Originally posted on American Partisan on March 30, 2021
I started this series, TDG (Tactical Decision Game) Tuesdays, to get you more in the mindset of how you could potentially handle a given tactical scenario with a limited amount of resources and manpower. My goal is to get you to read these scenarios and think about what resources you have available, what sort of scenarios you might encounter, and what gaps you need to fill in your equipment/training.
I will use the basic 5-paragraph operations order format, or SMEAC, to present the scenario as follows;
Situation: Disposition of all friendly, hostile, and adjacent forces.
Mission: What we are trying to do.
Execution: How we are going to do it.
Admin & Logistics: Who/what is getting where and how.
Command & Signal: Who is in charge and how they are communicating.
TDG 4: Alamo! Alamo! Alamo!
Situation: “ALAMO! ALAMO! ALAMO! NOT A DRILL!” reads the 2am encrypted chat message from Kevin, your friend and teammate. Alamo, the code word for one of you coming under siege in your own home, has never been used outside of training before. Thankfully, you knew this day would eventually come and you all trained accordingly. You pass on the message to the other members of your team, grab your minuteman kit off its ready rack, and head off to the predetermined ORP for Kevin’s house.
- OPFOR Situation: A well-armed, trained, and organized cartel has surrounded Kevin’s home and attempted a no-knock raid, which failed and has now turned into a standoff. They have an armored MRAP and about 20 men on scene, most of whom are common enforcers armed only with handguns, but with a highly trained 10-man assault team armed with assault rifles and body armor. Known enemy positions are indicated on the map, but only represent what Kevin knows about and can tell you over the radio. In addition, you can expect them to have roadblocks set up on avenues of approach. Hostiles can be easily PID’d via their uniforms and body armor, and distinct markings on vehicles.
- BLUFOR Situation: Kevin and his wife, alerted by their dogs, managed to ambush and repel the initial attempt to storm their home and are now barricaded inside. Kevin has concealed CCTV cameras around his house running off a reserve battery that the cartel don’t know about, which is how he is able to spot and report enemy positions to you. You, the team leader, meet up with the remaining 4 members of your fire team plus at ORP Kevin, shown on the map above.
- Independents Situation: There are multiple civilians in the houses surrounding Kevin’s, and the cartel has made no attempt to evacuate them. There is no external support or adjacent friendlies, it’s up to you.
Mission: Extract Kevin and his wife in order to get them out of harm’s way.
Execution: (Up to you. Remember what the mission is and don’t get sidetracked.)
Admin & Logistics: You have the following resources:
- 5 shooters, including yourself, the 2 remaining members of your fire team, and a 2-man AMR team
- 4 AKMs with 180 rounds each (6 mags)
- 1 .50 cal AMR with 30 rounds of API
- 1 small quad-copter drone with remote camera
- 4 handheld VHF/UHF radios
Command & Signal: You are the team leader. Your AMR team has trained to work semi-independently in the past and can be detached from the rest of the group if you choose. Your comm plan was set ahead of time, and is as follows:
P: Alamo1: 450.25MHz, for talking to Kevin
Valkyrie1: 447.70MHz, for talking within the team
A: Alamo2: 138.33MHz
Valkyrie2: 133.85MHz
C: Signal whistle
E: Orange reflective panels inside everyone’s hats
While you consider your plan, think about how much harder this would be to organize and how much slower your response time would be if you hadn’t prepared like the team in this TDG. Then consider how this could potentially work out for you and your friends/teammates. Do you know how you would respond to a call for help from your best friends? Do they know how to respond to you should you need it? Have you practiced responding to each others’ homes? Failing to plan is planning to fail.
And if you don’t know how to train your teammates to work together, I have a class for that.
Feel free to post your answers in the comments and discuss. Stay tuned for the recap in a few days!
Von Steuben Training & Consulting 
I remember commenting on this before. Basically, ignore the MRAP, kill the “cartel members” at the rear and have your friends run out the door and into the woods to the escape vehicle. The MRAP is an obnixous pos in that situation that can’t chase you into the treeline.
Specifically, I don’t know if as the team leader in this situation I’d even deploy the drone. The noise signature of it would lead the enemy to believe something is up. The first indication I want them having that we’re there is accurate gunfire going through the faces of their homies. Not the whirr of the drone’s rotors.
Approach from the rear through the trees and move fast as time matters here. There are wounded opfor and they are probably calling in reinforcements to consolidate their position before engaging in a final raid or burning the place down.
I don’t know if I’d even bring the AMR in this case. Just the Kalashnikovs and radios and again, move with speed and employ violence suddenly and effectively.
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Yeah, this was my thoughts as well. Seems pretty obvious really.
