# Tactical Decision Exercise



## Boon (Mar 30, 2011)

_I pulled this from Ethos.  Have fun._

The following is a Tactical Decision Exercise – a role playing exercise in which you will be asked to make a combat decision in a limited amount of time. The goal is to improve your tactical decision making, pattern recognition and communication skills. There is no right answer.

In each issue of Ethos, the reader’s position in the patrol will change. However, the specified title does not exclude others from completing the exercise – every leader in the patrol should be familiar with all levels of command. Additionally, the scenarios are intentionally vague so make any assumptions that are essential to complete the exercise. Read the situation as many times as needed before moving on to the requirement.

*The Situation*

You are a fire team leader in a SEAL platoon deployed off the coast of Montevedra. From the battle group, you conduct operations against the leadership of an international terrorist organization that is using the remote coastal cities as a safe haven from American military pressure in their native country. Your platoon plans an over-the-beach assault on one such leader who is temporarily residing in Navion, a town of 500 people sympathetic to the terrorists’ cause. Your platoon commander’s intent is to capture this terrorist leader in order to develop future targeting of the network.

After departing the battle group via MK-V boats, your platoon transits to the insertion point and clears the beach with maritime and aerial sensors. Your fire team swims to shore, conducts a beach reconnaissance and seizes a high ground position in order to watch over the rest of your platoon’s movement to shore. After the remaining fire teams enter the water, you see the headlights of a vehicle depart Navion and head east on Route Orange toward you. You attempt to radio your platoon commander but are unable to reach him. As the vehicle approaches, you identify it as a pick-up truck with an automatic weapon mounted in the bed. The vehicle stops north east of you and opens fire in your direction. The fire is ineffective but you sense the enemy knows you are in the area because you see the headlights of a similar vehicle depart Navion and race east down Route Olive. You are still unable to reach your platoon commander, but establish good radio communications with the MK-V boats, the Naval surface fires officer aboard the battle group, and the deployed rotary wing detachment on alert. What do you do?

*The Requirement*

In five minutes, write down your orders to your fire team and any actions you would take. Provide the rationale and an overlay of your plan of action. This Tactical Decision Exercise does not intentionally represent any previous, current, or planned U.S. military operations.


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## Diamondback 2/2 (Mar 30, 2011)

I would immediately build up a good base of sustained fire and would hold tight. I would standby for the rest of the ground force to get a shore and develop the situation form there. If the enemy fires become more affective I would call for fires and air support and attempt to establish fire superiority over the enemy. I would continue to try and make comms with the plt cdr and possibly attempt to relay messages through the battle group.

Being that we are a HSLD unit we should have a plan of action for lost comms and enemy contact prior to getting into positions. I would guess that plan would be based around the amount of enemy (us to them odds) and the combat effectiveness of the enemy. Two enemy trucks and against a SEAL plt with CAS and fires, would put the odds in our favor and would tell me we should be able to at minimum hold our ground. As the early warning of the mission and fire support of the ground forces, it would be my job to establish fire superiority and cover the movement of the rest of the plt still in the water.


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## TLDR20 (Mar 30, 2011)

Well you still have two other uncompromised teams sitting pretty off of the beach. Any coordinated fires I.E. Arty or heli gunships would prolly spook the HVI and have him book ass out of there. You are receiving ineffective fire. From one of two enemy vehicle positions.  I know I should have a good answer however I do not know enough about SEAL operations to answer this effectively. What organic weapon systems do I have. How many men do I have. Simple answer though: Have the Mark V's provide supporting fire, close with and destroy the enemy, continue onward.


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## Diamondback 2/2 (Mar 30, 2011)

I know there is no right answer to this, but for the sake of debate. The fire team leader’s job is to get eyes on and provide fire support. Leaving high ground to assault would cause you to lose eyes and would take away the tactical advantage. The ability to use fires and CAS is only needed if you can’t deter the enemy with your own fires. You still have another vehicle to deal with and a fire team will not have good odds against two mounted enemy teams. Weapons are pretty obvious (small arms) and without knowing if the enemy has RPG’s Mortars support or unexposed ground forces, you would be taking on a huge “tactical if” without getting the other friendly ground forces on the ground and out of the water. Also I would never move without comms, the plt cdr knows your location and knows comms is down, if you start an assault or maneuver form your location he will only be able to track you by the war you make on your own, of course that would be situational dependent in that if you had to break contact due to enemy fire superiority.

