Fighting an apparently elusive enemy during COIN operations can be very frustrating, especially for the men in the field.
The frustration is increased when it appears that the enemy has the initiative – which he indeed has at times - as he can chose his place, time and method of attack. These attacks are usually of short duration but have the sole aim of killing, wounded or delaying own forces members – and getting maximum publicity for their cause.
When the enemy believes he has the initiative, he becomes bolder and more daring. When we believe that the enemy has the initiative, it places us in a reactive state-of-mind, thus giving the enemy the initiative.
Wresting the initiative from the enemy is not as easy as it sounds, but it is not impossible. We need to place the enemy in a position of continual disadvantage and then exploit it with speed, aggression and firepower.
One aspect I feel is not emphasised enough in COIN operations is the principle of “relentless pursuit”.
Relentless pursuit implies the enemy is pursued with speed and aggression, without stopping, pushing him past the limits of his endurance whilst we continually substitute the men doing the pursuit with fresh troops. This forces the enemy into a state of exhaustion as he has no time to eat or rest. It also impacts negatively on his morale, leads to panic and subsequently leads him to make mistakes.
When the enemy is tired and hungry, he becomes weak thus slow in his movements, disorientated and prone to making poor decisions. It is these mistakes we need to identify and exploit in order to seize the initiative.
Troops conducting the relentless pursuit should not be over-burdened with equipment and gadgets. They should only carry the very essentials of what is required to achieve their mission.
Implementing relentless pursuit requires, amongst others, that troops:
&1. Can eat whilst on the move
&2. Can track an enemy at speed
&3. Have the ability to leap-frog ahead of the enemy by means of helicopters
&4. Have outstanding communications
&5. Are aggressive
&6. Are adept at night operations
&7. Must outgun the enemy
Troops need to be “taught” how to eat whilst on the move. During relentless pursuit, troops cannot stop to prepare meals as this will give the enemy time to make good his escape. Dry rations and water is all these troops need to carry with them especially since they will only be moving for a few hours before being relieved by fresh troops.
Troops need to be “taught” how to eat whilst on the move. During relentless pursuit, troops cannot stop to prepare meals as this will give the enemy time to make good his escape. Dry rations and water is all these troops need to carry with them especially since they will only be moving for a few hours before being relieved by fresh troops.
The ability to track humans is an essential prerequisite. Good trackers can tell the age of a track as well as indicate if the enemy is carrying heavy loads, the types of weapons he has (this is identified when locating enemy resting points), if the enemy is moving hurriedly, what he is eating and so forth. Good trackers are also able to identify disturbances in the soil or tripwires indicating a possible landmine or IED.
The use of helicopters to substitute troops after a few hours of follow-up adds to the concept of relentless pursuit. Tired troops can be replaced with fresh troops in order to maintain momentum and keep the pressure on the enemy. Once the trackers have analysed the age of the tracks to within an hour or less, helicopters can be used to deploy troops into blocking positions as well as deliver troops onto tactically advantageous ground. Alternatively, troops can be deployed to seal off villages and prevent their use to the enemy.
Good communications is essential to ensure that pursuit forces do not engage in so-called friendly-fire incidents. Communications is also essential to enable the calling for air support, fresh troops, and reinforcements and so on. By frequently reporting the pursuit forces coordinates, operations officers will be able to plot and even predict the enemy’s intended direction of movement.
Troops need to develop their aggression level to such a point that the enemy fears them. Aggressive pursuit is aimed at initiating contact as heavily with the enemy as possible.
Pursuit must continue after dark and into and during the night. Equipment such as night vision goggles and illumination flares must be used to the optimal. Battlefield illumination, when closing with the enemy, is useful for slowing an enemy’s progress or forcing him to show himself prematurely.
The enemy must be engaged at maximum range, terrain depending, in order to force him to deploy tactically. Long distance engagements may not cause enemy casualties but it will slow his progress and allow own forces to begin offensive tactical manoeuvres. Weapons such as the 20mm PAW, 60mm patrol mortars, RPG-7s and so forth can force the enemy to slow his progress, take cover and thus slow his escape.
