Ultimate Guide to U.S. Army Combat Skills, Tactics, and Techniques

Jay McCullough

• Publisher: Skyhorse
• Year: 2010
• Print ISBN: 9781616080105
• eBook ISBN: 9781628730050
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Military & Maritime History
• Index: History

Here for the first time in one place is everything you need to know about modern military combat. Drawn from dozens of the U.S. Army's well-written field manuals on every conceivable aspect of conducting combat operations, this huge compendium contains everything for any combatant anywhere—armed or unarmed and in all conditions and terrains, including:

• desert, jungle, mountain, and house-to-house fighting
• training for rifle, mortar, mines, and sniper operations
• mental preparedness, and leadership for combat and combat stress
• tank and artillery tactics
• forward and reconnaissance operations z construction of defensive positions
• combat in nuclear, biological, and chemical environments
• land navigation, map reading, first aid, and camouflage

Last but not least, this book also includes a complete section on hand-to-hand combat so that you can use your bayonet or kill with your bare hands. With hundreds of photographs and illustrations demonstrating priceless tips and techniques, if it's not in The Ultimate Guide to U.S. Army Combat Skills, Tactics, and Techniques, your Army of One don't need it!

 

 

 

PART I

Hand-to-Hand Combat

 

 

 

Introduction to Combatives

Very few people have ever been killed with the bayonet or saber, but the fear of having their guts explored with cold steel in the hands of battle-maddened men has won many a fight.

–PATTON

DEFINITION OF COMBATIVES

Hand-to-hand combat is an engagement between two or more persons in an empty-handed struggle or with handheld weapons such as knives, sticks, or projectile weapons that cannot be fired. Proficiency in hand-to-hand combat is one of the fundamental building blocks for training the modern soldier.

PURPOSES OF COMBATIVES TRAINING

Soldiers must be prepared to use different levels of force in an environment where conflict may change from low intensity to high intensity over a matter of hours. Many military operations, such as peacekeeping missions or noncombatant evacuation, may restrict the use of deadly weapons. Hand-to-hand combatives training will save lives when an unexpected confrontation occurs.

More importantly, combatives training helps to instill courage and self-confidence. With competence comes the understanding of controlled aggression and the ability to remain focused while under duress. Training in combatives includes hard and arduous physical training that is, at the same time, mentally demanding and carries over to other military pursuits. The overall effect of combatives training is—

•   The culmination of a successful physical fitness program, enhancing individual and unit strength, flexibility, balance, and cardiorespiratory fitness.

•    Building personal courage, self-confidence, self-discipline, and esprit de corps.

BASIC PRINCIPLES

Underlying all combatives techniques are principles the hand-to-hand fighter must apply to successfully defeat an opponent. The natural progression of techniques, as presented in this manual, will instill these principles into the soldier.

a. Mental Calm. During a fight a soldier must keep his ability to think. He must not allow fear or anger to control his actions.

b. Situational Awareness. Things are often going on around the fighters that could have a direct impact on the outcome of the fight such as opportunity weapons or other personnel joining the fight.

c. Suppleness. A soldier cannot always count on being bigger and stronger than the enemy. He should, therefore, never try to oppose the enemy in a direct test of strength. Supple misdirection of the enemy’s strength allows superior technique and fight strategy to overcome superior strength.

d. Base. Base refers to the posture that allows a soldier to gain leverage from the ground. Generally, a soldier must keep his center of gravity low and his base wide—much like a pyramid.

e. Dominant Body Position. Position refers to the location of the fighter’s body in relation to his opponent’s. A vital principle when fighting is to gain control of the enemy by controlling this relationship. Before any killing or disabling technique can be applied, the soldier must first gain and maintain one of the dominant body positions.

f. Distance. Each technique has a window of effectiveness based upon the amount of space between the two combatants. The fighter must control the distance between himself and the enemy in order to control the fight.

g. Physical Balance. Balance refers to the ability to maintain equilibrium and to remain in a stable upright position.

h. Leverage. A fighter uses the parts of his body to create a natural mechanical advantage over the parts of the enemy’s body. By using leverage, a fighter can have a greater effect on a much larger enemy.

SAFETY

The Army’s combatives program has been specifically designed to train the most competent fighters in the shortest possible time in the safest possible manner.

a. General Safety Precautions. The techniques of Army combatives should be taught in the order presented in this manual. They are arranged to not only give the natural progression of techniques, but to present the more dangerous techniques after the soldiers have established a familiarity with the dynamics of combative techniques in general. This will result in fewer serious injuries from the more dynamic moves.

b. Supervision. The most important safety consideration is proper supervision. Because of the potentially dangerous nature of the techniques involved, combatives training must always be conducted under the supervision of qualified leaders.

c. Training Areas. Most training should be conducted in an area with soft footing such as a grassy or sandy area. If training mats are available, they should be used. A hard surface area is not appropriate for combatives training.

d. Chokes. Chokes are the best way to end a fight. They are the most effective way to incapacitate an enemy and, with supervision, are also safe enough to apply in training exactly as on the battlefield.

e. Joint Locks. In order to incapacitate an enemy, attacks should be directed against large joints such as the elbow, shoulder, or knee. Attacks on most of these joints are very painful long before causing any injury, which allows full-force training to be conducted without significant risk of injury. The exceptions are wrist attacks and twisting knee attacks. The wrist is very easily damaged, and twisting the knee does not become painful until it is too late. Therefore, these attacks should be taught with great care and should not be allowed in sparring or competitions.

f.  Striking. Striking is an inefficient way to incapacitate an enemy. Strikes are, however, an important part of an overall fight strategy and can be very effective in manipulating the opponent into unfavorable positions. Striking can be practiced with various types of protective padding such as boxing gloves. Defense can be practiced using reduced force blows. Training should be continuously focused on the realities of fighting.