As for the HVT, there is no telling if he will bug out with the enemy initiation of fires, or that he was there to begin with. Your primary reasonability is to cover your platoon’s infill and maintain eyes on the battle field. You may not be able to contact the plt cdr, but you still have comms with the battle group.


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## TLDR20 (Mar 30, 2011)

JAB- What I am saying is you are a recon element under fire, you have two other units which I assumed were on the Mark V's still. I do not know this because I did not sit on the OPORD. I also don't understand why one of these dudes on the Mark V that I have comms with cannot hand the radio to my PL/TL. If the Mark V's can come in close and unload on the enemy, dismount the pipehitters and get on with the mission I don't see how it is a problem. Like I said there are a crapton of variables. How far are these roads from the water. 100M and 300M respectively. Light them the fuck up with the weapons organic to the Mark V. Then continue on with mission. But I would get those on-call Helo's in the air, ready to lay down hate and discontent on the enemy that may or may not come out of that town. My other question is why there is no blocking position in the town to start with(I guess I am saying I wouldn't have gone on this mission because it seems ate up from the start). Proper planning prior to this mission would have prevented piss poor performance lol


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## Boon (Mar 30, 2011)

LMAO


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## Diamondback 2/2 (Mar 30, 2011)

I absolutely agree that the scenario is lacking in detail and info; I am trying to go off of normal basic tactical planning and run with it. My original take on the situation is that it is script written in Hollywood, why would one team (the recon element) have a boat and the assault element be swimming? lol Again I was trying to look at it with basic planning and say shit got fucked, support the element that is unable to fight b/c they are in the water and develop the situation. Also keep in mind I am using an Infantry brain over here…lol

ETA:I am a tard, I just reread and nobody has a boat and the boats are standoff. lol Still pretty stupid though...


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## Mac_NZ (Mar 30, 2011)

Leave my DM (I assume I have one) and 2IC to watch the vehicle firing with orders to engage it if the fire becomes effective or the vech moves to within 300m or he is confident he can engage effectively.  Take my gunner and myself back behind the dead ground and keep eyes on the second vehicle.  Contact the boats and tell them to position for an immediate extraction, contact the air and tell them to standby to engage the vehicles as the boats arrive for pickup, await comms with the Pl comd and reccomend extracting.

Reason being the element of surprise has been lost, 1 now overt Pl vs 1 known En vech and a town of 500 sympathetic locals is not going to end well.  Everyone in that town is now probably awake and there is no way to  engage that vehicle with supporting arms without causing the HVI to start moving out like a pissed on cat.


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## Mac_NZ (Mar 30, 2011)

And I agree that this is a fucked up as bag of foreskins, there should at least be blocks on the routes of egress.


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## Diamondback 2/2 (Mar 30, 2011)

On to the other positions in the unit:

If I was the Plt Cdr I would suck start my M4 for being retarded. lol j/k

I would call up the boats and get a shore, I would assault the vehicles and call for a helo to get on the west side of the town to provide over watch/intervention of vehicles trying to leave. I would maintain the recon team as overwatch until we got a strong hold in the town and then I would move them up. I would continue the assault into the town and develop the situation, if it started to look like Mogadishu, I would move out of the town and extract. However if the situation allowed for it I would hit the HVT location and call for a helo extract outside of the town.

A few guntrucks and small arms fire would not deter me and a platoon from getting the mission done. However if the whole town turned hostile I would get my people out of there ASAP.


