Ever wonder about some of the tactics used Iraq, especially the urban combat such as was engaged in in Fallujah?

Here is a short lesson that was published in Popular Mechanics:

STREET SWEEPING CREWS
Illustration by CRANEDIGITAL.COM

URBAN COMBAT IN IRAQ involves unprecedented coordination between air, armor and artillery. Here's a look at some of the typical interactions between Marine infantry units and their support teams.

GROUP A
Arms Patrol
An infantry fire team patrols the street alongside an M1A1 Abrams tank. Fire teams avoid hostile fire--and the main tank gun--by keeping to the sides of the street. Tanks and infantry provide mutual cover: The Abrams draws insurgent fire away from the infantry and provides the house-clearing power of the 120mm main gun. But tanks are designed to engage other tanks in open-field combat. Their imposing size makes them an easy target in a crowded, urban environment. For protection, armored units rely on the grunts walking beside the tank to spot threats in a tank's many blind spots, and to engage hostiles the tank can't eliminate, such as insurgents firing from rooftops at an angle that is too severe for the Abrams's turret.

GROUP B
Rooftop Support
A company commander (1) oversees as many as nine squads at one time (2). Fire Support Teams (FiST), with an artillery forward officer (FO), mortar FO and a Forward Air Controller (FAC) call in and coordinate artillery, mortar and aerial support for the infantry. Two-man sniper teams (3) provide "guardian angel" protection to infantry teams.

GROUP C
Breaking & Entering
If a rocket or tank round is unavailable, Marines on foot must clear a house of insurgents. For protection, infantry enters a house with at least a four-man fire team and preferably with a larger squad. Nobody enters alone, and a strict buddy system ensures mutual cover during room searches.

GROUP D
Aerial Assets
Dragon Eye (4) and Pioneer (5) Unmanned Aerial Vehicles provide real-time intel. Combat Air Support gives infantry aerial cover. Forward Air Controllers talk directly to pilots, guiding them by lighting up targets with a laser designator, or by "talking in" a plane by visually describing the target. Air assets include Cobra gunships (6) with Hellfire missiles and rockets, F/A-18 fighters (7) with precision munitions, and the AC-130 ( , a flying gun platform, armed with a field-artillery-size 105mm howitzer--a favorite with the Marines. "Some people need recordings of running water to go to sleep," Maj. Anthony Petrucci says. "In Fallujah, all I needed was an AC-130 overhead."

If you would like to get even more of a taste of combat in Iraq, go read the entire article: Part 0ne and Part Two on city tactics, and this article on road tactics.

Popular Mechanics can show our troops in a balanced light, WHY can't the "popular MSM?!?

H/T to commenter juandos for the links to the articles.

Posted by: Delftsman3 at 10:34 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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