When the enemy scatters (bombshells), at least one set of tracks should be taken to ensure a successful pursuit as it is likely that the enemy may regroup at an emergency RV.
To apply relentless pursuit, the troops need to be fit, mentally alert and ready to immediately take offensive action.
Failure to apply relentless pursuit will continue to give the enemy options and advantages, often at our own peril.
59 comments:
Now all there is left to do is to get the proponents of courageous constraint to read your artical and then get militaries to stop "bogging" their troops down with way to much kit and gadgetry. Recently i was on an author's page and he had pictures of old rhodesian rli, sas guys. They showed the world that it was very possible and plausible to engage enemy forces wearing the absolute basic in uniform, shorts, bush jacket, basic webbing and wearing converse takkies. Holding his FN, the soldier in the picture was obviously not burdened by the over the top kit we see today on soldiers in iraq and afghanistan. Mike.
Hello Sir,
I´ve found combat tracking extremely useful, and I actually try to study this subject whichever way I can (Tactical tracking Operations from Scott Donelan is probably the best publicly available manual I found so far). British army conducts good tracking training, and many US SF ODAs and other units also incorporate this into their pre-deployment preparation. However, sadly, I am not aware of any infantry follow-up ops going on. I hope I am wrong. For this subject, I recommend this article:
http://tyrgroupllc.com/21.htm
Light infantry remains light infantry, Mike. There is a time and place for many pieces of kit but we do our men a disservice when we overload them with equipment they will probably not need.
We sometimes carried very heavy (120 or more lbs) and sometimes light (ammo, food and water) but it depended on the type of operation we were busy with.
I can understand armies wanting to protect their men but I sometimes think we are going over the top. Besides, some kit only creates a false sense of security thereby reducing alertness.
Rgds,
Eeben
Thanks for the link Autor. I will take a look-see.
I suspect that tracking is a dying art yet it remains very important that we retain this skill. A good tracker can also apply good anti-tracking and even give advice on environmental tactics to prevent the enemy from gaining information on us and our movements.
Rgds,
Eeben
Good Morning Eeben,
Many interesting thoughts here. Do you believe the basis of all training, post basic, should start with "relentless pursuit?" It looks to be the bedrock of all following principles and thought processes. Equipment development could also build upon this principle, potentially as a modular system.
Regards,
John
I rather see it as something to be emphasised and practised at the end of training related to COIN, John. Once all the other training is in place, this principle should be entrenched when it comes to follow-up operations, just as ambush infiltration should be worked on when preparing to lay ambushes – and a host of other things as well.
One of our principles of offensive action is “aggression”. Without relentless pursuit our aggression becomes placid.
Rgds,
Eeben
Good Morning Eeben,
Thank you for your insight! I believe I had zeroed in on "relentless" as the operative word - aggression I believe is simply another manner of stating relentless.
As things roll onward in North Africa now your thoughts will become more important - a power vacuum in Libya now is going to require patience. The rebels certainly have shown none dealing with captured men from the government armed forces.
Regards,
John
P.S. Almost to 100,000 page views. Somebody will get the honor today.
Mr Barlow,
Good article. Unfortunately, the valuable tactics developed and successfully employed in southern Africa are largely unread by those who could most use them.
It is my impression that combat tracking has essentially become a lost art in too many typical infantry units. I was glad to read Autor's comment that the British army conducts good tracking training. And of course the absence of the skill means no relentless pursuit.
Rgds,
Herbert
Excellent post Eeben.
It reads also as a treatise drafted for US and NATO Military Commanders.
On the basis of which they should aggressively lobby their respective Country's Governments to start implementing the COIN measures they must.
Later then,
Jon
You are correct John as relentless does imply aggression. Without aggression we are playing tag with the enemy and allowing him to dictate the pace of war – in short, giving him the initiative. But, so too, if we are not persistent, aggression doesn’t mean much at all.