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After the team meets up at the ORP Kevin, Team Leader will have team advance west to where edge of woods meets the field, staying in cover of trees. He will have the drone deployed to get more current cartel location data. Assuming the drone confirms the location of cartel troops matches our info provided by Kevin, this will be the plan:
AMR team takes 1 AMR with all ammo, 1 AKM with 9 mags and proceeds west, they will position near the trees east of the southern most house that is west of Terrace Dr.
The rest of the fire team will have the remaining 3 AKM’s and 5 mags each and will head north, hand-railing the edge of the woods and will position in the edge of the trees directly across from the SE edge of Kevin’s house.
Use radio to signal the go command and AMR team opens fire from the south on the MRAP / cartel troops. While most cartel troops are pinned down, 2 fire team (FT1) members advances from woods towards Kevin’s house. Team Leader stays at edge of woods and uses to drone to watch for enemy for movement.
FT1 eliminates any threats blocking entry to Kevin’s house, enters house, extracts Kevin and wife.
TL exits woods and meets Kevin and wife to head slightly SE to nearest tree cover and halts. TL continues observing with drone and directing the 2 teams via radio if required. TL is still available to assist either team if necessary. FT1 then heads north beyond next house and lays down fire to pin the enemy / provide distraction. AMR team extracts east. FT1 then extracts to east using woods as cover. All team members meet back at ORP Kevin for final exfil.
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With the information available, COA 1 would be to maneuver my squad size element, as quickly as possible, just inside the tree-line to positions north of Kevin’s house and north-east of 11th street. Upon command of execution, lay fire on the cartel road block at 11th and Terrace and firing positions among the houses. The Barrett gunner would be instructed to damage or disable the MRAP. If contact is made before my team can reach our pre-planned assault positions, my COA 2 would would be to lay fire on the cartel positions while Kevin and wife ex-fil to the south-east, skirting the large open field to the south. Once they are clear, my team would break contact and move to the rally point at ORP Kevin. At that point, casualties can be assessed, water and ammunition redistributed.
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Once all are rallied at ORP send drone to confirm enemy placement. 1st fire team move to tree line near the rear of the house, and .50 cal and a-gunner move through agriculture field as concealment to flank the MRAP and majority of front of house force. On radio signal given by team lead, or whistle as a redundancy, simultaneously attack rear targets with fire team and attack front of house with .50 cal and a-gunner’s support weapon. Once rear is clear, Kevin and family exfils to ORP while fire team 1 advances using the house as cover to flank front of house forces focused on .50 cal attack. Once Kevin and family are at safe distance as confirmed by radio, leap frog exfil whole team at direction of team lead to ORP. Entire process should be executed with speed and surprise as a priority, as ammunition is at a premium.
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Primary mission: extract Kevin and family.
Secondary mission: capture MRAP or destroy it.
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Forget the drone. unless it has thermal capability, it is going to be useless at night. As someone else said its noise alone could give away the op. For this mission, preservation of Kevin and his family are key. Im splitting my team into A and B1 and B2. A will be our assault force to move towards the rear of kevins house. Eliminating hostiles along the way, only when neccessary. B will be at the treeline calling out hostiles. AMR (B1) will cover our approach and extract if we are under fire. B2 will work as a spotter, anvd cover same as B1, but also has instruction to Move up towards the house if assistance is needed. once at treeline A will cover the rear while team moves towards extraction vehicle near ORP
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Basically, same thoughts as stated above, based on disposition of forces as shown on map. Have AMR team plus an extra shooter for security, infiltrates the corn field and forms a firing line in the prone just inside the corn field, pointed down Terrace Dr covering the MRAP and the OPFOR assaulters huddling behind it. This leaves you the team leader with one other trigger puller to clear the eastern side of Kevin’s house, so he and his wife can make a break for the treeline to your position. Orange hat panels for fratricide prevention. Kevin is told the plan over radio comms, and asked to confirm understanding and ability to comply.
On the go command, one blast from the whistle, the AMR team with their extra security will engage the MRAP and assault team, taking the assault team in enfilading fire. Consider shooting low into the targets to avoid over penetration into surrounding houses. The AMR will engage the MRAP itself. Simultaneously, the extraction team will eliminate the threats to the east of Kevin’s house, and signal him to exit. Once Kevin and wife are with the extraction team, the TL will blow three loud blasts on the whistle, signalling the withdrawal. At this point, the AMR man disengages under the cover of his security, who in turn buddy bound back into the corn field. Both teams rally at ORP Kevin and exit the area. If the remaining 10 men armed with pistols choose to pursue, BLUFOR will have them out gunned, if not outnumbered.
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