Infantry Recon VS. Line Infantry

2014-03-12T19:26:15-04:00

I started my service on the line with the 1-505th. I've held all positions within a line PLT from Squad Leader down, and during my 5 years there our focus was mainly Direct Action (DA) and Airfield seizure. We trained non stop on the battle drills, and very little on Reconnaissance.Now I'm with what used to be a RSTA, but it seems that we're working toward becoming LRS. Here all we train is Recon. Setting up HIDE and SERV sites, collecting intel and not doing all the Infantry things that I was rised on.     My question lies in the training aspect of both elements. As a door kicker i never thought about recon because i was never around it, but as a Recon TL i cant help but think we should do more Infantry based tasks on top of LRS. I understand that DA is no longer my main objective and I understand that we need to focus on reconnaissance, but we are still Infantry. We still need to know the basics of what it means to be Infantry. What happens to these men when they go to a line unit and have no idea how to conduct battle drill 6, or battle drill 1? Should we be training full spectrum Infantrymen or specialized Infantrymen?

Response by SSG Gerhard S. made Mar 12 at 2014 7:46 PM

2014-03-12T19:46:36-04:00

Clearly, it is important to keep trained on both basic and advanced Infantry skills. But as one who spent 18 years in a LRSC, most as t LRS Team Leader I can attest that focusing on LRS skills IS a critical task. Additionally, LRS, being a small autonomous unit requires a high degree of leadership skills for EACH member of the team, and that Military leadership in the Infantry is a universal quality that is appreciated when members are transferred to other Infantry units. Mastering the battle drills of a new and future unit is secondary to maintaining a high degree of competence as an individual, team member, and leader in the field in which one is presently engaged, for it is competency in this area that will keep you, and your team as a cohesive, functional and valuable living entity.

In short, Be the best at what you are doing now for it is where your impact will be felt, but do not lose sight of the infantry roots. Battle drills vary from unit to unit, and can be re-mastered, while leadership, and competence cannot be re-found.

Response by SSG Gerhard S. made Mar 12 at 2014 7:58 PM

2014-03-12T19:58:43-04:00

Sgt M. I would argue that there is no better position to be in as an E-6 in the army than a LRS Team leader, and that EVERY member of the team is important, and essential to the accomplishment of the mission. The degree of Competence, Planning, Training, and attention to detail necessary to develop and execute an intricate and complicated LRS mission is what sets LRS apart from kicking in doors. (I would like to add that we cleared an awful lot of buildings around Baghdad in 04-05 as a LRS team.) So those skills are still necessary to mission accomplishment in today's tactical environment.

Response by 1SG(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 12 at 2014 8:54 PM

2014-03-12T20:54:00-04:00

DA has never been your "main objective".  The Infantry doesn't conduct DA.  I have no doubt that some one may have expressed to you that what you were doing was DA.  But they were wrong.  You may have supported another unit conducting DA.  But DA per se isn't an Infantry mission.  The skill sets required to conduct DA are often found in the Infantry.  But Battle Drills 1 & 6 don't define DA.  You can't find DA in FM 3-21.8 because it isn't an Infantry mission.  However, you can find it in JP 3-05 which defines DA as, "short-duration strikes and other small-scale offensive actions conducted as SO in hostile, denied, or diplomatically sensitive environments, and which employ specialized military capabilities to seize, destroy, capture, exploit, recover, or damage designated targets. DA differs from conventional offensive actions in the level of diplomatic or political risk, the operational techniques employed, and the degree of discriminate and precise use of force to achieve specific objectives. In the conduct of these operations, SOF may employ raids, ambushes, or other direct assault tactics (including close-quarters combat); emplace mines and other munitions; conduct standoff attacks by fire from air, ground, or maritime platforms; provide terminal guidance for precision-guided munitions; conduct independent sabotage; conduct anti-ship operations, as well as shipboarding and seizure (e.g., maritime interception operations)"  Furthermore, many people even in SOF think they're doing DA when they aren't or when they should be concentrating on something else. That said, most soldiers would consider assignment to an OCONUS airborne reconnaissance unit to be a tremendous experience.  Most soldiers don't get to do that.  If it doesn't appeal to you, there are other opportunities.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 12 at 2014 10:31 PM

2014-03-12T22:31:32-04:00

Thank you very much for the comments. I will be sure to look into some books on it to get a better understanding. Either way I love what I do on both sides of the house. Working with soldier who understand that they are expected to learn more, do more, and operate better makes this all worth while.

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 13 at 2014 10:07 AM

2014-03-13T10:07:00-04:00

RECON all the way!