CHAPTER 1

Basic Ground-Fighting Techniques

Basic ground-fighting techniques build a fundamental understanding of dominant body position, which should be the focus of most combatives training before moving on to the more difficult standing techniques. Ground fighting is also where technique can most easily be used to overcome size and strength.

SECTION I. DOMINANT BODY POSITION

Before any killing or disabling technique can be applied, the soldier must first gain and maintain dominant body position. The leverage gained from dominant body position allows the fighter to defeat a stronger opponent. An appreciation for dominant position is fundamental to becoming a proficient fighter because it ties together what would otherwise be a long confusing list of unrelated techniques. If a finishing technique is attempted from dominant position and fails, the fighter can simply try again. If, on the other hand, a finishing technique is attempted from other than dominant position and fails, it will usually mean defeat. The dominant body positions will be introduced in order of precedence.

1-1. BACK MOUNT

The back mount gives the fighter the best control of the fight (Figure 1-1, page 1-2). From this position it is very difficult for the enemy to either defend himself or counterattack. Both legs should be wrapped around the enemy with the heels “hooked” inside his legs. One arm is under an armpit and the other is around the neck and the hands are clasped. Even though a fighter may find himself with his own back on the ground this is still the back mount.

CAUTION

While in the back mount, the fighter’s feet should never be crossed because this would provide the enemy an opportunity for an ankle b...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title
• Copyright
• CONTENTS
• Introduction
• Part I HAND-TO-HAND COMBAT
• Introduction to Combatives
• Chapter 1 Basic Ground-Fighting Techniques
• Chapter 2 Advanced Ground-Fighting Techniques
• Chapter 3 Takedowns and Throws
• Chapter 4 Strikes
• Chapter 5 Handheld Weapons
• Chapter 6 Standing Defense
• Chapter 7 Group Tactics
• Part II COMBAT WEAPONS
• The Army Combat Rifle
• Chapter 1 Introduction to the Army Combat Rifle
• Chapter 2 Operation and Function
• Chapter 3 Rifle Marksmanship Training
• Chapter 4 Combat Fire Techniques
• Chapter 5 Night Firing
• Sniper Training
• Chapter 1 Introduction to Sniper Training
• Chapter 2 Equipment
• Chapter 3 Marksmanship
• Chapter 4 Field Techniques
• Chapter 5 Tracking/Countertracking
• The Army Combat Pistol
• Chapter 1 Components and Functioning
• Chapter 2 Pistol Marksmanship Training
• Army Combat machine Gun Fundamentals
• Chapter 1 Machine Gun Marksmanship Training
• Chapter 2 Combat Techniques of Fire
• Army Combat Guide to Use & Identification of Hand Grenades
• Chapter 1 Types of Hand Grenades
• Chapter 2 Maintenance
• Chapter 3 Employment of Hand Grenades
• Chapter 4 Threat Hand Grenades
• Chapter 5 Obsolete Hand Grenades
• Chapter 6 NATO Hand Grenades
• The Claymore Antipersonnel mine
• Chapter 1 Introduction
• Chapter 2 Mechanical Training
• Chapter 3 Tactical Employment
• Chapter 4 Safety
• Boobytraps
• Chapter 1 Characteristics of Boobytraps
• Chapter 2 Use of Boobytraps
• Chapter 3 Boobytrapping Equipment
• Chapter 4 Construction Techniques
• Chapter 5 Miscellaneous Boobytraps
• Chapter 6 Boobytrap Detection and Removal
• Part III REGION - SPECIFIC COMBAT
• Combat in desert environments
• Introduction
• Chapter 1 The Environment and Its Effects on Personnel and Equipment
• Chapter 2 Desert Concealment and Camouflage
• Chapter 3 Operations in Desert Conditions
• Chapter 4 Operations in Mountains
• Combat in Jungle environments
• Chapter 1 The Jungle
• Chapter 2 Life in the Jungle
• Chapter 3 Preparation and Training to Deploy to Jungle Areas
• Chapter 4 The Threat in Jungle Areas
• Chapter 5 Tactical Operations
• Chapter 6 Navigation and Tracking
• Chapter 7 Jungle Obstacles
• Chapter 8 Waterborne Operations
• Chapter 9 Defensive Formation
• Combat in the Urban environment
• Chapter 1 Urban Combat Skills
• Chapter 2 Offensive Operations
• Chapter 3 Defensive Operations