Full Answer
What's the meaning of 'recon' in the military?
reconnaissance
- (Military) the act of reconnoitring
- (Military) the process of obtaining information about the position, activities, resources, etc, of an enemy or potential enemy
- (Civil Engineering) a preliminary inspection of an area of land before an engineering survey is made
How to get Army recon jobs?
- You must apply for, and be hired for or assigned to a position that requires a clearance in order to apply for the clearance itself. ...
- You will apply for job-specific clearances rather than simply applying without having a need to do so. ...
- Any existing clearance may or may not travel to a new agency. ...
- Clearance levels are assigned on an as-needed basis. ...
How does one become a recon Marine, specifically Force Recon?
- Swimming for at least one hour 4-5 times per week, while donning camis or fins at least once per week.
- Tread water with your hands above water for over 40 minutes.
- Perform intensive calisthenics workouts every other day (3-4 times per week), using the following exercises. ...
Do recon Marines go to Airborne School?
The Scout Sniper School in Hawaii also trains some Soldiers and Sailors stationed there as well. Some Marines (mostly leaders in Recon units) may go to the Army Reconnaissance and Surveillance Leaders Course as well. Others include Pathfinder/Air Assault, Airborne School and for some, Jump Master School as well.
What does a recon scout do?
In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities.
What is an Army recon unit?
Special reconnaissance (SR) is conducted by small units of highly trained military personnel, usually from special forces units or military intelligence organizations, who operate behind enemy lines, avoiding direct combat and detection by the enemy.
What are the 5 types of recon?
Army Doctrinal Reference Publication (ADRP) 3-90 identifies the five forms of reconnaissance as route, area, zone, reconnaissance- in-force and special.
What are the three types of recon?
Scout platoons perform three types of reconnaissance: route, zone, and area.
Is recon a special force?
Although Force Recon has never been part of the United States Special Operations Command, their missions slightly differentiate themselves from other United States Special Operations Forces units. Colloquially, they are specialized in all tactical areas of warfare.
How do you become an Army recon?
Enlisted Marines and new recruits can qualify to become a Recon Marine candidate if they:Are a U.S. citizen.Score a 105 or higher on your ASVAB's General Technical section. ... Be very physically fit as a swimmer and for fitness tests.Can get a secret security clearance.Pass a screening for selection.
What are the 7 fundamentals of recon?
Reconnaissance fundamentals Retain freedom of maneuver. Report information rapidly and accurately. Ensure continuous reconnaissance. Do not keep reconnaissance assets in reserve.
What does close recon mean?
Close reconnaissance covers the ground between the forward positions that are within the FEBA, to the rear of the zone covered by 'distant' (or medium) reconnaissance assets.
How do you do a route recon?
Plan the reconnaissance. Receive the order. a. Issue a warning order. b. ... Supervise the preparation of the route. reconnaissance. Ensure soldiers- a. Maintain equipment to vehicles and. ... Control the route reconnaissance. a. Ensure reconnaissance. commence from the flanks or rear. ... Reconnaissance by fire.
Who do you take on a leaders recon?
In a combat patrol, the leader has additional considerations for the conduct of his reconnaissance of the objective from the ORP. He is normally the assault element leader. He should also take the support element leader, the security element leader, and a surveillance team (a two-man team from the assault element).
Who goes on the leaders recon for a patrol base?
For the leader's recon, the patrol leader briefs, the assistant patrol leader with a contingency plan before leaving in observation post is established a hundred meters short of the plan patrol base at the 90-degree turn if required.
What are the two 2 types of patrol?
There are two basic types of patrol: foot and mobile. With each type of patrol, different methods may be used, depending on many factors. Mobile patrols include the use of automobiles, bicycles, mopeds, and golf carts. Helicopters and horses are other means of mobile patrol, but are not all that common.
Is Recon an infantry?
The infantry reconnaissance platoon is a specialty platoon comprised of infantry soldiers. Unlike traditional infantry platoons whose primary mission is to kill the enemy, the reconnaissance platoon's primary mission is to provide the battalion commander information about the enemy.
What is the most elite military unit in the US?
SEAL Team 6, officially known as United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group (DEVGRU), and Delta Force, officially known as 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (1st SFOD-D), are the most highly trained elite forces in the U.S. military.
What is the difference between Recon and Force Recon?
Recon battalions remain an element of the Marine divisions and continue performing missions for the deployed Marine commander. Force RECON remains under the control of the Marine Task Force commanders within the Marine Corps and the Fleet Marine Force (FMF).
Does U.S. Army have Recon?
United States Army Reconnaissance and Surveillance Leaders Course (RSLC) (formerly known as the Long Range Surveillance Leaders Course, or LRSLC) is a 29-day (four weeks and one day) school designed on mastering reconnaissance fundamentals of officers and non-commissioned officers eligible for assignments to those ...
