Welcome back to the second part of the Top 10 unwritten rules of CQB series. In the previous part we talked about the first two rules about sight fixation and flashlights. Lets continue to our next two rules. But before, we would like to remind you that these ‘rules’ are more of a reminder of things that many forget or not aware of. Throughout this series, we will discuss the top ten unwritten rules of CQB.
3. Dividing the threat’s attention
I will be honest. I was not sure if I should include this point in the list. It requires a somewhat mature intellectual approach filled with experience glittered on top of it. Dividing the threat’s attention, or in other words messing up his OODA loop is one of the most important principles. Especially when the threat is oriented and you have no other means to distract the threat. However, before I am going to dig into it, it is necessary to give an example in a bigger form.
When we used to practice raids in small unit capacities on fortified compounds, we used to employ a very simple known but effective technique. We used to refer to it as suppress and flank.
While it consists of more than the name suggests, it would work like this:
1. Initially, a specified element opens fire from either one or several positions with heavy / accurate / indirect weaponry in three different phases of fire.
2. After minutes of pounding the target, another element(s) begins to deliberately flank and penetrate the objective from specific direction(s).
3. By exploiting different angles of attack, the enemy will start to split its strength concentration behaviorally into smaller pieces which are easier to handle. Those pieces are automatically reacting to what they see.
4. Than by splitting its strength and having its leadership OODA loop constantly interrupted, we force the opponent to react quite slowly or in other words – we reduce the threat’s strength and ability to immediately respond.
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Brandon Webb former Navy SEAL, Bestselling Author and Editor-in-Chief
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