Response by MAJ Jim Woods made May 25 at 2014 10:03 PM

2014-05-25T22:03:29-04:00

The current LRS missions are similar to the LRRP and SOG units of the VN era. The concept of LRS at a Division level came about around 1978 when the Ranger Bn's (Pre-Regiment) took most of the LRS assets and left the Divisions without LRS capability.

In 1978, while with the 9th US Infantry Division G-3 shop, I wrote several conceptual papers for the CG on the need for a LRS capability with the High Technology Light Infantry Division. I was surprised that it took so long to bring them on board. LRS, LRRP, and the Alphabet SOG units in VN were all great leadership challenges. I was always amazed at how we could continue getting good NCO's and Officers to serve with them. Some of the best combat leaders came out of those programs. Consider yourself privileged to be in a position that included men such as Bob Howard, Charlie Beckwith, David Hackworth, and George Pacerelli.

As SFC Gates stated, read the books about such men. Read how they developed the tactics and prospected men for unit positions. They had no high tech equipment and were frequently out of radio, artillery, and helo support but Charlie Miked in the traditions of elite units.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made May 26 at 2014 12:10 AM

2014-05-26T00:10:34-04:00

I think there is a lot of confusion on what LRS is. I served in a LRSC during OIF 1. I recently ran into a soldier that told me that he was in LRS. Knowing that their are only 3 companies of LRS in the army I asked him what company. He told me he was in the 101st. I called BS and he said they are at the Battalion level and they are not officially a LRS unit. I understand that Battalion scouts may mirror the mission set but make LRS is the L part of it. They can go further than any other unit in the regular army and they are not limited to a single units battle space. Battalion scouts can't go out of the battalions battle space. I would say that that being a scout is an additional duty on top of being an infantry man. It is far worse to be a airborne infantry squad leader one day and then a Bradley section leader the next.

Response by MSG Brad Sand made Nov 1 at 2014 1:27 PM

2014-11-01T13:27:49-04:00

I think it is no surprise that a unit trains to its mission. I think they should also know how to do other missions, but you need to be able to pull off your primary mission flawlessly first. That normally takes a LOT of time and training.

Response by CPT Ahmed Faried made Mar 13 at 2015 11:27 PM

2015-03-13T23:27:08-04:00

So to answer your question I'll go back to an experience I had a few years back. My platoon was selected to play OpFor to get Companies from the Vermont National Guard trained up for their upcoming deployment. One night we were given the mission of probing, harrassing and then when the opportunity arose, attacking one of their companies. The Company we went up against did things by the book but it was obvious that they hadn't spent much time perfecting their technique. My guys and I were able to sneak up close enough to their Recon Platoon to execute "safety kills" (should have been the other way around). With no eyes and ears to report back to their main element you can guess how the rest of it went. My 38-man platoon (plussed up with some cooks) took on and "defeated" an entire company. The AAR was an eye-opener to the Recon PL and the Company Commander. A Recon is useless if your every movement is advertised. Noise and Light discipline matter. Watching your flanks, sending out a smaller team ahead for advanced warning, setting a rallypoint fully communicating it to all members of your team matter, knowing what to do when your well-rehearsed plan fails, which it will, matters. These guys just fell apart. Granted, as Active duty we trained on that constantly and it paid dividends. But one take-away from that was that my guys were the full-spectrum Infantrymen whereas they were specialized and yet things didn't pan out too well for them. So while Recon has a specialized mission, i.e, being the advance party for a larger force so they can provide timely information to the Commander, they also need to know how to perform the other actions inherent in full spectrum operations at their level. A recon Platoon isn't a decisive element by any means and they shouldn't be expected to face and defeat a much larger force but training and being well-versed in the full spectrum will make them more survivable. One thing they did really well? Concealing their vehicles..which we took.

Response by SSG Robert Webster made Jun 17 at 2016 8:29 AM

2016-06-17T08:29:20-04:00

SSG Private RallyPoint Member, I have to ask, does the Recon/Scout Platoon still exist in an Infantry Battalion?

Response by SPC Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 19 at 2016 12:26 AM

2016-09-19T00:26:52-04:00

I have served in the Recon section in our battalion (1-12IN, 4BCT, 4ID), I believe that to be in the recon section you should have already served on a line unit and be proficiant in ALL battle drills, we are after all Infantryman first. When you join a Recon element you take the skills acquired on the line and build upon them. While our mission set is somewhat different than a line unit we still hold all of the basic knowledge of what got us there. Pulling overwatch, conducting LRS are all things learned in a recon PLT but we were just as comfortable kicking doors and running the standard battle drills.