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## TLDR20 (Mar 30, 2011)

Honestly what I would do is go all Rambo on these F'ers. Who do they think they are shooting at me? I would run down the hill banshee screaming at the top of my lungs. I would then missile kick the head off of the driver, and proceed to beat the other occupants to death with said head. I would then roll into town on the commandeered vehicle killing every man inside. After I killed the HVI I would, as a testament to my awesomeness, build a statue of bodies in my shape to commemorate the awesome achievement. After this I would sire children with every female in the town so that in the future they would only have to look to their kids to remember the day someone decided to shoot at the scary man from the ocean.


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## Diamondback 2/2 (Mar 30, 2011)

ROTFLMMFAO!!!


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## Mac_NZ (Mar 30, 2011)

I think I read a book about your exploits once.

I think a SEAL Pl is only 16 blokes so that makes me a bit more hesitant about taking this lot on.


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## Diamondback 2/2 (Mar 30, 2011)




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## TLDR20 (Mar 30, 2011)

Was it Rogue Warrior? Cause that fucking guy has been ripping off my stories for years:eek:


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## Manolito (Mar 30, 2011)

The opforce appears to be less than 250 meters from the beach I would move my two boats west and run beach fire from one boat while landing the second boat and swing my landed party to the west taking the BG fire team with three triangulated fields of fire. Then move on down the road to the town. Calling in arty on the second BG fire team. Placing 5in. rapid fire inland 3 miles to make everybody think the action is back there not at the beach.
Remember I am not an SOF qualified individual but I stayed at a Holiday Inn once.


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## tmroun01 (Mar 30, 2011)

First off I would call up the CAS and MK V's and at least get them ready to put hell down these dudes throats. Second if only the truck on route orange is firing at my position and it is ineffective, let them keep shooting. Meanwhile the rest of the platoon can come onto shore, move to the truck and destroy it. Once the truck is destroyed I would set a rally point with the rest of the platoon at the intersection of route orange and olive. At that point I would instruct the MK V's to begin harassing the truck on route olive, while my fire team moved into an ambush spot. I would also call up the birds to provide over watch on our forces. Once both trucks were destroyed, I would move my team to the RP. From there I would move the entire platoon to where the HVT is. Seeming as their only four buildings in the town  the platoon could split up into its four fire teams while still having over watch. Once the HVT was secured/dead I would call for immediate extract before as JAB put it "shit turned into Mogadishu". Throughout this I would be using the CAS and MK-V's to relay what was happening to the CO.

My stealth approach would be to build a Trojan Horse put my platoon in it and leave lots of booze at the base. Let them take their war trophy in town and get hammered. Middle of the night slip out and sack the town leave one survivor so he can say that "the men with green eyes" did this. ;)


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## mike_cos (Mar 31, 2011)

Boon said:


> _I pulled this from Ethos.  Have fun._
> 
> *The Situation*
> 
> ...



"hey OPCOM's dudes..shit to the fan... compromised blackop!. this is an no-go...tell to the other guys.. over..chhhhh"
"is a roger... two MH60 PAVE HAWK for you ETA 2... go to the extraction point... over..chhhh"
"call for fire... objs grid data following... our position data following.. our quota is... circle 1, suppression fire... 2 rounds... over..chhh"
"is a roger... lower your ass... over... chhhhh"
...KABOW....KABOW....
"...hey dude you win a pizza... strike 100%... over chhhhhh"
FLAP...FLAP...FLAP...FLAP...
"...good bye and kisses Montevedra... see you next time.... I have to tell something to Intel now...."


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## Johca (May 25, 2011)

I read the scenario several times and I was taking it seriously until I read “My original take on the situation is that it is script written in Hollywood, ….)

I’m a fan of NCIS-LA please tell me this is the story line for next season. Truthfully they don’t need SEAL teams to rescue Hetty (she rocks). They just need me to HAHO or HALO in as I taught Sgt Rock (DC comics, one edition ca. 1993 reveals his trainer has my surname). 

Who need SEALs when Sgt Rock andEasy Company locks and loads and gets it done every time! 
Sorry, I couldn't resist resurrecting this inactive thread for the fun of it. No disrespect to the SEALs intended BTW, but I really am a fan of NCIS-LA.


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