The Tactical Advantage: A Definitive Study Of Personal Small-Arms Tactics

TEN TEAM TACTICS

Clearing and searching a building is considerably safer and easier if you have extra people with you. This chapter is based on the operational characteristics of a three-man element, or team. A three-man team includes a contact man, a cover man, and a security man. For purposes of clarity in the diagrams at the end of this chapter, they will be designated shooter A, shooter B, and shooter C, respectively. Using this concept, shooter A, the contact man, is the primary searcher. He is the first one in line, and the one who actually "clears" each obstacle. Shooter B, the cover man, provides assistance to the contact man. He helps the contact man search and is an extra pair of eyes for situations where there are two potential danger areas in opposite directions, such as the extreme angles found on opposite sides of doorways and T-intersections. The third man, shooter C, is a security man. He covers the team's back.

The three roles may be interchanged during a search, depending on the dynamics of the architecture. With such a three-man team, it is possible to clear an entire building in relative safety. The team can actually move as a gun turret and cover all potential danger areas simultaneously.

The security man is also the most expendable position on the team. This means that if there are only two men present, they may still be able to conduct the operation, but the cover man must serve double duty and provide rear security as well.

^{Tactical operations, such as clearing and searching a building, are much simplified by a specially trained team.This group of three was a searching element in a tactical team. Left to right: Investigator Al Acosta, the author, and Officer Mike Hurt.}

The members of such a team need not be SWAT experts, but they must have a basic understanding of tactical principles as well as having established a method of communication among themselves. This concept is very workable for both]aw enforcement scenarios with patrol officers and for civilian security operations.

Let's examine the architectural obstacles studied earlier and clear them with a three-man team. Read the explanations and peruse the diagrams at the end of the chapter to get the overall picture of the techniques involved.

The team members will move to one side of the door as they approach. If the geography allows, the team members will position themselves on the side nearer to the door knob. The con tact man and the cover man will cover the door area itself. The security man will cover the area of the hallway beyond the door. This configuration is called "stacking."

^{Special teams need special equipment to do the job safely and efficiently.}

The contact man will initiate the movement across the door as he begins to conduct his angular search into the room from the outside. As he moves, the cover man moves with him, maintaining physical contact with him at all times. The cover man protects the contact man's flanks and back down the hall as he executes his angular search. It is important for the team members to know which areas each man is responsible for. If the cover man and the security man are covering the same area, one of them must secure another area. Eventually the cover man will be committed exclusively to the hallway beyond the door. At this time, the security man (on the other side of the door) will focus on assisting the contact man as he moves through the door. At this point the cover man and the security man will actually exchange roles.

The actual movement through the door is initiated by the contact man. The security man (now acting as cover man) will key his action on the action of the contact man. The contact man enters the room low along a diagonal line through the door and immediately checks the extreme angle on his side of the door. His security man (now acting as his cover) enters the room as simultaneously with the contact man as he can. He moves to the opposite side, also along a diagonal line to the extreme angle on his own side of the door. He moves in a higher posture than the cover man so he can enter the room almost over the top of the contact man. The result is that both extreme angles are covered almost simultaneously. Each man will look deeply into the extreme angle first and then sweep along the wall inward toward the center of the room.

As the first two men enter the room, the man covering the hallway will key on their movements and also move into the room. He doesn't give up his area of responsibility (i.e., the hallway). He maintains his focus on the hallway and simply moves into the room just enough to use the doorjamb for cover. When the two men inside the room have completed their search, they will "stack up" behind the man covering the hallway. They will exit the room and proceed down the hallway. In this case, the man who had been covering the hallway during the room search will now become the contact man and the man behind him his cover. The last man out automatically becomes the security element.

If the area behind them is not secure, the security man will be moving along with the other two men, but facing backward as he covers the area behind them. If, on the other hand, the area behind them is secure, he may also bring his weapon and his focus forward along with the rest of the team.

