wings of a straight column/ guy with the nvg, stays center column. looking and clearing the dark spots. stay voice clearing close. we slowly push look and listen/ the idea is to let them retreat into a ambush at the road.
Tell Jared that we are on the way, hold tight, and keep up enough defensive fire so that the bad guys don’t feel emboldened to rush the house.
Rally the mounted QRF at hill 246 (4000 2190). Proceed up the road, mounted, slowly, watching for ambush. Someone without NGV (guy with best nightvision) should be looking for any glow that indicates a camp or artificial lighting for an OPFOR TOC/FOB. If this is the group of 14 (not confirmed to me) then there’s got to be a sizable camp setup somewhere.
Dismount SQ 1&2 at the bend at 4000 2188. Squad 3 waits there as reserve/pursuit. SQ1 &2 go down the road with the jeep to the fork at 3980 2214, SQ2 goes just to the left of the road, cutting the bend and stopping 100m south of the driveway. SQ1 goes west up the hill to the clearing at 3960 2200 with the jeep, searching for OPFOR reserves/camp. If no contact (very likely there is a camp here, have to be ready), SQ1 and me leave the drone op on top of the hill and start down the hill going NE. Attack on contact, SQ2 joins the attack when SQ1 starts. Have drone OP tell Jared when we have started the attack and have him cease fire unless directly assaulted (no friendly fire). Drone op has discretion to use his drone as he sees best and feed me what intel he has. Going to suggest that he at least keep an eye on the road for headlights.
Push them N/NE. If they are well dug in and fighting hard, bring SQ3 up to turn it into a full L from the road. (Trying to avoid this to not put more rounds into Jared’s house.) If they flee, SQ3 comes up the road as dragoons to pursue, goal is to keep them moving and disallow them to rally, not to try to wipe them out (too likely to take casualties we can’t afford.) They turn south down the road, radio SQ3 to setup an ambush using their best judgment.
Assuming a successful battle, have the drone op search for a camp, focusing on the direction they fled to.
Forgot — as soon as practicable, send one of the squads to secure the house (hearts and minds) and to administer first aid to Jared’s son. Evac him to town if there are better facilities there (maybe not.)
When we went after Bin Laden in Afghanistan, I suggested sending 10 sniper teams to different locales. Basically, get the rabbit to poke his head out and one shot would speak louder than all the bombs could throughout the war.
That said, I would hand over my AR15, take the 308 and one NV and Radio. My second in charge would take control of the group temporarily. We would use one of the trucks as an insertion/extraction vehicle and maintain radio silence until pickup. The rest would use drone for attempting to find the other 9 participants and taking care of them as necessary.
Glasser and I would take down the 5 shooters, if possible, and the rest of the group would play cleanup. They would be in area if all hell breaks loose.
Now about that Bin Ladden thing, I was handed a Time magazine that showed all the land mines in Afghanistan and told, “But this is the problem.” To which I replied, “So you would send in hundred of thousands on those very trails rather than 20 sneaky bastards that would rarely encounter a land mine?” Same thing here. A sniper Team is good at avoiding detection and that group of 9 is problematic.
-Enemy-
Likely a bunch of idiots who are not too well trained as they got pinned down and have not counter-attacked or immediately closed on the residence
Small in number as there is no one attacking from the rear, flanks, or another angle of fire
Will likely be spooked by a flank attack in the dark and not effective fighters
-QRF-
Sweep the area going in for getaway vehicles, rear guards, or a reserve force
Determine the location and distribution of the enemy using NVGs, drone, and observation
Manuever a squad into position to serve as fire support
Utilize the two other squads to attack the flanks of the enemy
Should be enough people to form a decent sweep formation and handle anyone who flees
NVG guy acts as a target spotter for the flanking squads and used all tracers to designate targets
Fire support group transitions to defensive supplement as flanking guys enter their field of fire
Assuming drivers are supernumarary to the squads, they guard the vehicles and can provide basic defense against any surprise enemy reserves
Any survivors should be tactically interrogated
If related to the missing 14, locate the group and eliminate any additional military age males as the group has already demonstrated hostile intent
Lack of NVGs universally will be a problem
Tracer fire may draw fire or range is too close for them to illuminate
Wind from the west at 10mph would camouflage the whine of drone motors as well as camouflage QRF movement. Drone to sweep or loiter the roads/landmarks and observe. Approach drone from east.
5 OPFOR attacking the house with maybe 9-10 in reserve, non-combatant, or a combination of the two. My thought is that the OPFOR reserve force is at the T-intersection southeast of Jared’s house. It offers two avenues of ingress/egress from the area, plus the nearby dogleg in the road is a good ambush spot for them. The drone can help to confirm this.
One squad approach from the north getting into position behind Jared’s house. One squad approach from east behind the OPFOR attackers. Third squad will act as reserve/reactionary force if OPFOR reserve is found or becomes active. HQ: commander, drone operator and 1-2 security with vehicles. They direct the ops, keep comms open with squads and Jared and secure rally point.
PACE: PRIMARY channel on VHF to coordinate operations. ALTERNATE channel on UHF for same if primary fails or is compromised. CONTINGENCY: If OPFOR reserve located and attempts to engage. EMERGENCY: Gross underestimation of OPFOR elements. Extract Jarod and family. Provide first aid. Disengage. Regroup at rally point.
No, I have no prior .mil experience. Yes, it shows.
All three squads load up in the 3 trucks and 2 guys in the jeep..
Drive to the big sweeping turn on the block to the right or east of the red targets block or east of the goons.
Send the jeep ahead to the road on the left that heads down to Jerod’s house go far enough and park the jeep as far away as possible in a line of sight to Jarod’s place with the lights on and running then fire some shots into the air for a distraction and beat it to a hasty ambush site 100 yards from the jeep with a good shooting alley to take out any stragglers trying to get away…
While that going on the 3 squads are moving in from the south south east and flanking the positions of the goons.
The distraction will get there attention and hopefully moving so we can see them on thermal or the drone.
Then we move in and ventilate them and collect all there stuff..