Fm 31 28 Fouo Special Forces Advanced Urban Combat 1 December 1999 Pdf -

Document Overview

Title: Special Forces Advanced Urban Combat Designation: FM 31-28 Classification: FOUO (For Official Use Only) Publication Date: 1 December 1999 Issuing Authority: Headquarters, Department of the Army

7. Conclusion

FM 31-28 (FOUO), Special Forces Advanced Urban Combat (1 December 1999), stands as a transitional doctrinal artifact. It captured the U.S. Special Forces community’s realization that the 21st-century battlefield would be increasingly urban, and that conventional infantry manuals were inadequate for 12-man teams operating autonomously. While restricted from public view, its influence is evident in post-9/11 SF urban tactics. The manual’s greatest legacy may be its emphasis on training partner forces in urban combat—a concept that became central to counterinsurgency in Iraq and Afghanistan. Reconnaissance and planning

Future research, pending declassification, should compare the 1999 manual with the 1995 draft (if any) and the 2006 revision to trace the evolution of Special Forces urban doctrine across the Global War on Terror. and medical care in cities

Reconnaissance and planning

• Emphasis on detailed reconnaissance: route reconnaissance, reconnaissance of objective (ROO), and pattern-of-life analysis.
• Intelligence sources: human intelligence (HUMINT), signals (SIGINT), imagery (IMINT), and liaison with host-nation or coalition intelligence.
• Detailed route planning, contingency plans, and abort criteria.
• Consideration of time-of-day, civilian patterns, and environmental factors.

Training and readiness

• Training recommendations: live-fire CQB ranges, full-mission profile exercises, mission-rehearsal exercises, and coordination with host-nation forces.
• Emphasis on realistic urban training centers, stress inoculation, and rehearsed contingencies.
• Importance of language, culture, and legal training specific to the area of operations.

Legal and ethical considerations

• Rules of engagement, prisoner handling, treatment of civilians, and evidence collection for later prosecution.
• Documentation and reporting requirements following operations in urban environments.

7. Logistics, sustainment, and medical care in cities

• Logistics in dense terrain demands preplanned caches, stealth resupply, and routes that avoid chokepoints.
• Tactical casualty care and evacuation (CASEVAC/MEDEVAC) adapt to constricted transport and increased blast/fragmentation injuries.

5.1 Immediate Use (2001-2004)

Although published in 1999, FM 31-28 was likely used to train SF ODAs deploying to Afghanistan in late 2001 and Iraq in 2003. Specifically: Rules of engagement

• Operation Anaconda (2002): Urban clearing of Shah-i-Kot Valley villages.
• Objective Bulldozer (Iraq, 2004): SF clearing of Mosul’s old city.

Anecdotal reports from retired SF NCOs indicate that the manual’s “vertical assault” techniques—using ladders and grappling hooks—were directly applied in Fallujah’s periphery.