As for Libya, I suspect that in 2 years time we will have another failed, oil-rich state in North Africa. But, I hope I am wrong.
Thanks for the 100 000 – I am quite taken aback with so many visits.
Rgds,
Eeben
Thanks for your observations Blokeo.
My thoughts on the matters I post here are my thoughts on what I consider to be important. I know that these thoughts are valid as they have been tested, several times over, and found to be workable. Myself and some of my friends have offered our assistance on numerous occasions to western armies but they do not want us. That is of course their decision and I understand that. But I also suspect that some are playing a double-game in Africa.
As long as the misguided belief that wars will be fought with technology exists, soldiers will be poorly trained – and suffer for that – as they are no longer seen as important.
As for companies, some of them pushing into Africa are doing quite well as they show flexibility and adaptability. I think this is because they are driven by profit (not a bad thing!) and cannot afford to waste money on something that does not work and nor can they allow their personnel to be killed if they could have given them either protection or training – or both.
Those that don’t really don’t stay the course soon realise that they have bitten off more than they can chew and slink off with their tails between their legs.
Rgds,
Eeben
I find that sad Herbert as I believe that many soldiers’ lives could have been saved if some people weren’t out to try to reinvent the wheel.
Combat tracking remains essential and if we do not make an effort to get this matter resolved, we will suffer the consequences of our own lack of action.
I have heard that the Brits are now paying attention to tracking – but should it not have been done some time ago?
Correct – an inability to track the enemy implies we cannot pursue him vigorously.
Rgds,
Eeben
Thanks, Jon.
I imagine that if they (US and NATO) find anything of import in what I write, they will either try to implement it or perhaps even contact me for more information. Time will tell.
Rgds,
Eeben
it seems to me that today`s tracking seems to be too heavily emphasised on infar red flir and airborne surveillance. these are great tools but they cost a fortune to employ and planes can be seen and heard. the helicopter is an invaluable tool for resupply and recon but has its obvious drawbacks. a man with good all round tracking skills on the ground can glean much needed info from the tracks and other evidence we leave behind. even the most cautious soldier will leave tell tale evidence of his passing to a trained eye. unfortunately we dont possess the ability of levitation and floating. not to suggest that tech is bad , it is simply sometimes too heavily relied on and in some cases in iraq for example , the chopper gunners have misidentified individuals from long stand off points and "lit" them up erroneously, killing in some occassions civilians not actively partaking in hostile actions. the gunner videos of these have surfaced and are all over the media and places like youtube. they have caused quite a bit of embarresment to the an already criticised military and political embroilment. i dont knock tech, the flir system is outstanding and worked well even with EO as you said in your book. i simply think that basic soldiering should include a degree of tracking tuition and counter tracking tactics. reading a boot print or human waste left behind tells a lot about your adversary and his situation at that time. tech has its place and is really cool, but what happens when the batteries die?
just a humble opinion.
mike
I must concur, Eeben.
Long overdue, in fact. As you say, time will tell.
On a side note: Your projection that in two-years time Lybia will be another oil-rich State, projection based on History, directly and accurately describes the international current state of affairs.
Because money talks, BS is what it is.
Best,
Jon.
Man, tracking is definitely one of those skills that really impresses me. I have tried to collect a few resources in the US for tracking training. Guys like David Scott-Donelon or Tom Brown Jr. are some examples of trackers that teach. David is still teaching combat tracking to police and military, based on his background with the Selous Scouts.
I was curious Eeben if there are any companies in South Africa that provide this training? Or is there a particular tribe or group that your military would send folks too for training in combat tracking? Very cool topic by the way.
From your description of what "relentless pursuit" is I would tempt to say that the Koevoet were masters at this. Was this one of the units you were thinking of when you were writing this?
