EVASION, SURVIVAL, AND ESCAPE

The tactical need for greater individual and unit dispersion in warfare increases the possibility that your unit may be temporarily isolated from friendly forces. Experience shows this temporary isolation is fairly common and normal in both conventional warfare and counterinsurgency operations. For example, enemy action may cause relocation of adjacent units so you lose immediate contact with friendly forces; a sudden massing of guerrilla forces may isolate your unit in a guerrilla-controlled area; or as a member of a patrol operating in an enemy area, you may become separated from your patrol and find yourself alone or with a small group. If you do become isolated, you and your group or unit must still try to accomplish your assigned mission. After you complete your mission, your primary task is to rejoin friendly forces.

When you are isolated in an enemy area, your major problems are (1) avoiding the enemy (EVASION), (2) the possibility of living in the field with limited equipment (SURVIVAL) until you can return to friendly forces, and (3) the problem of escaping from the enemy if captured (ESCAPE).

This chapter contains information on the principles and techniques of evasion, survival, and escape that have been used successfully worldwide. The information given here is by no means all-inclusive, but it should serve as an aid if the need arises.