USMC Combat Hunter Training Introduction And Fundamentals: Profiling, Tactical Tracking, Observation Theory, Tactical Fundamentals, Planning And More

Book excerpt: COMBAT HUNTER TRAINER COURSE Purpose: The purpose of the Combat Hunter Trainer Course is to produce a Marine capable of training a more ethically minded, tactically cunning, and situational aware Marine capable of proactively identifying threats in any environment. Scope: The Combat Hunter Trainer Course enhances the safety and security of Marines across the range of military operations, whether in garrison, on liberty, or on the battlefield. Marines are trained to observe and recognize human behaviors, patterns and trends that are indicative of a threat and to act on that threat quickly and decisively through an improved and matured decision-making process. The Marine receives training in planning, conducting, and evaluating training events to include classes on small unit training and unit training management. Combat Hunter training includes Introduction to Combat Hunter, Observation Devices, Criminal and Insurgent Networks, Decision Cycle, Enhanced Observation, KIM Technique, Introduction to Profiling, Heuristics, Profiling Domains, Terrorist Planning Cycle, Tactical Questioning, Analyze and Interpret Spoor, Individual Actions in a Tracking Team, Track Exploitation, Leading a Tracking Team, and Tactical Site Exploitation. DEFINITION AND MISSION OF THE COMBAT HUNTER. A combat hunter selects, uses, and maximizes the appropriate optics available to see objects and events, both hidden and distant. These optics range from the naked eye to advanced optical systems. A combat hunter, through attention to detail, establishes a baseline of an environment and detects the anomalies located within that environment. A combat hunter tracks humans and vehicles by reading the natural terrain. He pursues an armed enemy and gathers data that may suggest the enemy’s action and intent. The combat hunter is the creation of a mindset through the integration of enhanced observation, combat profiling, and combat tracking. This mindset will enable Marines to locate, close with, and destroy an elusive enemy that hides among the population and uses asymmetric tactics to attack our forces. By utilizing enhanced observation, combat profiling, and combat tracking, a Marine is more lethal, survivable, and tactically cunning. He becomes a force multiplier to his unit’s operations. OBSERVATION. Observation begins with the gathering and processing of information obtained through the senses. The five sensory systems are sight, hearing, smell, touch, and taste that allow information to be collected from the environment. Perception is the process that the mind uses to organize the sensory information into an understandable interpretation of the environment. Central to all these skills is a critically-thinking Marine whose decisions can be affected by numerous factors, both external and internal. The Marine refines his decision making capabilities by understanding the decision cycle process and his awareness of the physical and biological responses he goes through when faced with a dynamic situation. Refining these skills and understanding the effects they have on his mind and body make him more capable and more lethal.