# Battalion Applies New Tactics to Convoy Operations



## D-n-A (13 Aug 2004)

http://www.army.dnd.ca/lfwa/feature_convoy_training.htm

Wainwright, Alberta â â€œ Soldiers from 1 Service Battalion (1 SVC BN) are taking the hard lessons learned by the American Armed Forces in Iraq and applying them to their own convoy operations tactics.

Western Area Training Centre 
In April, 2004 they spent two weeks at the Western Area Training Center (WATC) polishing old skills and learning new ones to use on the upcoming deployment to Operation ATHENA.

â Å“We've seen the problems that American convoys have had in Iraq, as well as in Afghanistan,â ? says Major Bruce Fitzsimmons, Acting Commanding Officer of 1 SVC BN. â Å“This is something, in my experience, that 1 SVC BN and logistics have not spent a lot of time on in the last 15 or 20 years. So whatever expertise we had has almost been lost...with what we've seen on the recent operations, we have decided here at Wainwright to focus more on the fighting aspect of convoy operations.â ?



A gun jeep crew from 1 Service Battalion rushes in to confront the enemy after the convoy has been ambushed  
Some of the updated tactics that the battalion is employing are for both short and long convoys and for escorted or not escorted convoys. Convoy commanders will now have the ability to assess any threat to their convoys. The drivers and co-drivers will also be better trained to react to any threat that faces them.


One of the new tactics being used is the introduction of a heavy gun truck that gives convoy commanders a fast reacting firebase to get their people out of trouble. The gun truck is new to Canadian convoys but it is something that the Americans have employed in the past in Vietnam and are reintroducing into their doctrine after recent events in Iraq.


And what do the troops think of these new tactics? 

â Å“We're learning a lot of different tactics,â ? says Corporal Mike Gillatly. â Å“Learning what to look for and to keep our eyes open. This will help every member of the convoy on the road.â ? 

Master Corporal Thomas O'Neil also comments on the new tactics; â Å“This is extremely beneficial because they have changed they way we should
react to the ambush drills or obstacle drills...

99.9 percent of the people will agree that we will stand a better chance of surviving doing convoy drills this way."   


Original Article and pictures 
http://www.army.dnd.ca/lfwa/feature_convoy_training.htm


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## Spanky (13 Aug 2004)

Convoy escort duty has become one of the BTS for the reserve armoured recce guys a year or so ago.  It is one of the stands for Stalwart Guardian in a couple of weeks, at least for the armoured recce and CSS units.  In addition, our unit will be going to 29 Palms in January and will be conducting a life fire convoy escort while there.  It certainly has taken on a greater emphasis of late.
I love the "gun jeep". :


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## Armymedic (13 Aug 2004)

CSS definately has a need to develop and maintain skills that directly relate to self protection. Certianly in Iraq, they have learned that the CSS is the soft underbelly of the US Army. 

For those who were in Pet a few yrs ago, may remember when LCol Grant (I believe, and may stand corrected) had 2 Svc Bn out learning and practicing infantry tactics, organized QRF forces, etc. I heard comments this summer about how he maybe had the right idea. 

Can we get some 031 opinions on this before we maybe move this topic down to the CSS site?


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## scm77 (15 Aug 2004)

What is this so called "heavy gun truck"?  I imagine just a regular truck except the passenger is holding his 9mm out the window.


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## McG (15 Aug 2004)

I have seen photos of the US using highway tractors with sandbaged HMG firing positions and usually a second LMG or GPMG position on the vehicle.  However, I would think an LUVW or LSVW type vehicle with one or more GPMG may be what this is talking about.


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## Ex-Dragoon (15 Aug 2004)

scm77 said:
			
		

> What is this so called "heavy gun truck"?   I imagine just a regular truck except the passenger is holding his 9mm out the window.



 : Ummm  yeah ok. Stick around and see if you can learn something and maybe we won't think you make idiotic comments like this all the time.


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## Shec (16 Aug 2004)

As I recall it, from photos only mind you,   the Vietnam-era gun-truck was a deuce and a half with sand-bagged floors, armour plate on the sides and mounting an LAA quad.  50 cal HMG or similar configurations of several MGs.   In any event the box of the truck was just bristling with MGs.


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## Spr.Earl (16 Aug 2004)

Shec said:
			
		

> As I recall it, from photos only mind you,   the Vietnam-era gun-truck was a deuce and a half with sand-bagged floors, armour plate on the sides and mounting an LAA quad.   50 cal HMG or similar configurations of several MGs.     In any event the box of the truck was just bristling with MGs.



