In a fighting force, recon teams have the power to drive operational and even strategic decisions through supplying accurate and timely intel to commanders. In rare cases, conventional recon elements take action against the enemy with permission/orders from higher, though it is very rare. I believe that having recon elements capable of filling more roles than just snooping and pooping is the most efficient way to operate. Though, there are scholars out there that feel that recon is and should be a very myopic specialty. I think there is enough evidence to support the fact that multi-purpose recon elements is the best way to go. The Marines are a perfect example with their Recon Battalions being Special Operations Capable, IMHO.
OBSERVE AND REPORT ONLY
In some schools of thought, recon elements should be lightly manned, lightly armed, and focused on being recon specialists. If they find themselves engaged, they should break contact and continue on mission or abort their mission due to compromise. When you have hundreds or even thousands of people ready to work on a focused operation, that may make sense to divide up the roles and give people a specific task/specialty. Admittedly this will allow teams a chance to really hone their specific skills/craft for top-level performance. Plus, it can absolutely reduce task confusion since you won’t have one guy taking on 5 different tasks. However, it is relatively impossible to act on all actionable intel at a moment’s notice if you have to collect all relevant scraps of info and hand it off to the specialists.
In some schools of thought, recon elements should be lightly manned, lightly armed, and focused on being recon specialists. If they find themselves engaged, they should break contact and continue on mission or abort their mission due to compromise. When you have hundreds or even thousands of people ready to work on a focused operation, that may make sense to divide up the roles and give people a specific task/specialty. Admittedly this will allow teams a chance to really hone their specific skills/craft for top-level performance. Plus, it can absolutely reduce task confusion since you won’t have one guy taking on 5 different tasks. However, it is relatively impossible to act on all actionable intel at a moment’s notice if you have to collect all relevant scraps of info and hand it off to the specialists.
MULTI-PURPOSE ELEMENT
In the real world, intel has an expiration date on it. Actionable intelligence usually has an extremely short life span. Think of Marcus Luttrell and his teams’ original mission prior to becoming ‘The Lone Survivor’. Their mission was a hybrid target acquisition (Special Reconnaissance) and capture/kill (Direct Action) operation. Special operations units typically combine recon and Direct Action for efficiency, especially in capture/kill missions where the target is slippery. Think of it as a leaders’ recon prior to the capture/kill. If a recon element can only observe and report, their intel (which may have been actionable at first) may no longer be valid by the time it gets to units that can take action. Missions that start as recon only can quickly turn into a Direct-Action mission if the situation presents itself. The old saying is “A partial plan acted on now is better than a perfect plan acted on in a month”, or something like that.
If an HVT with a kill order on their head is spotted, the recon team may switch gears to a sniping role through a FRAGO given by command. This has actually happened in some form or another for the SAS, enough for them to integrate recon and Direct-Action. Why not have that team seize an opportunity that may not be seen again for a long time, if at all. Obviously, most actions outside of reconnaissance will have to be cleared by higher if it is not in the mission OPORD. But, taking out a known HVT may have a strategic value, and that is a rare mission for conventional recon elements to find themselves tasked with. Special Reconnaissance is a whole different ball game because strategy is the name of the game. I think all recon elements should follow the Special Reconnaissance example, personally.
In the real world, intel has an expiration date on it. Actionable intelligence usually has an extremely short life span. Think of Marcus Luttrell and his teams’ original mission prior to becoming ‘The Lone Survivor’. Their mission was a hybrid target acquisition (Special Reconnaissance) and capture/kill (Direct Action) operation. Special operations units typically combine recon and Direct Action for efficiency, especially in capture/kill missions where the target is slippery. Think of it as a leaders’ recon prior to the capture/kill. If a recon element can only observe and report, their intel (which may have been actionable at first) may no longer be valid by the time it gets to units that can take action. Missions that start as recon only can quickly turn into a Direct-Action mission if the situation presents itself. The old saying is “A partial plan acted on now is better than a perfect plan acted on in a month”, or something like that.
If an HVT with a kill order on their head is spotted, the recon team may switch gears to a sniping role through a FRAGO given by command. This has actually happened in some form or another for the SAS, enough for them to integrate recon and Direct-Action. Why not have that team seize an opportunity that may not be seen again for a long time, if at all. Obviously, most actions outside of reconnaissance will have to be cleared by higher if it is not in the mission OPORD. But, taking out a known HVT may have a strategic value, and that is a rare mission for conventional recon elements to find themselves tasked with. Special Reconnaissance is a whole different ball game because strategy is the name of the game. I think all recon elements should follow the Special Reconnaissance example, personally.
