Visual tracking is not only an asset to Law Enforcement, but it is and can be a vital tool for military operations. Tactical Trackers (sometimes referred to as Combat Hunters) can be used not only by conventional infantry or Special Operations units, but also on the military law enforcement side of the house too. For the combat arms, or personnel attached to a combat arms unit, the trackers can be a vital asset through finding sign of insurgents or main line enemy forces and following the sign to the enemy location. Through communication with the tracker team and its command element, proper planning executes plans to conduct combat operations. These teams can also be used to pre-identify any routes of enemy forces, as well as locate possible IEDs or other “booby traps.”
Forces with Special Operations (e.g. U.S. Army, U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps) that conduct Deep Reconnaissance Patrols can utilize the tracker’s toolbox to not only find enemy routes, but to follow, locate, and call in whatever weapons platforms to destroy the enemy location or call in a pre-planned raid. Members of these elite teams that are also tracking-trained can be utilized in conducting a raid on a High Value Target (HVT) and begin the search for any “runaways.” Sniper teams with security elements can be trained as trackers as well. As the “eyes” of the Battalion (or as low as the Company,) the snipers can locate sign of possible insurgent/enemy locations for possible ambushes—this applies to reconnaissance teams as well.
One incident of a trained individual occurred in Afghanistan in 2003. A Special Forces Group B-Team and its A-Teams had been harassed by a “sniper”—poorly trained, poorly shooting, but still irritating. The B-Team Commander asked one of his attached ‘strap hanger’ soldiers (who happened to have some tracking skills) if he could possibly locate where the shooter was coming from, since the general location of the shooter was known. The soldier, B-Team Commander, and a security element went into the suspected area and quickly found the shooter’s location: there was clear sign of the person first low stepping, then crawling up a shallow run off approximately 1-2 feet deep and taking a shooting position—the individual even left spent brass. Sign of the shooter was found of him egressing and sign of a motorcycle parked and leaving. That evening, counter-sniper teams were employed, and the threat was eliminated.
Military law enforcement can benefit from tracker training as well. While maintaining security of field-operated Enemy Prisoners of War (EPW) camps, and even at larger more secure sites, trained police/correctional or augmented guard forces trained to track in the event of an EPW escape would be an asset. Never say never, it may happen. Another group that would greatly benefit from visual tracker training are the U.S. Air Force Pararescuemen, or PJ’s: their main mission is the recovery and rescue of downed aircrews. A time may come (or may have already) where a PJ team was inserted to rescue a crew/crewmember, only to find that the person(s) had moved on to possibly evade capture. Tactical Tracking/Combat Hunter skills will increase their chances of making contact, especially if communications are down. Other teams that this training would benefit are U.S. Army Aviation Downed Aircraft Recovery Teams, U.S. Navy Search and Rescue, and Marine units that participate in Tactical Recovery of Aircraft and Personnel (TRAP.)
One week of specialized Tactical Tracking/Combat Hunter training added to a pre-deployment training package may possibly save the lives of U.S. and Coalition military members and/or recovery of lost crew, as well as quick recovery of escaped EPW that may, if not recaptured, cause damage to innocent people. As soon as these units – whether conventional or special operations – get “boots on the ground,” the trackers should start training in the area they’re working. Is it sandy? Marshy, swampy or heavily forested? Is it a rural operation, or urban? Tactical Trackers/Combat Hunters are an invaluable asset to any weapons platform and give commanders on the ground one more tool to defeat the enemy.
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