The Official U.S. Army Combat Skills Handbook

393 Pages·2018·16.5 MB·English

by  Matt Larsen

THE OFFICIAL U.S. ARMY
C O M B AT
SKILLS HANDBOOK
REVISED AND UPDATED BY
SERGEANT FIRST CLASS MATT LARSEN

THE OFFICIAL U.S. ARMY
C O M B AT
SKILLS HANDBOOK
REVISED AND UPDATED BY
SERGEANT FIRST CLASS MATT LARSEN
Guilford, Connecticut
An imprint of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.
4501 Forbes Blvd., Ste. 200
Lanham, MD 20706
Distributed by NATIONAL BOOK NETWORK
Copyright © 2018 Department of the Army
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by
any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval
systems, without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who
may quote passages in a review.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
ISBN 978-1-4930-3296-9 (paperback)
ISBN 978-1-4930-3295-2 (e-book)
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of
American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for
Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.
Printed in the United States of America
Duty, honor, country: Those three hallowed words reverently dictate
what you ought to be, what you can be, and what you will be. They
are your rallying point to build courage when courage seems to fail, to
regain faith when there seems to be little cause for faith, to create hope
when hope becomes forlorn.
—General DouGlas Macarthur,
on receiving the Sylvanus Thayer Medal at
the U.S. Military Academy, 12 May, 1962

CONTENTS
Figures xiii
Tables xix
Preface xx
PART ONE. • WARRIOR ETHOS
Chapter 1 • INTRODUCTION 3
Operational Environment 3
Army Values 4
Law of Land Warfare 5
Warrior Culture 5
Battle Drill 6
Warrior Drills 6
Chapter 2 • INDIVIDUAL READINESS 9
Predeployment 9
Legal Assistance 9
Personal Weapon 11
Chapter 3 • COMBAT CASUALTY CARE AND PREVENTIVE MEDICINE 14
Section I. COMBAT CASUALTY CARE 14
Combat Lifesaver 15
Lifesaving Measures (First Aid) 15
Casualty Evacuation 50
Section II. PREVENTIVE MEDICINE 61
Clothing and Sleeping Gear 62
Mental Health and Morale 64
Chapter 4 • ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS 66
Section I. DESERT 66
Types 66
Preparation 68
CONTENTS ★ vii
Section II. JUNGLE 73
Types 74
Preparation 77
Section III. ARCTIC 78
Types 78
Preparation 79
PART TWO. • SOLDIER COMBAT SKILLS
Chapter 5 • COMBATIVES 83
Section I. SYSTEM PRINCIPLES 84
Systematic Training 85
Foundation 85
Continuous Training 85
Competition 85
Drills 86
Live Training 86
Integrated Training 86
Combat Feedback 86
Section II. LIVE TRAINING 87
Ground-Sparring 87
Clinch-Sparring 88
Standing Strikes Sparring 89
Full Sparring 90
Chapter 6 • COVER, CONCEALMENT, AND CAMOUFLAGE 91
Section I. COVER 91
Natural Cover 91
Man-Made Cover 93
Section II. CONCEALMENT 95
Natural Concealment 95
Actions as Concealment 96
Section III. CAMOUFLAGE 96
Movement 97
Positions 97
Outlines and Shadows 97
viii ★ THE OFFICIAL U.S. ARMY COMBAT SKILLS HANDBOOK
Shine 97
Shape 98
Colors 98
Dispersion 98
Preparation 98
Individual Techniques 99
Chapter 7 • FIGHTING POSITIONS 104
Cover 104
Concealment 106
Camouflage 107
Sectors and Fields of Fire 107
Hasty and Deliberate Fighting Positions 108
Two-Man Fighting Position 111
One-Man Fighting Position 121
Close Combat Missile Fighting Positions 126
Range Cards 127
Chapter 8 • MOVEMENT 143
Individual Movement Techniques 143
Immediate Actions while Moving 150
Fire and Movement 153
Movement on Vehicles 153
Chapter 9 • URBAN AREAS 156
Section I. MOVEMENT TECHNIQUES 156
Avoiding Open Areas 156
Moving Parallel to Buildings 157
Moving Past Windows 157
Crossing a Wall 158
Moving Around Corners 160
Moving Within a Building 161
Section II. OTHER PROCEDURES 161
Entering a Building 162
Clearing a Room 168
CONTENTS ★ ix