Many years ago I saw one in Ft.Lewis and it was factory built with a rotating gun platform which could be rotated electrically or manually,with quad 50's,2 per side with a light armoured shield in the front
As you say all on the back of a 2 1/2 t. cargo.
Looked pretty neat and fun to fire I imagine.


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## jrhume (16 Aug 2004)

Vietnam guntrucks were strictly home-grown, as far as I know.  Check out these two sites:

www.guntrucks.com

http://academic.uofs.edu/faculty/gramborw/atav/gunstory.htm


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## Eowyn (16 Aug 2004)

scm77 said:
			
		

> What is this so called "heavy gun truck"?



I believe it is a modified HLVW.  I remember reading something about it in the 1CMBG paper.


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## Spr.Earl (16 Aug 2004)

Old Guy said:
			
		

> Vietnam guntrucks were strictly home-grown, as far as I know.   Check out these two sites:
> 
> www.guntrucks.com
> 
> http://academic.uofs.edu/faculty/gramborw/atav/gunstory.htm


The one I saw on display in Lewis was not home made and was nothing like any of the photos in the links you posted.(by the way thanks for the links   )
It was so long ago 1978/79? It was a display for Officer Cadets they had SAM's,wheeled Arty,155's etc on display.
 I forget any of the tech. info passed on to us by the crew or which Unit it was as the 9th Div. was still active and all the kit came from the Div.


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## MedCorps (17 Aug 2004)

The orginal work this training is from is found in the Canadian Army Journal, Volume 7, Number 1 (Spring 2004).    The article name is Achtung Driver! Vehicle Convoy Security in a Unique Environment.    It was written by Capt G. Jager, the OpsO at 1 Svc Bn.    He wrote the work after working as the Tn Coy Comd for the Sierra Leone Army, as part of IMAT.  

It is quite a good / interesting read for CSS folk.  Tacitcs came out of Sierra Leone.   

The "Gun Truck"  (GT) that is mentioned is scaled one per Platoon for the Tn Coy.   It is an HLVW without the hydralic arm.  For weapons it has at least one HMG mounted on the frame in the rear compartment facing forward.  It also has 2 GPMGs mounted on the back rear corner of the HLVW.   

Other vehicles in the convoy security section would be the Pl Recce Veh (PRV) (an ATV), the light escort vehicle (LEV) (a G-Wagon) with two GPMG and the Pl Comd Veh which is the same as the LEV. with only one GPMG. 

The convoy looks like this.  

2 PRVs with 2 LEVs  two to three km behind.   The main body would then be two or three km behind the LEVs with the comd veh second or third in the order of march.   The GT would be located near the back of the front third onthe convoy.    A LEV would be with the trail party.  

The article goes into depth about town drills, defiles and halts.  Interesting read, as I mentioned above.   You can download it here:  http://armyapp.dnd.ca/ael/ADTB-BDIAT.asp 

Cheers, 

MC


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## Armymedic (17 Aug 2004)

MC,
How much of a bird would we have putting this into effect at Med Coy or FD Hosp...


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## MedCorps (17 Aug 2004)

Oh,  but we would never have to...  Medical Units are never attacked.  The Red Cross force field prevents it.... Trust me...  <smile> 

Don't believe me?  Ask the doctrine people at CFMGHQ <smile, again> 

<sigh> 

Cheers, 

MC


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## Armymedic (18 Aug 2004)

Exactly the response I hoped you give.   

While *everyone* around the world knows not to attack the red cross wearing Jedi, I think it would be a good idea for our (2 FD Amb, and 1 Cdn Fd Hosp) CSS platoons to learn and practice these convoy skills as well (which they should learn while at Svc Bn). The same *everyone* also know that US and Canadian armies are particularly vunerable in our supply trains.


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## George Wallace (18 Aug 2004)

One problem I see with all this is that the protection of convoys is an Armour Corps role and one that is already causing problems in that sometimes the Convoy Commander may outrank the Convoy Escort Commander and cause problems in regard to convoy "Control and Discipline".  The overall commander is the Convoy Escort Commander as he has the comms, equipment and knowledge (Tactically) necessary to control, protect and move the convoy.  This conflict in command can result in death, if the Log Convoy Commander is dumb enough to pull rank.