What is the purpose of reconnaissance?
Reconnaissance is a mission to obtain information by visual observation or other detection methods, about the activities and resources of an enemy or potential enemy, or about the meteorologic, hydrographic, or geographic characteristics of a particular area .
What is the commander's full intention when referring to reconnaissance?
When referring to reconnaissance, a commander's full intention is to have a vivid picture of his battlespace. The commander organizes the reconnaissance platoon based on:
Why are reserve troops kept on hand?
Reserves are kept on hand to be committed when the reconnaissance must be intensified, when the original force meets strong enemy opposition, or when the direction and area to be reconnoitred are changed.
Why is it important to have a platoon in a reconnaissance platoon?
The reconnaissance platoon must remain far enough ahead of the maneuver force to assist in early warning and to prevent the force from becoming surprised .
What do reconnaissance satellites provide?
Reconnaissance satellites provide military commanders with photographs of enemy forces and other intelligence. Military forces also use geographical and meteorological information from Earth observation satellites .
What is RIF used for?
Maintaining active RIF can be used to limit, or even deny, enemy reconnaissance.
What is a terrain oriented reconnaissance?
Terrain-oriented reconnaissance is a survey of the terrain (its features, weather, and other natural observations). Force-oriented reconnaissance focuses on the enemy forces (number, equipment, activities, disposition etc.) and may include target acquisition.
What is a scout in the army?
The Cavalry Scout is also known as the "eyes and ears" of the Army.
How do scouts gather information?
Cavalry Scouts gather information on the enem y by dismounted and/or mounted reconnaissance patrols. Cavalry Scouts engage the enemy with anti-armor weapons and scout vehicles in the field, track and report enemy movement and activities, and will direct the employment of various weapon systems onto the enemy.
What is a cavalry scout?
Cavalry Scout is the job title of someone who has achieved the military occupational specialty of 19D Armored Reconnaissance Specialist in the Combat Arms branch of the United States Army. As W. Haas Fort Polk and all enlisted soldiers in the United States Cavalry, ...
What is the role of an operations officer in a scout platoon?
Assists the commander or operations officer in planning, organizing, directing, supervising, training, coordinating, and reporting activities of the scout or armored cavalry platoon and staff sections.
What uniform do scouts wear?
Uniform. Cavalry Scouts wear the ACU, or Army Combat Uniform. The standard camouflage pattern issued is the OCP ( OEF) Camouflage Pattern, commonly referred to as Multicam. Two unique articles, the stetson hat as well as spurs, can be worn during special events or when directed by the chain of command.
Where do Cavalry Scouts go to school?
Training and School information. All Cavalry Scouts attend OSUT (One Station Unit Training) or split ops training at Fort Benning in Georgia. The first phase, roughly 9 weeks, is basic military training. The second phase, roughly 7 weeks long, focuses on becoming a Scout for a total of 16 weeks.
What is the job of a gunner?
Supervises request, receipt, storage, and issue of ammunition.
What is an army scout?
An Army Scout is a gatherer of information. Though 19D MOS traditionally stay mounted in vehicles, the job does require long distances on foot as well. As a result, Scouts are very well conditioned and keen on gaining intel on the enemy without getting compromised.
What do scouts do in combat?
Scouts not only help find enemy positions, but they also assist in a number of other roles during combat. For example, like fellow combat troops they may load and fire weapons, secure and stow ammunition, as well as repair and maintain Army vehicles.
What does an Army Cavalry Scout Do?
Army Scouts (19D MOS) report to commanding officers about enemy intelligence. Image: Health.mil
What is the role of the 19D MOS?
The role of 19D MOS is tremendously important and the information you gather about the enemy could save countless lives on the battlefield.
What is the vision of a scout?
After completing the required score on the ASVAB the next step is to pass an eye exam. Scouts must have normal color vision with correctable vision of 20/20 in one eye and 20/100 in the other eye.
How long is the Army Cavalry Scouts program?
It lasts 10 weeks long and will make sure that you are physically and mentally prepared for life in the U.S. Armed Forces. Army Cavalry Scouts (MOS 19D) are a little different from other military careers in that they go through One Station Unit Training (OSUT) at the same time as basic training.
Why are Scouts important?
Scouts are highly valued by commanders for their ability to gather important information about the enemy.
What is the role of a pararescue?
Most services have a variant of the ‘aviation survival technician’, although the UK has no recognised equivalent of the US’s acclaimed Air Force Pararescue branch. They are tasked with the recovery, rescue and initial medical treatment of personnel in both combat and humanitarian missions.
What is a rifleman responsible for?
