Leader's Reconnaissance
By Gunnery Sergeant Chad Skaggs and Captain Garrett Boyce
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published by the Infantry Working Group. You can create an account and access their articles and products, which focus on techniques, procedures, and tactics - to include captured best practices from the operating forces.
“Time spent on a leader's reconnaissance is seldom time wasted.” — Colonel Ted Greeley
Leader’s Reconnaissance: A Vignette
The reinforced company stopped 200 meters short of the planned support by fire position. The hill offered line of sight to the flank of the enemy, some 500 meters distant. As the ACVs growled in neutral, a handful of Marines dismounted. The company commander walked among subordinate, attached, and supporting leaders. No one was on security. The crowd followed the company commander to the top of the hill and stood. No one raised binoculars—there wasn’t any. Groups broke away. The LAR platoon commander arranged ground marks for vehicles. The heavy machine gun section leader looked at the objective. Unknown to everyone, the 60mm mortar section was setting in. Twenty minutes passed. Then thirty, forty and fifty. The company commander meandered with his executive officer, without purpose. The company never reached its objective.
Scope
The scope of this article are techniques for in-stride reconnaissance—done during the action, outside of the planning cycle. It applies to our infantry companies and their subordinate units.
Observations
During planning or in-stride, leaders reconnoiter the battlefield before committing Marines. Leader’s reconnaissance immediately updates a plan. Leader’s reconnaissance is critically important. Yet our infantry companies and platoons reconnoiter poorly.
Leaders do not secure their forward points—especially when rehearsals are done on the same range. Leaders leave the vantage point with no security.
Leaders do not confirm old information. Planning is an assumption. Enemy intelligence, positions, terrain, and friendly control measures are not confirmed by the leader's reconnaissance. Units commit to positions that don’t work, and don’t support the plan.
Leaders do not provide new information. They have neither the tools nor training to reconnoiter. Valuable updates and assessments—the vital outcome—are not provided.
When
During the execution of a plan, reconnoiter a new situation or terrain feature to modify the plan.
Purpose
Establishes security. Security is an outcome of reconnaissance.
Leader’s reconnaissance is route reconnaissance. Scout routes. Note dead space. Mark routes.
Secure objective positions. Marines on security observe and report. Observation is security.
Reconnaissance, security, and observation limit surprise. Prevent terrain surprise—a position or route that isn’t feasible—before committing units. Limit enemy surprise—undetected enemy positions. Avoid danger areas that expose maneuver to enemy fire.
Confirms old information. All information is an assumption until confirmed by the leader.
Validate positions. Maps and satellites can mislead. Supporting unit leaders—machine guns, engineers, LAR, mortars, FST—reconnoiter.
Leader’s reconnaissance confirms intelligence reports—SALUTE information. Old reports are less accurate and must be confirmed. The older the report, the greater need for reconnaissance.
Provides new information. Reconnaissance without assessment is wasted effort.
Assess the enemy, the terrain, and suppression. Complete enemy assessments. Estimate enemy levels of protection, composition, and disposition. Assess identifiable weapons and their orientation. Report new information. Update the scheme of maneuver. Is the mission still valid?
Supporting unit leaders collect information to support maneuver. Update direction of fire, ranges, shift lines, methods of fire and control measures.
Updates routes. In the offense, leaders avoid danger areas and use dead space. In the defense, leaders walk the engagement area from the enemy’s perspective. Danger areas and dead space influence the fire plan. Refine and secure tentative positions or recommend new positions.
Assesses suppression. Assessing fires before committing troops saves lives.
Confirming positions and assessing the enemy requires leaders to carry certain tools. Require mil-reticle optics, range finders, and compasses to reconnoiter. Validate control measures by determining distances, measuring directions and drawing them on a map.
“A leader's reconnaissance allows the platoon commander to confirm intelligence and assumptions made during planning. A leader’s reconnaissance patrol is kept as small as possible to prevent detection. Care is taken not to alert the enemy. It often consists of the platoon commander and squad leaders; the platoon sergeant and senior fire team leaders lead and prepare the platoon while the patrol is out.”
MCRP 3-10A.3 The Marine Infantry Platoon
“The commander conducts a leader’s reconnaissance with key personnel to confirm or modify the plan. Changes to the plan are disseminated immediately.”
MCWP 3-01 Offensive and Defensive Tactics
Technique for In-Stride Reconnaissance
A generic scenario of a rifle platoon attacking a fortified position provides context to the technique.
Establish an Objective Rally Point (ORP) and organize a leader’s reconnaissance patrol.
Senior subordinate stays at the ORP.
Leader briefs the patrol members.
Intended vantage point.
Information to collect.
Chokepoints or canalizing terrain.
Security Plan
Who goes?
Organic Leaders: subordinate leaders, killing asset leaders.
Attached Leaders: machine gun leaders, mortar leaders.
Supporting Leaders: section leaders, and vehicle commanders. JTACs, FOs.
Who stays? Second in command, some organic leaders. The rest of the unit in the ORP prepares to fight.
Occupy a vantage point offset from intended avenues of approach. Secure flanks and rear.
Rifleman and a team leader are security.
Assess. Compare enemy disposition to the plan.
Range enemy, measure FCLs, determine fire distribution.
Confirm control measures, identify positions
Move back to the ORP when:
Information is gathered, OR threat of detection.
Security element stays to surveil enemy.
Leaders update subordinates in the ORP and HHQ on the radio.
Timing
Leader’s reconnaissance is not timed. It can be quick— a look over a piece of dirt to assess suppression.
It can be paced—multiple supporting units getting on the same page.
GySgt Skaggs and Capt Boyce can be reached at skaggs.chad@gmail.com and Garrett.boyce09@gmail.com respectively. They would like to thank Nathan Blackwell, Chris Howard, Matt Hutcheson, Jimmy Hussey, Brendan McBreen, Lee Osburn and Brian Zitterkopf for their assistance in producing this Field Note. Please visit https://www.infantryworkinggroup.org/ to review more of their work.
Leaders recon is an important venue that should occur. However, when enemy sit rep and time allow, should we not allocate resources like sUAS to validate the what’s next? Leveraging technology, when and where able, allows information dissemination to rapidly develop. It also allows units to execute branch plans and validate or preclude enemy situation. GOTWA has its place but integrating technology helps. KIS,S (yes the comma means something