SPECIAL RECONNAISSANCE
Special (Formerly called strategic) recon is done deep behind enemy lines for the purpose of seeking out targets that will have a strategic value. If you want an idea of what Special Reconnaissance looks like, think of MACV-SOG and their recon missions. They were seeking out entire NVA divisions and logistic networks. When they found what they were looking for, they called in air strikes and maybe stuck around to conduct a Bomb/Battle Damage Assessment. In the time of their existence, they were able to reroute tens of thousands of NVA for logistical and rear area security in Laos and Cambodia. A strategic success, since those NVA troops were slated to infiltrate into South Vietnam. Other tasks SOG recon units had was conducting ambushes against targets of opportunity, sabotage (Eldest Son), prisoner snatches (deliberate or by initiative), psychological warfare, raids, rescue & recovery, etc. A recent example of Special Reconnaissance is the exploits of John “Shrek” McPhee who was doing solo raids while posing as a mentally handicapped Middle Eastern male or a cab driver. Now that is Special Reconnaissance. Undercover in denied territory and acting on fresh intel, even if alone and outgunned. Overall, the idea is to look for ways to hit the enemy the hardest in a way that will disrupt their ability to fight.
I am not saying that all recon elements out there should try to be like MACV-SOG or John McPhee, but history has enough examples of the success of recon elements that have the ability and latitude to do more than observe and report. Recon elements should be capable, and encouraged, to seize the initiative and snatching a prisoner or conducting an ambush if they see an opportunity and it won’t negatively impact their original mission. However, if a target of opportunity like an enemy high-ranking officer is walking down a trail with only a two-man escort and your original mission was to find and observe a nearby base, I think that a prisoner snatch would be worth the compromise. This doesn’t mean that recon missions are just for picking fights and hitting the enemy. It just means that the recon element is CAPABLE of carrying out other missions if needed.
Special (Formerly called strategic) recon is done deep behind enemy lines for the purpose of seeking out targets that will have a strategic value. If you want an idea of what Special Reconnaissance looks like, think of MACV-SOG and their recon missions. They were seeking out entire NVA divisions and logistic networks. When they found what they were looking for, they called in air strikes and maybe stuck around to conduct a Bomb/Battle Damage Assessment. In the time of their existence, they were able to reroute tens of thousands of NVA for logistical and rear area security in Laos and Cambodia. A strategic success, since those NVA troops were slated to infiltrate into South Vietnam. Other tasks SOG recon units had was conducting ambushes against targets of opportunity, sabotage (Eldest Son), prisoner snatches (deliberate or by initiative), psychological warfare, raids, rescue & recovery, etc. A recent example of Special Reconnaissance is the exploits of John “Shrek” McPhee who was doing solo raids while posing as a mentally handicapped Middle Eastern male or a cab driver. Now that is Special Reconnaissance. Undercover in denied territory and acting on fresh intel, even if alone and outgunned. Overall, the idea is to look for ways to hit the enemy the hardest in a way that will disrupt their ability to fight.
I am not saying that all recon elements out there should try to be like MACV-SOG or John McPhee, but history has enough examples of the success of recon elements that have the ability and latitude to do more than observe and report. Recon elements should be capable, and encouraged, to seize the initiative and snatching a prisoner or conducting an ambush if they see an opportunity and it won’t negatively impact their original mission. However, if a target of opportunity like an enemy high-ranking officer is walking down a trail with only a two-man escort and your original mission was to find and observe a nearby base, I think that a prisoner snatch would be worth the compromise. This doesn’t mean that recon missions are just for picking fights and hitting the enemy. It just means that the recon element is CAPABLE of carrying out other missions if needed.
RANGE OF CAPABILITIES
Obviously, the bread and butter of a recon element is to sneak in, gather intel, and report back. As discussed, there may be other tasks they should be capable of in order to be a strategic asset to their command. For this reason, recon elements should be cross-trained in a range of other skills that they may find themselves needing to use while on operations. Just to list a few:
Obviously, the bread and butter of a recon element is to sneak in, gather intel, and report back. As discussed, there may be other tasks they should be capable of in order to be a strategic asset to their command. For this reason, recon elements should be cross-trained in a range of other skills that they may find themselves needing to use while on operations. Just to list a few:
- Prisoner Snatch/Hostage Rescue
- QRF/support for nearby units
- Rescue & Recovery
- Ambushes
- Raids
- Psychological warfare
- Sabotage
CLOSING ARGUMENT
I think it is time that recon elements be turned into a multi-purpose force instead of just being a lightly armed motley crew with cameras and binoculars. History has shown the merits of a multi-purpose recon element, even though some scholars feel recon should focus only on recon. I don’t deny that you need to have specialists in raids, ambushes, hostage rescue, rescue and recovery, and other Direct-Action operations. However, I think that if you are going to get the best bang for your buck out of the men in the recon element, they need to be realistically trained and capable of much more than observing and reporting.
I think it is time that recon elements be turned into a multi-purpose force instead of just being a lightly armed motley crew with cameras and binoculars. History has shown the merits of a multi-purpose recon element, even though some scholars feel recon should focus only on recon. I don’t deny that you need to have specialists in raids, ambushes, hostage rescue, rescue and recovery, and other Direct-Action operations. However, I think that if you are going to get the best bang for your buck out of the men in the recon element, they need to be realistically trained and capable of much more than observing and reporting.
RSS Feed