Good Evening Eeben,
With your basic requirements for relentless pursuit outlined here - who, in your experience, were the men most capable of pulling off this effectively? I do remember your thoughts about infil carrying a ruck at (150+?) pounds or such for amazing distances.
As for us US fellas out here it is rather difficult to get folks to listen to any of us - but gradual pressure will eventually break the dam of resistance to advice/guidance from those of you who have actually performed to a contract - under budget and on schedule.
Regards,
John
P.S. any news on your next magnum opus?
P.P.S. 100,000+ hits is well deserved - the dam may be breaking your way....
Eeben Barlow. I have a question for you. How many times have you changed your profile pic since you started this blog?
Hi Eeben
Sorry to hi-jack this thread.
I'm wondering, and hoping you might allow me to ask a question?
As a result of running the mercenary-wars website, I have had several people make contact with me claiming to have an EO background, and are to a man complementary about the company. Usually adding that they were well looked after, equipped and supported. Nobody I have heard from until now has spoken one bad word against the company.
With this in mind do you think the time is right to maybe form a company based on the successfully EO formula, i.e. a small well equipped and trained unit that would be on call for countries requiring help, while having the full backing of the Country where they are based.
I know it's a lot more involved than I have just outlined, but that is just the basic idea.
Not sure if you want to post this, but have included my mail address, in the hope that you can find the time to answer.
Thanks for your time
Terry Aspinall
Unfortunately we have become over reliant on technology Mike but it remains a force-multiplier.
Good trackers are few and far between. Sadly, the many lessons we learnt in our little wars are being lost as no-one is interested in what we did, how and why.
Without being able to track an enemy 24-hrs a day, we cannot apply relentless pursuit. And if we are able to maintain the momentum in a pursuit, we do need a lift capability to leapfrog the troops ahead of the enemy’s anticipated direction of movement and/or relieve the follow-up forces with fresh troops.
FLIR is an excellent tool in locating enemy camps/resting places at night – it is what we do with that information once we have it that matters.
Rgds,
Eeben
Three times, why Matwinsing?
My question to you: Why are you so angry with life?
Rgds,
Eeben
I am concerned about Libya as I believe it is better the devil you know than the one you don’t know, Jon.
But time will tell and maybe I will have to eat my words – but I doubt it.
Rgds,
Eeben
It is indeed a crucial skill but often overlooked, Matt.
I have read that there are some people who do good tracking courses. As far as SA is concerned, I don’t any companies here doing that but will look to see if I can find anything.
As for our military: they were advised by (so-called) foreign government advisors to get rid of those of the old army that were highly skilled in this art. This misadvise has had a very negative impact on the “new” army.
Rgds,
Eeben
Koevoet were certainly very good at this, Obin. However, they weren’t the only ones that were highly capable in tracking. There were several other units that were equally good at tracking and keeping pressure on the enemy.
Koevoet, despite being a Police unit had the advantage of being able to do so with vehicles, a luxury not every unit had.
Rgds,
Eeben
There were several old SADF units that were rather capable of applying extreme pressure on the enemy of the day, John. 101 Bn, 31 Bn (Bushmen) had outstanding trackers, as did several other units. Of course, then there was Koevoet who, despite being a police unit, were equally good of doing so, albeit with vehicles in support. Many units did not have that luxury.
Those of us who had to make use of boots for mobility didn’t do too badly but never really managed what mobile units did as even helis were in very short supply.
I was rather surprised to break the 100 000 mark. Were it not for folks such as you and others, I would probably be touching 10 visits now.
As I have been away for long spells, my writing has had to take a back seat but I am slowly catching up on my admin and will then attack the keyboard again.
Rgds,
Eeben
You’re welcome Griya.
Rgds,
Eeben
I am afraid I don’t know of anyone so I really cannot help you, Sir47. Sorry about that. But as you may know, the French are very active in West Africa and they want to keep all non-French out of there so it narrows all chances others may have.
Rgds,
Eeben
I don’t view your post as a hijack, Terry.
