If you experience a failure to fire, you will know instantly by the sound and feel of the weapon, no matter what the lighting conditions. A tap-rack-flip maneuver will fix the problem posthaste. A failure to eject is solved with the same maneuver, but you must be certain that you actually have that particular stoppage and not the similar-looking feedway stoppage, or empty gun. You can determine what you have by visual examination using available light. In no-light conditions, you can use your support hand to feel for cartridges, empty cases in the ejection port area, or partially ejected magazines, for example, to determine what you have. I cannot stress enough that, in nolight conditions, your first reaction to a stoppage must be to extinguish the light and move. Then you can fix the problem.
If you must shoot an adversary, do not turn the light off immediately afterward. Remember that you must verify the result of your gunfire. If you experience a failure to stop or (perish the thought) you missed, you need to know that. The only way you will gain that information is to keep the light on him after shooting, as you lower your weapon to the ready position. I know that someone out there is screaming, "That will illuminate you as well, and other bad guys will know where you are!" That potential threat may be true, but the real threat is the one you've just fired on. Remember, tactics only minimize, not eliminate, danger. This situation calls for a balance of risk. Making sure that the real threat is neutralized takes precedence over possibly giving away your position.
A Laser Products dedicated-light fore-end for a Remington 870 shotgun.
Special operations weapons, such as this suppressed MP5, can be enhanced with the addition of a white-light unit. (Photo courtesy of Laser Products.)
An often forgotten aspect of low-light operations is muzzle flash. Excessive muzzle flash will destroy your night vision as well as signal to everyone where you are. Test your ammo for muzzle flash. If it is excessive, replace it.
Solving any tactical problem in the low-light or no-light environment is very difficult. Study the preceding text and the following diagram and then practice the concepts. They will prove to be an illuminating experience when you go hunting at night.
The following diagram illustrates the proper way to search in reduced-light operations.
Operating as a team, your partner may light up an area while you move outside the beam of light and clear the area surreptitiously. For all purposes, you will be invisible while the light is on.
TEN
TEAM TACTICS
Ask for volunteers for dangerous work. Pick out the best. Train them in fellowship. Then they will develop qualities that no one has ever suspected them to possess. They will follow you through anything-they will even live and fight and go on to certain death by themselves.
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.