U.S. Army Combat Skills Handbook

• Publisher: Skyhorse
• Year: 2013
• ISBN:
  9781510720527
• Topic: Storia
• Subtopic: Storia militare e marittima

Recognizing that "wars are not won by machines and weapons but by the soldiers who use them, " this comprehensive manual not only informs the reader of the timeless skills necessary to survive on the battlefield, but also instructs the soldier on how to perform and execute these tasks to succeed in combat. From concealment and mobility to first aid and personal care, you too can possess the knowledge armed service people are equipped with so they can do their jobs properly and confidently. This informative and exhaustive guide draws upon the real-life experiences of soldiers who have faced warfare and lived in combat zones.
Practical and explicit instructions on team formation, proper positioning for offensive and defensive maneuvers, and handling of equipment and weaponry are thoroughly explained. Also included is advice on life-saving CPR and wound-care techniques; sections on combat intelligence and nuclear, biological, and chemical warfare; and appendices covering mines, demolitions, obstacles, combat in urban areas, tracking, and evasion and escape. Illustrations throughout the book depict various field scenarios that soldiers face in a war zone. See what it takes to perform, inspire, and lead in the U.S. Army!

APPENDIX A

Mines

GENERAL _________________________________

A unit may use mines during security, defensive, retrograde, and offensive operations in order to reduce the enemy’s mobility. In those operations, leaders pick the places for the mines and their men emplace them and, when required, retrieve them (See TM 9–1345-203-12P).

The mines you will most commonly use are:

• M14, Antipersonnel

• M16Al, Antipersonnel

• M18Al, Antipersonnel

• M26, Antipersonnel

• M15, Antitank

• M21, Antitank

• M24, Off-Route Antitank

CONTENTS

GENERAL

ANTIPERSONNEL

ANTITANK

ANTIPERSONNEL

M14, ANTIPERSONNEL MINE

This is a blast-type, high-explosive mine with a plastic body. A pressure of 9 to 15.8kg (20 to 35 lb) will detonate it.

To emplace an M14 mine:

• Remove the mine from the packing box and inspect it. If the mine is cracked or otherwise damaged, do not use it.

• Use the M22 wrench from the packing box to unscrew the white plastic shipping plug from the detonator well in the bottom of the mine. Keep the shipping plug for possible future use.

• Inspect the firing pin’s position. If it extends into the detonator well. the mine is unsafe to use.

• Inspect the detonator well for foreign matter. If foreign matter is present, carefully remove it by tapping the mine against the palm of the hand.

• Dig a hole about 10 cm (4 in) in diameter and just deep enough (about 3.8 em [1.5 in]) so that the pressure plate of the mine will extend above the ground.

• Make sure the ground at the bottom of the hole is solid enough to support the mine when pressure is applied to the pressure plate. If the ground is too soft, place a block of wood or other solid support in the bottom of the hole.

To disarm and remove an M14 mine, reverse the steps used to arm and emplace it.

• Inspect the area around the mine to see if the mine has been tampered with. If it has been, do not try to disarm it. Report the tampering to your leader.

• Remove the soil from the mine without putting pressure on the mine.

• Grasp the body of the mine with one hand and insert the safety clip with the other.

• With the safety clip in place, turn the pressure plate so that the arrow points to S (SAFE). That disarms the mine.

• Remove the mine from the hole.

• Turn the mine over and carefully remove the detonator from the detonator well.

• Screw the plastic shipping plug into the detonator well.

• Clean off the mine and put it in a packing box.

M16Al, ANTIPERSONNEL MINE

This is a bounding, fragmentation mine with a metallic body. It can be set for pressure detonation or set with a tripwire attached to a release-pin ring. A pressure of 3.6 kg (8 lb) or more against one or more of the three prongs of the fuze, or a pull of 1.3 kg (3 lb) or more on the tripwire, will detonate the mine.

To emplace an M16Al mine:

• Remove the mine from its packing box and inspect it for damage. If the mine is dented, cracked, or otherwise damaged, do not use it.

• Unscrew the shipping plug from the fuze well with the closed end of the M25 fuze wrench. Keep the shipping plug for future disarming of the mine, if required.

• Inspect the fuse well and flash tube of the mine for foreign matter. If foreign matter is present, turn the mine upside down and gently tap its bottom to dislodge the matter.

• Set the mine down and take a fuze out of the fuze box.

• Inspect the fuze for damage and for missing safety pins. Make sure that the safety pins move freely in the safety-pin holes. Also make sure that the rubber gasket is around the fuse base.

• With the open end of the wrench, make sure that the bushing adapter on the fuze well is tight.

• Screw the fuze assembly into the fuze well with the fuze wrench.

• Dig a hold about 15 cm (6 in) deep and 13 cm (5 in) in diameter.

• Put the mine in the hole.

To disarm and remove an M16A1 mine, reverse the steps used to arm and emplace it.

• Check the mine and the area around it to see if the mine has been tampered with.

• If it has been, do not try to disarm it.

• Report the tampering to your leader.

• Uncover the top of the mine.

• Insert the positive safety pin through the positive safety pin hole.

• Insert the locking safety pin through the locking safety pin hole opposite the release-pin ring.

• Insert the interlocking safety pin between the positive safety pin and locking safety pin.

• If tripwires are attached to the release-pin ring, cut all of them after the safety pins have been inserted.

• Remove the dirt from around the mine and then lift the mine out of the hole.

• Unscrew and remove the fuze assembly.

• Replace the plastic shipping plug in the fuze well.

• Replace the mine and fuze in the packing box.

M18Al, ANTIPERSONNEL MINE (CLAYMORE)

This is a curved, rectangular mine containing C4 explosive and 700 steel balls. It can be fired electrically or nonelectrically.

The Claymore projects 700 steel balls in a fan-shaped pattern about 2 meters (6.6 ft) high and 60 degrees wide to a range of 50 meters (165 ft). These balls are effective as far as 100 meters (328 ft) and are dangerous up to 250 meters (825 ft) forward of the mine.

To emplace a Claymore for command detonation:

• Remove the electrical firing wire, the firing device, and test set from the bandoleer. Do not take the mine out of the bandoleer.

• Position the firing...