I am pleased to hear that some guys were happy with the company. However, we could only equip them to a point and had to rely on the client governments to provide the sharp-end equipment. The rubbish that we owned BMPs, MI24s, tanks, artillery etc is pure fantasy.
The US, British, French and other PMCs all have their governments’ backing. Unfortunately, it is mainly here that PMCs don’t have govt backing – as the SA govt was “advised” by other govts to prevent companies such as EO from operating – as they wanted their own companies to rather be used and as such, becomes instruments of their foreign policy.
That decision has in many ways made SA foreign policy a lame-duck policy.
As your email address was not included, I decided to post your comment.
Rgds,
Eeben
Odd question from marwinsing? Ok then. Well everyone to their own. Wonder why a self proclaimed shaman and person who hates being told what to do is here on your blog which has a military topic. Last i checked the military definately tell you what to do.. Odd comment. Mike
Odd indeed, Mike but I suppose each to their own.
As they say “sticks and stones...”
Rgds,
Eeben
I enjoy the living daylights out of your blog!!
Jon
Mr Barlow,
Regarding your Relentless Pursuit article, in my previous posting I forgot to ask you for your opinion regarding the use of dogs. I was most impressed by dogs I saw in South Africa (used by South African Army)
in the 1990s, although under rather controlled conditions. I have some personal experience with dogs from Southeast Asia many years back--mixed results. What do you think?
Rgds,
Herbert
Thanks, Jon. Much appreciated.
Rgds,
Eeben
As you requested, I won’t publish your comment, Sir47. However, I doubt it was them that targeted your email. I am sure they are occupied elsewhere at the moment. Besides, when I last checked, I was not an enemy of theirs.
Rgds,
Eeben
You are correct in that we used our dogs under rather controlled conditions and could have made better use of them, Herbert.
I believe dogs to be under-utilised especially in hot pursuit operations but then again, terrain and climate do have an influence on how dogs perform. With modern technology, we can, with miniature cameras see what the dog is seeing and even keep track of the dog’s location/position. Of course, there are those that would argue that we are placing the dog’s life in danger, especially if we have a gunship hovering close by.
Some cultures have an innate fear of aggressive, attack dogs and I believe that fear should be exploited if that particular culture forms part of the enemy.
Although I am not really that familiar with the role of dogs, I still believe they can play an important role. Dog handlers I have spoken to swear by their dogs but perhaps that is just mutual loyalty coming into play.
Rgds,
Eeben
many years ago back in late 1994 i worked on a contract basis for a small security company as a manager and number 2. i was dropping off a guard at his post at balfour centre and he was seated in the front passenger seat of my mazda 626, his dog was seated on the back seat. the problem we had was that the dog did not quite take to its handler and sat there growling and motioning forward between the seats. the handler was literally crapping in his pants. it got so bad that the dog was just about to bite the by now quivvering handler, i had no alternative but to reach around and punch the dog hard while negotiating traffic. the dog immediately desisted and cowered away. this was due to the harsh ways the dogs are trained by unscrupilous dog training schools. i dropped the dog and handler off on site and went about doing my tasks. later at about 03h00 i received repeated remote panic alarm activations from the site. i rushed there and found no signs of the guard. i did find the alsation sitting outside a glass door growling very ferociously. the guard had to hide behind the glass door to prevent the dog from mauling him. it is funny in retrospect but we took it very seriously and never used dogs from that particular "dog college" again.
you are right that certain cultures are dead scared of vicious dogs, add a shotgun to the mix and you are the most feared/hated person in the place.all we need to do is think of police chasing rabble rousers with alsations slobbering away and toting 12 guage shotguns loaded with baton rounds.
dogs are valuable assets and have proved themselves in tight situations and in war zones having been used in iraq and afghanistan i believe.
Sorry for disturb you Eeben.
respect
sir 47
If the dog and handler “did not get along” then there was something wrong with the choice of handler, Mike.
