An Cosantóir

www.military.ie the defence forces magazine | 27 FIELDCRAFT – PART 2 PERSoNAL CAMouFLAGE AND CoNCEALMENT Fieldcraft is an integral part of weapon training and must not be separated from it. unless the soldier learns marksmanship, technical handling and fieldcraft 'hand-in-hand', their progress towards becoming a proficient battle-shot suffers. Individual fieldcraft training is an excellent way to develop character. Every soldier must become an expert in fieldcraft. PERSoNAL CAMouFLAGE a. Reconnoitre the training area and select positions to best illustrate the factors in Why Things Are Seen, and rehearse a number of demonstrators b. When the soldiers have finished their practice in camou- flage, order them to jump up and down a couple of times to ensure that any foliage used is secure; check that they can aim correctly with their camouflaged weapons. c. If using a signal flag/whistle to control demonstrators during the con- cealment phase, rehearse the sig- nals and actions before sending demonstrators to their positions. d. Questions on the rules for concealment should be carefully prepared to avoid ambiguity. The soldier must know how to camouflage and conceal them- selves in battle or they will be an easy target for the enemy. Explain and demonstrate using one uncam- ouflaged and one fully camouflaged demonstrator. The tone and colour of the hands, neck and face surface, and silhouette of the helmet and pack must not contrast with their backgrounds. To AVoID CoNTRASTS: a. Put camouflage cream, mud, burnt cork or something similar on the face, neck and hands. Put more on for night work than for day as white objects appear whiter in dim light. b. Put a helmet cover on to dull its shine, use the loops to hold scrim, and foliage to disguise the helmets distinctive shape, in particular the shadow under the brim. c. Tie string across equipment and use it to hold foliage, etc. to break up your outline. d. Weapons can be camouflaged by binding hessian or camo tape around shiny metal or wooden parts. Ensure that the mechanism, gas ports or the sights are not obstructed. CoNCEALMENT Explain and demonstrate that obeying the following rules will assist in good concealment: a. Look around or through cover, rather than over it. If com- pelled to look over it, avoid breaking a straight line. b. Avoid breaking a skyline. c. Make use of available shadow. Remember that, when in the sun, one's own shadow is very conspicuous and that shadows move with the sun. d. Choose a background to match the clothing and equip- ment being worn. e. Avoid isolated cover as the enemy is likely to be observ- ing it and it is easy to bring fire down on it. f. Move carefully, especially when moving into, or out of, cover. Good camouflage and concealment allow the soldier to see without being seen in order to kill without being killed.

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