SAS Tracking Handbook
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2 Copyright © 2014 by Barry Davies All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without the express written consent of the publisher, except in the case of brief excerpts in critical reviews or articles. All inquiries should be addressed to Skyhorse Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018. Skyhorse Publishing books may be purchased in bulk at special discounts for sales promotion, corporate gifts, fund-raising, or educational purposes. Special editions can also be created to specifications. For details, contact the Special Sales Department, Skyhorse Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018 or [email protected]. Skyhorse® and Skyhorse Publishing® are registered trademarks of Skyhorse Publishing, Inc.®, a Delaware corporation. Visit our website at www.skyhorsepublishing.com. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file. ISBN: 978-1-62914-235-7 eISBN: 978-1-62914-285-2 Printed in China 3 For my daughter Sarah, in the hope that you will also become a writer. 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction Chapter 1 — What is Tracking? How is it Used? Chapter 2 — Understanding Tracking Chapter 3 — Basic Training Skills Chapter 4 — Border Patrol Tracking Chapter 5 — Military Tracking Chapter 6 — Tracking Using Dogs Chapter 7 — Animal Tracking Chapter 8 — Urban Tracking Chapter 9 — Additional Tracking Skills Chapter 10 — Advanced Tracking 5 INTRODUCTION In an age where humans rely more on technology and robotics, the potential of visual tracking seems to be an old hat with its true value totally misunderstood. There are so many misconceptions about tracking that the art has somehow lost its attraction, especially within the military. Visual tracking is seen as a skill associated with the Native American, San Bushmen, Iban, or Dyak trackers; an era in the past with no modern day significance. Today, electronic tracking, mobile phones, and drones take priority over the human eye. Yet a few have kept the skill alive, most of whom are retired Special Forces personnel that have successfully practiced their tracking skills during military operations. In the 1950s through the end of the Vietnam War, military commanders used the skills of the tracker to gain vital intelligence on the enemy, locate their position, and thus enable search-and-destroy missions. This ability to locate, identify, pursue, and interpret those signs, as well as form reasonably accurate conclusions based on the evidence left by the quarry was invaluable. Now it is all but gone, replaced by drones and other high-tech battlefield surveillance. As modern warfare turns from raging tank battles to more isolated counter-terrorism, the need for visual trackers once more becomes a relevant military skill. No terrorist can move across any terrain without leaving some type of evidence. Gathering this evidence may well mean email or phone interception or the use of high flying drones; but in the jungles and mountains where technology is sparse; there is 6 still a place for the visual tracker. In such areas, signs left by the quarry can reveal much about the enemy. Historically, visual human tracking has been used by many military and law enforcement agencies in other countries around the world with a great deal of success. The ability to employ visual trackers to locate and interdict a subject attempting to elude their pursuers, gather information for intelligence purposes, or help rescue lost individuals and groups is essential. While it may not be noticeable, visual tracking in one form or another is still widespread with border police around the world, constantly searching millions of miles on a daily basis in an effort to stop illegal crossings. The tracker’s art is simple: from the signs left behind they will follow a trail and, in doing so, build a picture and ask—How many persons am I following? How are they equipped? What is their state of morale? Do they know they are being followed? Where are they going? To answer these questions, the tracker uses available indicators; that is, signs that tell if any action has occurred and at a specific time and place. By comparing indicators, the tracker obtains all the answers to his questions. Tracking started with man’s need for food; to have the ability to understand what they were following and what would be the rewards if they were successful. In tracking terms, little has changed: we still track game for sport and food, but man has found other uses for tracking (border polity, military tracking terrorists, etc). Over the years, tracking became both a civil and military skill, sadly one that only raises its head when needed. Military trackers were successfully used in Malayan, Kenya, Cyprus, Borneo, Vietnam, and Rhodesia to 7 name just a few. Military trackers in particular proved very successful because they were able to pass back valuable information such as strength, speed, and other pertinent information required to successfully bring the fight to their foe. In short, visual tracking is the ability to follow and locate a man or animal by observing its path by the signs they have left behind. These signs are classed as top or bottom sign, temporary or permanent; but sign can also mean direction, display habits, leave scent or smell, and many other factors that will help identify the path taken. In many tracking units, man’s best friend is the tracker dog. Humans and dogs work well together and often speed up the tracking process, as dogs track by smell and not sign. Yet more and more today, man relies on technology and most of the world borders and war zones are inundated with surveillance drones. These eyes in the sky move very quickly and are capable of detecting a moving target from a distance. Powerful camera gimbals support both day and night observation, seeing clearly into the darkness displaying the heat signature on a computer terminal hundreds of miles away. We slip our credit card casually into an ATM while on holiday in Asia and immediately people have your rough location. Finally, try walking undetected in the UK with its 4.2 million closed circuit TV cameras, 265,000 of which are in London alone; that’s one for every fourteen people! As our world matures, so does the amount of surveillance. Believe me, we are all being tracked. 8 Chapter 1 WHAT IS TRACKING? HOW IS IT USED? The success or failure of the modern tracker is dependent on their personal skills. Training is vital in learning tracking skills, and continuous exercise is the best way to interpret sign. These skills are rarely found, but remain hidden deep within all of us. The British SAS tracked down terrorists in the jungles of Malaysia and Indonesia, while the Selous Scouts used their skills in the bush of Rhodesia. Today, there are many specialist military and police units operating around the world each practicing and refining their tracking skills. Tracking is a skill that has been passed down from generation to generation and to some degree, it takes place every day. Most people are completely unaware of the amount of tracking that takes place around the world. Apart from hunting skills, the main use of tracking today is to track down humans. This may mean protecting our national borders against illegal immigrants, looking for terrorist training camps in the desert or jungle, or trying to locate climbers lost on an inhospitable mountain. No matter the reason, the basics of human tracking remain very similar to as they did thousands of years ago. Then there is modern-day tracking, which uses sophisticated electronic devices to aid in finding the whereabouts of an individual no matter where they are in the world. While this is 9 still referred to as tracking, it is a completely different science. Today thousands of individuals are “tagged” for tracking because they have committed some form of criminal act. Governments attached small and in some cases minuscule tracking devices onto a car or even on the individual, so that their whereabouts can be tracked without even leaving the office. Kuna Indian hunter from Colombia, skilled at tracking and familiar with what was in his own backyard. Most people relate human and animal tracking to the forests and wilderness, or some war zone in a far-off land. While this is basically true in the real sense of tracking, but we also track people in urban areas and the cities of the world. The normal signs left behind by man and animal do exist, and if they do, they are soiled by the multitude of people living and working in a close community, such as a town or city. Yet in the cities, tracking is possibly more prevalent than in the wilderness. Some criminals are fitted with electronic bracelets on their ankles so that their whereabouts can be tracked at all times. CCTV cameras monitor most city centers and major 10 highways, and many vehicles are fitted with GPS trackers in case they are stolen. For those that travel, our passports become ever more sophisticated as electronic chips are introduced, allowing governments to identify our international travel. More and more we hear of drones flying silently high above us, transmitting live images to some control room thousands of miles away. This type of tracking is on the rise and will continue to dominate our lives in one form or another. We have only to look at the current world news to see the extent of surveillance being undertaken by various agencies. Presently, the United States of America is under severe pressure from Europe to explain why it is monitoring the conversations of the German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other world leaders.