Training dogs in a cruel manner is, in my opinion, no way to train dogs. Unfortunately, much of that happens as these so-called schools try to churn our guard dogs. The same happens with the training of so-called dog handlers – much of it is sub-standard. Good on you for cutting out that particular dog school.
Rgds,
Eeben
I have not had contact with Lafras for some time, Mike. What I hear is that he is doing well.
I recall that visit Lafras made as he told me about it at the time. Some of the men who handed out those slaps also told me about it and according to their versions of what happened, I suspect the recipients all deserved it! I am sorry to hear that your jaw is still unfit for duty.
Rgds,
Eeben
You have never disturbed me, Sir47.
Rgds,
Eeben
They were right. We deserved the hiding. We needed to be placed very firmly in our places. It was the university of cabo ledo, the class was discipline 101, the professors were rich and simon. I believe i passed the test. I didnt go home and did just not return like quite a few others.
Dear Eeben:
I was reading over your book and I got to the part where you talked with Gerrie Bornman. You said he felt you had the profile for being good at being an agent handler/recruiter. I was wondering...what qualities did he see in your profile and how did he go about seeing them? For instance, did you take some sort of standardized test that was in your profile or go through an SADF interview process to get into officer's school that Bornman got a hold of? I was just wondering if you could elaborate on that.
Thanks for your time, GCU
Hello Eeeben
Thank you for this article. Comes at just the right time.
As I am starting an anti-poaching unit and have a few Yanks involved, they want to bring the kitchen zink!
I have sent them all a link. :}
Wayne.
Hello,
I am contacting you regarding your site, eebenbarlowsmilitaryandsecurityblog.blogspot.com.
My name is Doug, and I am a Navy Veteran and Outreach Coordinator for an Internet resource that provides health information to the veteran community. I would like to inquire about writing a veteran health article for your website.
Please email me at your earliest convenience. Thank you for your time.
Yours in health,
Doug
--
Douglas Karr, USN Veteran
Operations Desert Storm & Desert Shield
dkarrusn@gmail.com
hi Eeben Barlow, please contact me directly, I need some help
thanks
Hello Eeben,
Is everything well with you ...
Best,
Jon
I appreciate your comments about veterans on this website. I am an Afghanistan War veteran. I started a simliar blog called "The Veterans Guide."
You can visit it here and perhaps guest post on it from time to time.
Veteran's Guide to PTSD and Benefits
Such was life in those days, Michael. Good on you for sticking it out.
Rgds,
Eeben
He never discussed what he thought was the profile of a good agent handler, GCU.
In the old SADF, we were subject to numerous tests – most of them we didn’t understand. Prior to attending officer’s course, we did go through interviews but I am not sure that counted anything re my changing uniforms. I am not even sure if those were ever reflected on our personal files.
Exactly what he meant I never asked. By then, I was simply tired and needed a break – and being a spook seemed like a good route to follow.
Rgds,
Eeben
Good luck to you all, Wayne.
I am sure you will make a difference in this fight and stop these swines.
Rgds,
Eeben
I would be delighted to post an article re veteran health, Doug. I shall shortly contact you with an email address.
Rgds,
Eeben
It would help if you supply me with an email address Johan. I will not post it on the blog.
Rgds,
Eeben
I have been busy travelling Jon, hence the slow-down on the blog. However, I am fine – thanks for asking.
Rgds,
Eeben
Thanks Jerry. I will get there shortly – having been away, I need to catch up on some admin. Thanks for giving us the link to your blog.
Rgds,
Eeben
Sir, I have took this wealth of knowledge and posted it in Conflict Area Management on Facebook. A group all about PMC's. I hope it is not a problem, I just want every one to read the link.
Thank you.
Matthew McClure
No problem at all, Matthew. Thanks for visiting the blog.
Rgds,
Eeben
I often do not comment on blogs but your blog has such a method and writing model that I have no choices but to remark here. Nice submit, keep it up.
Tony@Jakarta Hotel
Many thanks, Tony. I will do my best...
Rgds,
Eeben
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