The ambush is one of the most commonly practiced but least understood tactical skills in the modern U.S. military. This short article is taken from our new Small Unit Infantry Ambush Tactics book. The article is drawn from the book’s introduction and discusses how the doctrinal “schoolhouse” mentality has caused many small unit leaders to forget the hard-earned ambush lessons of previous conflicts.

This article, drawn from our latest book on machine gun employment discusses some key concepts that relate to fire control and surface danger zones. Machine guns are some of the most decisive infantry weapons but they can also be difficult to employ effectively and safely. Fire control and direct fire control measures are critical for ensuring you take maximum advantage of your guns and avoid accidental friendly fire incidents. The full book goes into more detail on this topic and offers additional fire control techniques and examples for leaders at all levels.

Our latest book on machine gun employment goes into detail on a wide range of topics relating to machine gun theory and various tactics and techniques for using machine guns in combat. This article takes a selection of short paragraphs on several key concepts and useful tactics that are critical for effective machine gun employment. The full book goes into more detail on each of these topics and shows how they relate to each other in the bigger picture.

This short article is taken from our new Squad-Level Infantry Rural Combat book and discusses some critical drawbacks in the way the U.S. Army teaches battle drills to small units. While the standard suppress and flank battle drill is intended only as a guideline or starting point for tactical maneuver, there are a number of problems with using the unmodified battle drill exactly as prescribed in the Army manual. Understanding these problems is a good starting point for developing better tactical options.

This short article is taken from our new Squad-Level Infantry Rural Combat book and discusses how to maintain situational awareness while executing individual movement techniques in a real-world combat scenario. Even if a unit masters movement formations and techniques they may still find themselves at a great disadvantage if they don’t know how to look for and identify potential threats while moving.

This short article is taken from our new Squad-Level Infantry Rural Combat book which includes 200-pages of detailed full-color pictures and diagrams. The article discusses how to incorporate individual movement techniques into small-unit tactical movement in a real-world combat scenario. Even if a unit masters movement formations and techniques they may still find themselves at a great disadvantage in combat against an adversary that better knows how to apply those techniques to the reality of combat.