I know the Army is constantly changing, but in reality there are very few times when we can actually hold a mighty battle sword aloft and honestly declare that we have REALLY invented the wheel. Every time the Army goes some place new, or we move to a new unit, or we burn poop in another country, it feels like the first time. “It feels like the verrrryyy first timmmme.” In all truth, it’s not. *le sigh*
I know that you know that Afghanistan and Iraq are different places with different considerations regarding ROE, the enemy, the locals, the terrain, the fight, the reasons for occupation, yadda yadda. I’m not talking about the tactics that the enemy fighter. Enemy tactics will even vary within the borders of Afghanistan, from river valley to river valley. Tangi is not Helmand is most certainly not the Arghandab.
But whether it’s a Wahhabist trained insurgent in the Pech Valley or a homegrown fighter from the streets of Mosul or a young infantryman from North Korea, it’s the same caliber of munitions. Your reaction will be the same: actions on contact.
So, let’s discuss reacting to small arms. If you had the sudden urge to parrot, “Immediately deploy to concealment. If concealment is unavailable, make sharp turns of unequal magnitude and unequal intervals and small changes in altitude. Consider employment of immediate suppressive fire,” you’ve probably been asked that question on your APART before. Whether you are doing a pitch back turn, a break turn, or executing a cyclic climb to a push-over break, the reason and reaction to small arms fire remain the same. You know this because your Aircrew Training Manual says so.
But the ATM information had to come from somewhere, right?
Who wrote that?
Who figured it all out first?
Well, we did. “We” as in Army Aviation. Well, if we were still flying slick loaches, fat Hueys, and slim Cobras over triple canopy jungle in Southeast Asia, that is. This is not the first time that we have had to evade surface based small arms fire. Even if you change the name and claim you invented it (Wells Maneuver, anyone?), it’s still the same ol’ bullets. You don’t need to be told by an S-2 how prevalent small arms fire is and how you need to avoid it because the ATM beat him to it! Of course, doctrine only works if you read it.
The truth is that enemy fire occurs where you fly. It doesn’t occur where you don’t fly. Enemy small arms fire at helicopters transiting through an area is not an indicator of how many insurgents live or ply their trade there. Most engagements of helicopters with small arms are targets of opportunity, made available by pilots developing patterns and other general pilot stupidity. The enemy is going to do what it always does: shoot at you. The question is what will you do when that happens?