The team moves down the hallway in a cloverleaf formation. This requires the three men to move in a triangular configuration. The contact man is in front, and the cover man and the security man are to his immediate right and left. They are in physical contact with one another to facilitate nonverbal communication. All three guns are oriented down the hall. The contact man moves his muzzle along with his eves as he searches. The other two men have crossing and overlapping zones of fire. This means the man on the right side of the hall is focused toward the left side and vice versa. All three men may shoot without endangering each other.

^{Tactical ballistic vests, weapon-mounted lights (such as these MP5-mounted Sure-Fire units), and trained teamwork are essential factors in tactical operations.}

^{Properly trained team members support each other's tactical movements. Here two team members conduct a dynamic entry in a training environment. (Photo courtesy of ChuckTaylor.)}

Their guns are in the "hunt" position. The muzzles are not held so high that the sights obstruct their view, but neither are they pointing at the deck. It is important to be trained to lower the muzzle quickly after shooting in order to observe the postinjury actions of the adversary. This still occurs… after you shoot. When you are searching and hunting, hold the muzzle slightly higher, usually covering the area you are searching. Sometimes a team member must cross your line of fire to reach a position from which he can cover a danger area. In such cases you must dip your muzzle as he passes in front of you to avoid covering him.

The contact man approaches the corner with his cover man. The security man covers both of them. The contact man again moves slightly lower than the cover mean to allow him the room to shoot over him. The cover man is directly behind the contact man and moving with him. As they clear the apex of the corner, they assume the cloverleaf formation again and proceed with the search.

Searching this very hazardous architectural feature is again facilitated by the use of the three-man team. As the team approaches the intersection, the contact man and the cover man will turn away from each other in a back-to-back formation. They rely on the physical contact from each other for nonverbal communication. Remember, the contact man calls the shots. He is the one who will initiate any movement toward or away from an objective. The security man may cover the area behind them if it is not secure. If it is a four-way intersection and the area to their rear is secure, he will focus on the hallway in front of them.

When the contact and cover man have conducted their angular search, they will both commit themselves to the extreme angles simultaneously from the center of the hallway. They will have determined which way to proceed (right or left) beforehand, and the contact man will, of course, have searched in that direction. When the extreme angles are clear, the security man will move up behind the contact man and become his cover, while the cover man holds down his side of the intersection. When the team resumes moving, the cover man now becomes the security element again as the team moves down the hall.

^{The Heckler & Koch MP5, here in its personal defense weapon format, is the first choice for indoor tactical team problems.}

The main thing to remember with a team stairway search is to avoid overcrowding the stairway. As the team approaches the staircase, members clear the first flight of steps with an angular search. The contact man will cover and hold the first landing at the top of the steps. The cover man now takes on the contact man's duties, and the security man becomes his cover. The cover man (now acting as contact) clears the overhead landing from below. At this point, one man is covering the first flight of steps and the upper landing. A second man is covering the overhang directly overhead, above the staircase. The security man moves forward and clears the corner of the first switchback and the upper landing from the switchback. The first man joins him, and then the man covering the landing from below begins to move up the stairway toward them, still covering the landing. When he reaches the other two men, the original contact man and his cover move up to the top of the landing and clear the area there. The last man holding the upper landing from the first switchback holds his position until he is advised by the others that it is clear.

If the team is executing a downward stairway clearing, the contact man clears and holds the first flight down from the upper landing. The cover man captures the second flight from the overhang above and holds his position to allow the other two men to descend. Taking the same care as when searching upward and being alert to exposing their feet and legs, the contact man and the security man move down the steps.

Depending on the configuration of the steps and the likelihood of exposing the lower body on descent, the security man may elect to get on his chest and look into the room below through the steps. This is only an option when he has others covering his back, because his mobility is totally gone.

The two men will take the steps and the bottom of the stairs, and then they'll be joined by the third man. When they've reached the bottom, they again have three divergent zones of fire and can continue with their search.

When any man on the team confronts a hostile with either verbal commands or gunfire, he automatically becomes contact man, and the team's actions will be keyed to his tactical requirements. The others must hold their areas of responsibility. If the contact man needs assistance he will request it from one of the others. The cover man is always the first to help him (usually the man closest to him). At this point the security man must not only cover his area, but also the one abandoned by the cover man.