It is true that CSS troops need training in convoy movement and self defence measures, but it is beyond their scope to get heavily into convoy protection as offered by their "Escort".

GW


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## MedCorps (19 Aug 2004)

Another real issue is that there is unlikely to be enough manoeuvre (Mech Inf / Armd Recce) support around the battle field in order to ensure that everything that should have combat arms convoy security has it.  

This is specially true of smaller moves (say a Fd Amb Med Pl).  Unless the Bde Comd was kind enough to leave convoy escort assets in the Rear Area Security (RAS) Plan then you are out of luck.  In operations other than war (OOTW) we can expect to get convoy escort.  But in warfighting / high intensity stuff I am not sure the Comd is going to allow us to have his valuable Armd Recce or Mech Inf pers. 

Thus...  The tactics suggested in the Canadian Army Journal are only suggested.  It seems like the author and 1 Svc Bn are taking them one step further, but I still would not go off teaching those drills (to start with we do not have the vehicle TO&E to support them).   There is approved DAD doctrine that you can  (and should) teach and practice.  The publication: B-GL-392-008/FP-001 - Ambush and Counter-Ambush  has all kinds of good stuff in it.  Most of it is patrol drills,  but there is some stuff on vehicles also,  including how to prepare a MLVW to assist in surviving an ambush. 

Cheers, 

MC


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## Armymedic (19 Aug 2004)

Not a bad explination coming from a nurse...well done MC  

George,
8 yrs as a medic now and I've never heard anyone mention things such as outside assests doing convoy escorts (In Canada). Convoy security is a joke amongst the Red Cross wearing Jedi clans (we are bulletproof, remember), and Tactical moves are almost as rare as somebody tossing around the idea of practicing ambush drills.


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## George Wallace (19 Aug 2004)

Some of the typical roles of Armour in Convoy Escort, Rear Area Security, TCPs, VCPs, QRF etc., are not practiced as much as they should with all the reductions in actual Exercises with Troops.   We did Convoy Escorts for 2 Svc Bn years ago, but never since.  

The reroling of Armour is so convoluted and up in the air that no real description has been developed as to what the new Armour Corps will look like, nor what its' role will be.  That really does not help matters in the least.

Gw


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## Armymedic (19 Aug 2004)

Armour / Heavy infantry escort were the norm in FRY, and are the norm in Kabul...so why don't we practice them more here?


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## George Wallace (19 Aug 2004)

Money?

GW


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## MedCorps (20 Aug 2004)

I will not assign this problem to the fault of not having enough $$$. 

This is a low cost activity, that even a Res F unit could do without much pressure on the limited budget.   The problems are three-fold: 

1)  No one understand the important of this kind of training. 
2)  No on can be bothered to do the co-ordination required.
3)  Too many other completing tasks. 

You could even work it into a stables day where you were doing a road move as part of the veh PM schedule.  It would look like this: 

Day 1:  Morning: 
              Co-ord between Armd and CSS officers / Sr NCOs.  Lecture on convoy planning, drills,    
              organization.  What each other needs to know about each other.  

             Afternoon:  
             Each unit gives a lecture on how convoy escort ops work to the troops and then they go 
             out and practices the IAs. 

Day 2:  Road move with escort.  Could add in an IA situation at the end...  or not to save on  
              ammo issues. 


Something to think about. 

Cheers, 

MC


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## logau (21 Aug 2004)

Seems to me Convoy problems are essentially similar to a defile which is or can be artificially created anywhere

See this link from Soldiers for the Truth http://www.sftt.org/PPT/article03022004b.ppt

All points to win the big fight quickly and vary your movements significantly.

Apparently half of all casualties since Iraq War started are actually CSS troops............

Enjoy SFTT.org is a site that sets a high standard


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## Yard Ape (22 Aug 2004)

There was also an Army Lessons Learned booklet on Convoy operations.  It talked of Grizzleys & Cougars, but the same principles would apply using LAV III APC (those replacing Cougars would not have troops in the back).

A Cougar with the LAV 25 turret would be well suited to escorting a convoy.

I would like to know why 1 Svc Bn would have selected ATVs as a recce vehicle for a convoy.  Why not something larger and designed for fast on & off road use?  I would think LUVW for LEV & RPV.


Every vehicle in a convoy (even those hauling stores/equipment) should be mounting a GPMG or HMG, and those guns should be manned by a dedicated gunner.


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