An Cosantóir

February 2019

An Cosantóir the official magazine of the Irish Defence Forces and Reserve Defence Forces.

Issue link: https://digital.jmpublishing.ie/i/1078329

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An Cosantóir February 2019 www.dfmagazine.ie 14 | The Infantry Platoon Sergeant BY VARIOUS NCOS NCO TNG WNG, MIL COL PHOTOS SGT KARL BYRNE An Cosantóir February 2019 www.dfmagazine.ie 14 | A ccording to the Manual of the Infantry Battalion, the purpose of Fighting in Built Up Areas (FIBUA) is to gain dominance on a critical objective, rupture the defence of the enemy, facilitate future operations of friendly forces and/or deal the enemy a decisive psychological blow. FIBUA is an infantry task, supported from the combat support arms such as engineers, artillery, and cavalry. Success is deter- mined by decisive battles at platoon and company level within a wider battalion or brigade operation. In order for platoon actions to be successful it is critical that the platoon commander and his/her section commanders know the special characteristics of this type of fighting such as urbanisation (knowing the layout of the buildings), restricted fields of fire and observation, cover and concealment, obstacles, avenues of approach, the difficulty of locating the enemy and presence of non-combatants to men- tion a few. In support of these actions a comprehensive combat service support (CSS) plan is required; and the unique aforemen- tioned characteristics of the urban battle space pose significant challenges. The platoon sergeant must be cognisant of these characteristics when devising his/her CSS plan and how it inter- faces with the company and battalion CSS plans. There are five stages of a battalion FIBUA operation: Invest- ment; Break-In; Securing Objectives; Clearance; and Reorganisa- tion. For the platoon sergeant it is critical to know what stage or stages the platoon will play a role in, as the CSS considerations vary for each and become increasingly difficult the deeper into the built-up area that the platoon will operate. For example, if the platoon is to form part of the investment force or break-in, then CSS is largely similar in nature to typical infantry assaults in open terrain. However, once moving beyond the initial foothold gained in breaking-in to the periphery of the built-up area, the characteristics of FIBUA begin to shape and challenge even the

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