Why Should I Take The Time To Bother With All This? Because, as with everything else, having a handy-dandy back pocket reference to whip out makes recalling critical info easy. If you’re of the mindset that everything as you know it will be the same when you’re shivering, exhausted and afraid, you’re absolutely wrong.
I had a soldier who stepped on a toe popper in Afghanistan. What’s a toe popper? A small IED placed to kill or maim a small group or lone bubba. We were absolutely spent- a 15 mile movement through the mountains, up and down, all night- and boom, he was down. You don’t think at that point, you default to your highest level of training. Time to treat and send up the 9-line…which was the easy part, because it was already laid out. I had not only memorized the 9-line MEDEVAC report on two previous deployments but had written many- and yet I defaulted to the notes. Because I couldn’t think at that point, with the training taking over and the data book filling in that gap.
For our common purpose, there’s a ton of data that could be included that goes far beyond simply what was listed previously (although that stuff is absolutely critical) such as infrastructure information. At some point, especially if you make it to the what comes next phase, a person or group can benefit greatly by understanding things that most fail to ever consider- such as runway distances for differing types of aircraft. This might just be incredibly important, especially since Logistic Supply Areas (LSAs) and Forward Operating Bases (FOBs) require airstrips of differing sizes to support cargo aircraft. For example, a fully loaded C-130 needs ~3,000 ft, while the old C-23 Sherpa requires ~1,850 ft. What about an Antonov? Such data is critical to a ground commander needing resupply and conversely to the rebel attempting to map out his enemy capability.
You might also want the common aviation band frequencies (108-137mHz, AM mode) and if your equipment is capable of supporting that need. One should take healthy notes on local capabilities from this site. If you think this data is simply going to materialize later on, you’ve got another thing coming. On that note, you should probably have the different band allocations mapped out, since under duress it’s difficult to remember but might give pointers as to what type of signal you’re intercepting. Maybe mapping out the potential LZs in your AO by knowing the common requirement for differing rotary-wing aircraft in use by potential OPFOR or FREFOR (for example, each UH-60 needs 100sq. meters by doctrine) and what frequencies do they use to coordinate with ground troops? How about how to set that LZ up? It will be important for both you and them, I promise.
Oh, you think you’re gonna take on any potential OPFOR and not have working knowledge of this stuff? Ok. Good luck with that. Just like thinking you can thumb through a Ranger Handbook and be good to go- No go, stud. There’s more to it and work to be put in. So things are heating up at home and abroad, maybe a foreign invasion seems no so unlikely at some point, even under the guise of peacekeeping. No forces operate long unsupported. It might be a good idea to review this from a while back again while updating your files. An if you don’t have the Report Formats written down and at least practiced once in a while, you’re behind the curve.
Bravado does not equate substance.