Military operations in urban terrain (MOUT) and close quarters battle (CQB) is easily the most dangerous environment for infantry to operate. Threats can come from above, or appear and disappear in an instant in the urban clutter. The fighting is fast, violent, and confusing. Good communication is needed at all levels to provide timely information as well as avoid friendly fire incidents. MOUT combat at the platoon level must be done at a deliberate, methodical pace, and all elements need to be able to move in a cohesive manner that prevents anyone from getting cut off or lost, and maintains a very high level of situational awareness and defensive cohesion. This basic guide helps to achieve a degree of common CQB methods to ensure the safety of all warfighters.
Approaching a Structure
An element should approach a building in a modified file formation which is adjusted for security and speed of movement. The formation will be modified dynamically by the element leader to provide the maximum security during movement to the Breach. Take special care when the building you are approaching has windows.
You should remain below the sight level of the window and keep strong security on the aperture so as to decrease detection probability and minimize the risk of hostiles inside firing out at the element.
The Fatal Funnel
The fatal funnel is the area of a breach point that presents the most danger to an entry. The team must clear this area as quickly as possible to prevent disruption of the breach. Threats inside the breach will focus fire on this point once entry is made.
Windows also present danger to a breaching element. Team members must use caution when approaching or stacking near windows and security should be maintained on windows when possible.
Performing a Breach
Setting a Stack
The first step to breaching is to stack on the door. There are two types of stacks, a split stack and a full stack.
A split stack is done by having an equal number of shooters on each side of the entryway. This is done if the door/entryway is closed and the shooters are not at risk.
A full stack is done by having all shooters on one side of the entryway. This is done if the door/entryway is open and the shooters are considered to be at risk.
The ideal number of personnel in a CQB environment should be roughly two to four. This provides flexibility in tactics and movement while still maintaining lethality. The maximum number of personnel to clear a medium to large building should not exceed more than eight. Depending on the size of the element (e.g. a four man fireteam), the first man in the stack will maintain security on the breach while the second, third and fourth men will adjust their sectors of fire to provide maximum security around the element including but not limited to the rear and high side threats.
Breacher Up
If a ballistic, explosive or flashbang breach are required the team leader will call “Breacher Up” at which time the second man will maneuver to a wide angle position ahead of the stack from which he is able to effectively deploy the required breaching tools. Note that not every breach point will require a Breacher.
Status Check
The element leader will do a status check in reverse order by calling out “Status”. Each team member in the stack should respond in descending order:
“4 up”, “3 up”, “2 up”, “1 up” and so forth.
If any team member fails to call ready or says they are “down” then the formation will hold until the issue has been resolved.
Clearing the Funnel
The element leader will call breach at which time the team should move to clear the fatal funnel as quickly as possible and begin movement to the points of domination.
Team members should alternate the direction of travel starting from the first man in. There is not a need to coordinate this information before the breach and it should be reactive.
A common mistake for new troops is to think that the breaching team should move through the center of the room. In general you should remain close to the walls during your movement to a point of domination so that you are not exposed to unnecessary angles.
Moving to a Point of Domination
A point of domination is a position in a room which provides strong, distinct and unimpeded firing angles in an MOUT environment.
Once the team has made breach the personnel will alternate their direction of travel and move to their points of domination. During movement care should be given to any windows or doors that may hold new threats. One should not cross a door whilst the current room is unclear - instead security should be set on the door to prevent any new targets entering through the breach.
Corner rooms have slightly modified points of domination shown below:
Performing a status check
At such a time that the element leader believes the room to be secure he will call a status check in which the personnel should respond with their color code. If an assaulter needs to reload or administer first aid he will call this out to the team and take a knee. Another member of the team will adjust to cover his sector of fire so security is maintained.
Short Rooms
If a room is unable to fit a full team the element leader will call a short room. In this instance only two people should enter with the rest of the team maintaining security outside the breach.
Hallways
Clearing and moving in hallways requires a different formation to the MOUT stack so that the element has the ability to securely maneuver within a confined linear space.
This formation is called the "Rolling T" and provides good security up and down the hallways as well as allowing for flexible rotation around corners and intersections.
The T is formed with two assaulters on point with the element leader in the center and one assaulter maintaining rear security.
Clearing an L Shaped Corner with a Rolling T Formation
To clear an L shaped corner in a corridor, the team will rearrange to maintain security on the point.
On order the front most assaulters will conduct a high man / low man movement around the corner and engage and eliminate any threats in the hallway. Once clear they will push around the corner re-assuming the rolling T formation. Finally the element leader and rear assaulter will fall into position on the far side of the corner and the T will continue movement down the corridor.
Clearing a Four Way Intersection with a Rolling T Formation
On approaching a four way intersection the front most assaulters will move to cover the hallways to the left and right of the formation respectively.
The element leader and rear security will then cross the hallway and move to their respective positions.
Finally the two front most assaulters will then fall back into the formation in their positions, collapsing in from the side hallways and the T will continue movement.
Clearing Stairs
When clearing stairs the team should form a stack with the first man maintaining forward security and the second man packed closely maintaining high side rear security to ensure no one is shot from a landing area. The remainder of the team will follow up the stairs and reassume the necessary formation once the next floor is reached.
Visual Markings for MOUT
MOUT has it’s own SOPs for marking positions and buildings to indicate status. If you will be operating in an urban terrain during a mission you should equip yourself with the necessary equipment to utilize these markings.