THE ROUTE RECCE...A Practical Process

The Rockies near Cadomin (photo by V.A. McMillan, 2022)

 The ROUTE RECCE

Ever wonder what it might have been like to be a scout back in the olden days?? Tasked with finding a pass through the mountains or finding a route between two base or hunting camps?? Scouting of yore has become reconnaissance or RECCE. The purpose remains the same, only the tools and time to achieve success have changed. Now you have hours or maybe days to complete a mission, not weeks or months. So, let’s delve into conducting a ROUTE RECCE, shall we…

Conducting a recce is to solve the classic problem by answering the 5 “W”s. The route recce is merely a specific type of recce patrol with the express mission to find the route or prove the route is still passable.

Where: General location or specific route(s), Areas on a map

Why: Purpose or Mission

When: NLT (No Later Than), Start Time/Date, End Time/Date, Season

What: What vehicles? What equipment/gear? What fuel? What food? What water?

Who: The Recce Team

The route recce process, can be broken down into three main steps:

Step One – Conduct a map recce. Meaning gather maps of the area of interest and review the maps to learn as much as you can about terrain, roads, paths, communities, waterways, and other known hazards (like mines, dams, or active logging). Maps can consist of physical paper maps, digital maps, or using online sources like Google Maps SATVIEW.

Step Two – Access any and all OSINT (Open Source Intelligence) to gather the most up-to-date information on your target area. This can include guidebooks, trail reports by previous trail users, blog posts, or vlog reports on YouTube. In addition, you can ask locals in the area, questions about the route and any known hazards to be aware of, such as de-activated logging/resource roads, washed out culverts, or damaged bridges. This step is also a good time to learn where you can resupply enroute – fuel for vehicles, food, or water.

Step Three – Conduct the ROUTE RECCE. This is when you actually get to travel the route in question. The whole purpose of conducting the route recce is to gather firsthand intel on the condition of the route and whether it meets the needs of those who requested the report. Step Three concludes once the route has been traveled, the route report is written, and delivered to requester.

The ROUTE REPORT contains a wealth of information that will aid others in traveling through the area in question. The report can be organized in the following manner, unless instructed to follow a specific format for your organization or group.

The SUMMARY will begin the report to give decision makers who are pressed for time the core information. Use the BLUF (Bottom Line Up Front) format, meaning the most important information first.

Follow the BLUF with the 5 “W”s – Where, Why, When, What, and Who.

The next section will be the FINDINGS. In this section you will want to detail:

HAZARDS & OBSTACLES

ROUTE CONDITIONS & WEATHER DURING RECCE

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS

LOCATION of:

·       FUEL SOURCES

·       WATER

·       SHELTER/CAMPS

·       REPAIR FACILITIES

·       SUPPLIES

·       COMMS

WATER CROSSINGS

·       BRIDGES

·       FORDS

·       FERRY

·       SWIM

The final section will be the RECOMMENDATIONS, where those conducting the route recce convert their observations into recommendations that will prevent misunderstandings. Key recommendations can include:

ROUTE RECOMMENDATIONS – If there are multiple routes in the area, recommend the route that meets the needs of the organization/group. Include maps with the recommended route clearly marked.

VEHICLE RECOMMENDATIONS – 4x4, Long Wheelbase, Short Wheelbase, Narrow Track, or ATV only. High clearance or load restrictions. Tools, recovery gear, or accessories that would improve travel success along the route, should also be included.

RESUPPLY RECOMMENDATIONS – Whether taking extra fuel jerry cans is necessary or whether ice to refill coolers can be easily obtained along the route. Similarly, is water easily procured or should water jerry cans be carried.

On a recent route recce, I encountered one of those challenges that did not show up during the map recce…namely, that the route was not passable. When approaching the subject area local road signs notified road users that there was a washout, and the route was NOT passable. My intelligence gathering did not end with just believing the posted sign. I went to the top end of the trail and spoke with a local and asked if the route was driveable or not. They let me know that quads can drive the route and some 4x4 get through, too. This meant I was going to have to have a closer look at the obstacle and determine for myself what the situation was. Thankfully, the washout section of the route was passable during dry, late summer conditions. 