They are responsible for patrolling, interacting with the local populace and, depending on their tactical guidance, actively engaging in firefights with the enemy. As a result, riflemen often find themselves in vulnerable and extremely dangerous situations.
What is the role of a rifleman?
Primarily the reserve of infantry units (although additional branches or cap badges, such as the artillery, engineers and cavalry can also fulfil this role), riflemen act as the literal boots on the ground of any military operation.
What is the special forces?
Although the term ‘special forces’ encompasses a wide array of specialist units, soldiers in units such as the SAS, Navy SEALs and SBS operate on a completely different level to the rest of the military.
What is a combat engineer?
Combat engineer. In the military world, combat engineers can sometimes be akin to jacks-of-all-trades. Alongside their construction and engineering roles , they are also the go-to experts on munitions, mines and demolitions, as well as having to fulfil all the other traditional duties of soldiering.
What is a combat medic?
In combat, some jobs are dangerous based on the value attached to them by the enemy; combat medics, who patrol alongside riflemen, definitely fall into this category.
What is Redcon in platoons?
conditions (REDCON) provide the leader with the information he needs to prepare for the upcoming mission while allowing him to maintain necessary security. Conditions within each REDCON level provide the leader with preparation guidelines, which he may modify as METT-TC dictates. He then prioritizes tasks to complete preparations for the mission and reports to higher headquarters as the platoon achieves the prescribed REDCON level. As time of execution nears, the REDCON level increases in accordance with mission requirements. The following paragraphs outline preparation criteria for each REDCON level.
What is a BFV scout platoon?
A BFV scout platoon can conduct screening operations independently or as part of a larger force such as a cavalry troop. It may also be called upon to work as part of a larger unit, such as a regiment, to conduct screening or reconnaissance missions in support of guard or cover missions. The HMMWV scout platoon is not equipped to conduct all critical tasks of the screen mission against an armored enemy force and therefore cannot screen independently. The HMMWV platoon can be employed as part of a larger force, ideally a company team, to conduct the screen mission.
What is a unit commander?
Unit commanders or their designated representatives (such as the XO, 1SG, platoon leader, or section leader) meet at a contact point designated by the headquarters ordering the passage to exchange information and to complete coordination.
What is the difference between a scout and a reconnaissance soldier?
Cav scouts are conventional troops while ReconnaissanceMen have the training and capabilities of Special Operations Forces.
How many men are in Marine Recon?
But Marine Recon operates very similar to any scout/recon element: they have 4-6 man teams that rely on stealth and camouflage to spy on the enemy and radio back to their respective HQ any information they find.
What is the role of a cavalry scout?
This is not to be confused with the Infantry RECON platoon that is a Company of 11Bs that are a tad more qualified than the standard 11B because they have Airborne wings and a Ranger Tab. This is also not to be confused with the elite LRRP 11Bs. Now, what makes the Cavalry Scout unique is a asymmetric standard of operating in remote, far forward, austere environments, with limited supplies and Troopers. Most have the ability to operate heavy armor or operate as a dismount. We know Infantry tactics but operate using Cavalry tactics. The main difference being that we are the eyes and ears for the Command. The primary roles being to locate/destroy inferior enemy recon elements , disrupt enemy avenues of approach or redirect them with Artillery, scout/clear/classify routes, observe enemy actions, hold a position, traffic control points, security for ODA, secondary contingency operations. You will do a lot of math, field/classroom training, range time, and schools. The exception being Ranger School. It does happen for 19 Series but it is more rare. A few make an easy transition to SOF because of many similarities in small unit operations. In Summary, if you ain't Cav you ain't sh**.
What is a Cav Scout?
A Cav Scout is more like an LAR (Light Armored Recon) Marine than an 0321. The only armored vehicle a typical Marine Recon will generally operate are standard vehicles (ie Humvees, MRAPs). If they were prior 35xx or in LAR they would also drive trucks (7 ton or above) or LAV-25s. In Iraq, LAR and Cav Scout guys have gone out on missions together at times.
How is a scout job similar to a LAR?
However to just say that the Scout job is exactly like LAR would be disingenuous as it is only one aspect of skills Scouts are expected to know. In addition ALL Army Scouts assigned to airborne units must go through airborne training at a minimum while not all Division Recon marines go through that particular training. Additionally even Army Scouts assigned to any decent mechanized unit were expected to maintain proficiency in more reconnaissance oriented tasks like Calling for Fire, Selecting/Establishing OPs/Hides, etc..
What do you do on an over watch mission?
You’ll spend a lot of time conducting over watch missions. This is just monitoring who is going in and out of an area. If something looks suspicious such as a vehicle or bus, you’ll greet that threat with a Bradley, Tank, or a Humvee. You’ll give a gentle hello to those individuals, who likely realize the severe danger they are in with all of the weaponry pointed at them. Quite often, those vehicles don’t like to stop or in real long bad situations they come right at you and explode. Every mission I was on, the vehicle was destroyed in these situations so the only loss of life were the occupants of the vehicle.
