Reading Material for Tactics... and hello.

[Sharkey]

Hello there everyone. I'm J. Sharkey.

I've just recently joined the forums and it seems like a great group of folks to be involved with.

I recently noticed that the 506th opened up recruiting again and am crossing my fingers that I'm a good fit for the unit.

I'm curious if there may be any good recomendations for any reading material as it pertains to soldiering and or tactics in general as it may apply to and or assist in playing in an environment such as with 506th?

I've recently picked up a few books that were recommended to me by another source unrelated to Arma and they seem like they are filled with some good information thus far.

Light Infantry Tactics For Small Teams
Christopher E. Larsen
ISBN: 1-4184-7207-7

Combat Leader's Field Guide 13th Edition
Sgt. Maj. Brett Stoneberger, USA (Ret.)
ISBN: 978-0-8117-3195-9

STP 7-11BCHM14-SM-TG
Soldier's Manual and Trainer's Guide
MOS 11B, 11C, 11H &11M
Skill Levels 1/2/3/4
1988

SH 21-76
UNITED STATES ARMY
RANGER HANDBOOK
Ranger Training Brigade
United States Army Infantry School
Fort Benning, Georgia
July 1992

FC 7-22
Infantry Squad and Platoon Drills
Proponent: ATSH-I-V-U
Date: June 1985

J. Sharkey

[Goldberg]

Oh, cool.

[Simmering]

Nice, will look in to this.

[CPT (Ret) Nagel]

FM 3-21.8 is the Army's Infantry Platoon Manuel.

[Sharkey]

FM 3-21.8 is the Army's Infantry Platoon Manuel.

SFC Nagel thank you for the fantastic suggestion.

Downloaded and reading now. Ordered and on the way. I like having physical copies. 

J. Sharkey

[Strafe]

I wouldn't take fm 3-21.8 as face value. That book is out dated and I skimmed through it, there is things I noticed that are wrong and outdated. The ranger handbook is anyones best bet with infantry tactics as it is updated constantly every time tactics change since it is used with Ranger School. I'm speaking from current experience. If you want infantry tactics the ranger handbook can do you no wrong with basics to semi-advance tactics. You will hear all the time about special forces "green berets" from their mouthes constantly, they don't do anything advance or high-speed, they are just masters of the basics. They practice the basics constantly until its perfect. In the Q-course which is the pipe line for special forces they have a school called SUT which is small unit tactics (squad level and below tactics with a small portion in platoon level) and they solely use the ranger handbook to teach this school with mixture of their own theories and experience as nothing is perfect and there is numerous ways to perform the same task. It is shaped to be like Ranger School.

[CPT (Ret) Nagel]

I wouldn't take fm 3-21.8 as face value. That book is out dated and I skimmed through it, there is things I noticed that are wrong and outdated. The ranger handbook is anyones best bet with infantry tactics as it is updated constantly every time tactics change since it is used with Ranger School. I'm speaking from current experience. If you want infantry tactics the ranger handbook can do you no wrong with basics to semi-advance tactics. You will hear all the time about special forces "green berets" from their mouthes constantly, they don't do anything advance or high-speed, they are just masters of the basics. They practice the basics constantly until its perfect. In the Q-course which is the pipe line for special forces they have a school called SUT which is small unit tactics (squad level and below tactics with a small portion in platoon level) and they solely use the ranger handbook to teach this school with mixture of their own theories and experience as nothing is perfect and there is numerous ways to perform the same task. It is shaped to be like Ranger School.

uhh what

FM 3-21.8 is doctrinally correct. That being said, no, doctorine isn't the best answer for all situations. The tactics in the ranger handbook and FM 3-21.8 is the same. 21-76 just has more information about skills that apply, rather than 3-21 which covers everything from roles, duties, etc. And the ranger handbook is easier to carry in your pocket for reference rather than like... a book.

[Strafe]

Fm 3-21.8 is not 100% correct. There is tactics in there that we do not use in the army. You would not use their wedge hand signal for instance as it requires you to take your hand off the weapon. No one in my infantry battalion uses it. I would hope no one else does as the last thing you want to do is take your hand off your weapon in a combat environment. Those hand signals alone are not even taught in ranger school. Which is upadted more frequently with doctrine then fm 3-21.8 is. That soctrine is 8 years old. It is outdated. Im not saying it is all inaccurate, but the infantry battle drills has some inaccuaracy. The ranger handbook was last updated with doctrine in 2014 fm 3-21.8 was 2007. Ill point out the biggest outdated flaw of fm 3-21.8 which is battle drill 6 room clearing. That is 100% wrong and outdated. Hallway clearing is also 100% wrong, a rolling t is beyond stupid. You essentially create a wall of bodies for the enemy to shoot at which guarantees someone being hit from spray and pray.

[T. Brown]

ST 3-20.983 Reconnaissance Handbook

It's a little outdated but none of the less gives you a lot of what it means to be a Cavalry Scout in today's Army. It was recommended in Basic that we all got this and it has helped me out a lot with understanding my job in specific areas. Like SFC Nagel said doctrine will only get you so far though, you have to be able to adapt to other situations.