Posted on Aug 30, 2014
Cpl Benjamin Long
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Decision
I did a painting of an old drill we used to do with crudely drawn pictographs assesing valid target selections.... In this one there is a hostage taking scene and the observer plays the role of the sniper whose shot is the signal to enter combat.... which would you take out to accomplish the mission??? Also I made the image to appear to how the conditions would be in real life... bad lighting.... hard to see figures... et cet... Let me know what you think
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PO1 Disaster Survivor Assistance Specialist
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Edited >1 y ago
Take the hostage out of the equation. Either shoot the hostage in the leg or the right shoulder. Best case scenario the hostage falls down - the remaining individuals standing are to be considered hostile.
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Cpl Benjamin Long
Cpl Benjamin Long
>1 y
again the guy with the automatic shotgun will take out the entry team
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Cpl Benjamin Long
Cpl Benjamin Long
>1 y
oh, hostage takers are mercenaries, you can tell because the one on the left is in the Alert position... sign of combat training
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LTC Paul Labrador
LTC Paul Labrador
>1 y
IF they are mercs, pay them more than their employers to release the hostages. Once the hostage is free drop a JDAM on them.... ;o)
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Cpl Benjamin Long
Cpl Benjamin Long
>1 y
awesome Sir.... nothing like a greedy merc :)
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Cpl Dennis F.
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Whoever is covering the, I assume, seated hostage, as I doubt any bad guys would be kicking back having a smoke. That would seem to be the one on the right. followed by the AA12.
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SFC Stephen P.
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My first inclination is "Grenadier, HE, door". I'm pretty sure those tactics are no longer acceptable.

Based on the image alone, I'd choose the one on the left. I can't make out equipment, so selection by weapon won't work. This would provide my team with a much smaller field of fire, and protect them in the event they overly focus in the direction of the hostage.

Based on the weaponry, I'm going for the AA 12. This is one is probably the greatest danger to friendlies due to shot spread (greater chance of non-center mass strikes) and force of impact. The 12 ga is the most likely of the 3 to incapacitate or distract even if it doesn't penetrate body armor.

If speed were not an issue, the M16 may be a better choice due to range, capacity, and volume of accurate fire.

The 9mm represents the least threat to friendly elements, but may be indicative of crucial role within the enemy organization (leadership, control of explosive devices, communication, designated executioner).

Here endeth the completely unqualified opinion of an Army Reserve career counselor.
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Cpl Benjamin Long
Cpl Benjamin Long
>1 y
Tac2
OK... I will give you some intel SFC.... Passive optic recon... The super awesome S2 guys only splurged on first gen scopes..... cheap bastards....
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SFC Stephen P.
SFC Stephen P.
>1 y
"the man on the hostage will kill her in that sequence of events since the 9mm is trained on the hostages head"

This information was not presented in the initial scenario.

The rifleman and shotgunner are also viable (just slightly less likely) candidates for the designated spoiler. I figure the hostage has a better chance of surviving a 9mm wound than the other options.

This is of course all quite outside of the scope of my training. Non-combatants were always a secondary consideration in securing the objective.
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Cpl Benjamin Long
Cpl Benjamin Long
>1 y
I know SFC... That was the point not enough intel... We could always use more when we need it...
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SFC Stephen P.
SFC Stephen P.
>1 y
Of course, if we wait for more intel before we act, that may give them time to set up the claymores.
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Questions about target selection
PO1 Master-at-Arms
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Edited >1 y ago
I'd say if you can Captain Phillips all 3, that would be ideal of course.

If not, target the most 'distracted' subject standing off to the side away from hostage. Keep firing in that location so as to distract others thinking that the standoff will occur from that area. Then throw a couple of smoke grenades and flank from another angle. Keywords here: SURPRISE and UNPEDICTABILITY
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Cpl Benjamin Long
Cpl Benjamin Long
>1 y
oh and the smoke grenades... how do you get them past the glass with out agitating the hostage takers... I assume the glass shattering may invoke some unwanted trigger happiness before our trigger happiness
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Cpl Benjamin Long
Cpl Benjamin Long
>1 y
oh, my take is that it is a blood bath... In every scenario the team will get wiped out or the hostage will get killed.... It is designed to be a bloodbath no matter what decision you make...
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Cpl Benjamin Long
Cpl Benjamin Long
>1 y
My best bet would be to take out the guy on the hostage and order the team to put one of thier helmets on a stick from behind the waste container to get the guys with the rifles to waste ammo shooting at the puppet show... then when you hear them cycle dry do dynamic entry.
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Cpl Benjamin Long
Cpl Benjamin Long
>1 y
Also sall that shooting is going to blow the windows out of the conservatory so you can lob a CS grenade in while they are going aggro at mister puppet helmet
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