^{The nature of a tactical problem may require creative measures. Worldfamous tactical trainer and writer Chuck Taylor and the author conduct a second-story entry during a specialoperations course.}

^{Two tactics students move through a simulator drill "dry" to develop team movement skills.}

The possibility of a team member being hit always exists. It is a wise team that plans an immediate action drill for such eventualities. The casualty extraction drill is usually structured as if the first man got hit, but it is wise to vary the wounded man's location in the line of three during practice.

If the first man is hit and goes down, his cover man will step over him and place direct controlled gunfire on the source of the hostile fire. If the hostile has hidden himself behind a wall, a door, or a piece of furniture, the cover man shoots right through it. The security man moves up, grabs the fallen man, and drags him back behind the first item of cover or the first corner that is available. When the security man begins his extraction, he yells, "Moving!" When the cover man hears this, he begins moving back along with the two other men, still shooting into the hostile's position to cover their withdrawal. This procedure will work to extract the wounded man from the initial kill zone. After this, the team can evacuate the casualty and call for reinforcements. The important point is that if one of your people is hit, you reflexively shoot back at the source of the gunfire. This does three possible things: (1) it makes the adversary think about his own flanks and the incoming gunfire, (2) it may disrupt his homicidal plans long enough to get your people out of his trap, and (3) it may also cause his demise. The bottom line is that thou shall not abandon your wounded in the kill zone!

There are times when you may wish to abandon a building because the adversaries in it are a bigger problem than you expected or the interior requires more personnel. Proper and safe extraction requires a trailing security man to remain behind to deal with any following hostiles. As the first two men retreat behind the first obstacle they advise the security man, who has stayed behind to cover their move. The best signal is to say, "Clear." The security man acknowledges by saying, "Moving." He moves back and passes beyond the point of cover being used by the first team to his own point of cover. He takes a position from which to cover the team's next rearward movement, and announces, "Clear." The process is continued until they all reach their objective. Think of the extraction drill as a reverse leapfrog process.

Team members may be used to support each other during weapon manipulation drills. Malfunctions and the requirement to reload will always occur under fire, so the ability to keep shooting and (it is hoped) hitting is paramount. So is the use of cover. If there is no cover immediately available and a team member experiences a malfunction, he calls out, "Red." This tells his partner that he needs "cover" to clear his weapon, and he needs to move out of the kill zone without letting the hostiles know his status. The partner will move in front of him and take his area of responsibility. Together they move to cover. Their partner covers the maneuver and, if necessary, shoots any threats. When the first man has cleared his malfunction, he calls out, "Green," telling his partner that he is back in the fight.

Multiplying your forces also multiplies your survivability. If you can bring more people to the party than the bad guys, do so. It will pay off when the bullets fly. To quote Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest: "Get there first with the most men."

The following diagrams demonstrate the proper way to clear obstacles using team tactics.

^{Moving down a hallway, the three men of a tactical element maintain constant physical contact with one another and have mutually supportive zones of fire. This is called the cloverleaf formation.}

^{As they approach a doorway, the second and third men peel off from the formation. One man conducts an angular search of the room, while the other man covers the far hallway. The first man covers his half of the room.}

^{Entry is made to opposing corners in a crossover manner.The man covering the hallway backs up into the room and uses as much cover as he can while maintaining visual surveillance of the hallway.}

^{The L-shape formation is useful when danger areas are located at 90-degree angles to each other.}

^{The back-to-back formation is useful for danger areas located 180 degrees from each other.}

^{Team negotiation of the four-way intersection.Two men clear both corners while the third man covers their rear.The primary searchers periodically glance at the hallway beyond to make sure it appears clear.}

^{The team clears the extreme corners and covers the unsecured hallway beyond.}

^{Team members resume their cloverleaf formation, slightly modified by having one team member covering the rear, and resume the search.}

^{These diagrams depict a three-man assault on a single-story apartment. This is a diagram of an actual operation. Follow the flow of the team as its members maneuver through the apartment. Notice that the team maintains its unified integrity and that at no time is an operator left alone in an unsecured room.}