Obviously, the most important consideration in evasion is knowing the location of the enemy. If you do not know where the enemy is located when you become separated from your unit, some of the more obvious signs to help you determine this are the following:

l Signs of the passage of groups, such as crushed grass, broken branches, footprints, cigarette butts, or other discarded trash. These may reveal the identity, size, direction of travel, and time of passage of the people.

l Workers in fields may indicate the absence of the enemy.

l Apparently, normal activities in villages may indicate the absence of the enemy.

Less obvious signs are conditions that are a type of negative information, for example:

. The absence of workers in fields is an indication that the enemy is near.

l The absence of children in a village is an indication that they have been hidden to protect them from action that may be about to take place.

l The absence of young men in a village is an indication that the village is controlled by the enemy.

No identifiable specific techniques are involved in evasion, but you need to use all other phases of your combat training. You will use cover, concealment, camouflage materials, day-and-night movement techniques, maintaining direction, security, passing of obstacles, silent weapons, health measures, physical conditioning, and patrolling. These are basic to evasion as well as to survival and to escape.

You must know the following:

1. Ways of concealing yourself when the enemy is near and how to move without silhouetting yourself against the skyline; ways to keep from being spotted from enemy aircraft.

2. The distance that noises carry in fog, falling snow, heavy foliage, or over rocky surfaces.

3. How smells from food being cooked, tobacco and wood smoke, body odors, and body wastes can reveal your location.

4. The dangers of sudden, rapid movement.

5. Ways to observe the enemy without being observed.

6. Methods to use for camouflaging yourself, your camp, and your equipment without using too much camouflage.

7. How to select routes for movement that avoid exposed areas; ways to move quietly without leaving obvious tracks; and how to determine travel time for yourself or for a group.

8. How to signal using your voice, hands and arms, pebbles, and pieces of wood.