What does it mean to be a trooper?
Whether in garrison or deployed, a trooper goes forward with his horse. In modern terms that means a humvee, Bradley, or tank. You don’t do a lot of extensive walking as a trooper. That’s infantry.
Summary
In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities.
Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmishers, long-range reconnaissance patrol, U.S. Army Rangers, cavalry scouts, or military intelligenc…
Etymology
The word from the Middle French reconoissance.
Overview
Reconnaissance conducted by ground forces includes special reconnaissance, armored reconnaissance, amphibious reconnaissance and civil reconnaissance.
Aerial reconnaissance is reconnaissance carried out by aircraft (of all types including balloons and uncrewed aircraft). The purpose is to survey weather conditions, map terrain, and may include military purposes such as observing t…
Psychology
A tracker needs to pay close attention to both the environment and the psychology of his enemy. Knowledge of human psychology, sociology, and cultural backgrounds is necessary to know the actions of the enemy and where the enemy is heading. The celebrated Chief of Scouts Frederick Russell Burnham had this to say:
It is imperative that a scout should know the history, tradition, religion, social customs, and supe…
Discipline
Types of reconnaissance:
• Terrain-oriented reconnaissance is a survey of the terrain (its features, weather, and other natural observations).
• Force-oriented reconnaissance focuses on the enemy forces (number, equipment, activities, disposition etc.) and may include target acquisition.
Types
When referring to reconnaissance, a commander's full intention is to have a vivid picture of his battlespace. The commander organizes the reconnaissance platoon based on:
1. mission,
2. enemy,
Gallery
• An Oste class ELINT and reconnaissance ship of the German Navy
• A Soviet convoy deploying intermediate-range ballistic missiles in Cuba, 1962, as first revealed by a Lockheed U-2.
• A U.S. Air Force Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird high-speed reconnaissance aircraft
See also
• Exploration
• Espionage
• Intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance
• List of reconnaissance units
Overview
Cavalry Scout is the job title of someone who has achieved the military occupational specialty of 19D Armored Reconnaissance Specialist in the Combat Arms branch of the United States Army. As with all enlisted soldiers in the United States Cavalry, the person holding the Scout specialization will still be referred to as a "Trooper", the traditional colloquialism denoted in the cavalry's Order of t…
Role
The job of a Cavalry Scout is to operate as one of the first personnel in an area.
Cavalry Scouts gather information on the enemy by dismounted and/or mounted reconnaissance patrols. Cavalry Scouts engage the enemy with anti-armor weapons and scout vehicles in the field, track and report enemy movement and activities, and will direct the employment of various weapon systems onto the enemy.
Major duties by skill level
Skill Level I (E1 Private – E4 Specialist/Corporal)
• Performs duties as crewmember, operates, and performs operator maintenance on scout vehicles: Cavalry Fighting Vehicle (M3 Bradley CFV), HMMWV (Humvee), M1127 Reconnaissance Vehicle (Stryker), crew-served weapons, anti-armor weapons, and communications equipment.
• Loads, clears, and fires individual and crew-served weapons.
Uniform
Cavalry Scouts wear the ACU, or Army Combat Uniform. The standard camouflage pattern issued is the OCP (OEF) Camouflage Pattern, commonly referred to as Multicam. Two unique articles, the stetson hat as well as spurs, can be worn during special events or when directed by the chain of command. Cavalry Scouts are permitted to wear the Cavalry Stetson Hat with the Dress Uniforms during formal unit functions. The Stetson is traditionally accompanied by wearing the spurs whi…
Qualifications
Physical demands rating and qualifications for initial award of military occupational specialty; the job is available to female personnel. Cavalry scouts must possess the following qualifications:
• Physical Demands Rating = Very heavy
• Physical profile (The PULHES Factor) = 111121 or better
• Correctable vision of 20/20 in one eye and 20/100 in other eye
Additional skill identifiers
• 6B – Reconnaissance and Surveillance Leaders Course
• D3 – Bradley Fighting Vehicle System
• E9 – M901 (ITV) Gunner/Crew Training
• F7 – Pathfinder
Skill qualification identifiers
• 3 – Advisor
• P – Parachutist
• Q – Equal Opportunity Adviser
• 8 – Instructor
• X – Drill Sergeant
Notable Cavalry Scouts
• Ty Carter, Medal of Honor recipient
• Clinton Romesha, Medal of Honor recipient
• Kenneth Preston, 13th Sergeant Major of the Army
• Michael S. Tucker, former Commanding General of the 2nd Infantry Division