The Washout (photo by V.A. McMillan, 2022)

Google SatView of the Washout & Camp

While it was truthful that a section of the road had been washed away in a past flood, the route was passable for those who had a vehicle and driving skills to navigate this obstacle. This was not Darren’s Gap, after all. The not knowing added to the adventure and sense of exploration.

The other part of enjoying this adventure was using my vehicle as my mobile shelter. 

Mountainman's Camp (photo by V.A. McMillan)

As you may recall I did some mods last year to increase the versatility of my vehicle by removing part of my backseats and installing a sleep platform (seen here https://mtnmanblog.blogspot.com/2021/07/tahoe-mods-sleep-platform-designed-by.html). I enjoy being self-contained and highly mobile, which works well when conducting a ROUTE RECCE.

 

Until next time…go out and explore!

Mountainman.

 

COMSEC - Who's Listening? How Do You Know?

 

Radio in the Garden (photo by V.A. McMillan)

COMSEC – Who’s Listening? How Do You Know?

Welcome back. Last month we considered OPSEC (https://mtnmanblog.blogspot.com/2022/07/opsec-hows-your-operational-security.html) and it just makes sense to carry on with a security topic…namely, COMSEC. Which is the short form for Communications Security. Now if you go online and conduct a search for COMSEC you will get many returns. Some for Australia – COMMSEC, which deals with secure online trading. Wikipedia gives a basic high-level overview. And Omitron Security Solutions Group (https://ncms-isp.org/documents/COMSEC_Material.pdf) shares an excellent background document that is worth reviewing if you are getting serious about protecting your communications from others.

You might be saying, “Thanks for the teaser, Mountainman, but hurry up man and get to the point!” What is COMSEC and why the heck should I care?

Good things to those who wait…COMSEC is more than just having hardware – radios, phones, and computers, that can transmit encrypted messages. In fact, for like-minded folks who may never be able to afford such high-tech equipment that has built-in encryption, COMSEC is even more important. COMSEC is a form of discipline to ensure the right message is delivered to the right person at the right time, without unauthorized persons intercepting or interfering with message delivery.

Like, OPSEC, a large part of COMSEC is situational awareness and being aware of what is going on around you. However, it is larger than just the immediate area within your line of sight. Two-way radios, depending on type, frequency, power and antenna, can transmit farther than you can see – even with telescopic optics. Oh…and anybody with a receiver of a similar type, within range can listen to every word you transmit. The airwaves have ears!

A few rules to increase your COMSEC and reduce your likelihood of being targeted by the foe.

RULE #1: Keep Messages BRIEF!

RULE #2: Change OFTEN! [Change Frequency, Change Location, Change Time]

RULE #3: Develop a local lingo and pet phrases.

RULE #4: Develop a backup communications system before you need it!

Brief messages reduce your chance of being noticed on a frequency and make it more difficult for directional finding (DF) equipment to locate you. If you have a long message break it into multiple short messages. This works until you become a problem for someone, and they become interested in you and target you to be located, then the DFing teams will use equipment that will triangulate your position within seconds of your radio breaking squelch. Stay in the background and do not get noticed.

If you are part of an organization that listens to the radio on a regular basis to keep informed of what is happening in the world around you, ensure that if you need to communicate with others in your group, you never, ever transmit from the same location as you are listening from. Following that same train of thought, your transmitting locations should change location often. Same, same for frequencies – change weekly, daily, hourly as is required for your mission. The more you use your comms, the more often you should change the frequency. Check-in times should also be staggered. The name of the game is to stay disciplined and avoid creating patterns. Patterns get noticed!

Make up a language or parts of a language that have meaning to your organization but are boring and innocuous to the rest of the folks listening in on the airwaves. Avoid using “10” codes, although you can get away with saying 10-4 once in a while. However, if a message MUST GET THROUGH developing a method of encryption is an option. One such method from the Cold War era is the One Time Pad (OTP). Cryptography is not my specialty, so I would recommend checking this video from S2 Underground (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzwpmbIWUNc) who knows a lot more about this topic.

Finally, developing a backup system of communications is just good business continuity planning. Assume your favourite comms method will fail. Furthermore, assume it will fail when you need it the most. That is why you see in war movies, the commander shooting his radio before the mission starts. Then he knows why his radio failed him and his unit. Research the use of dead drops or flags (semaphore or other flag signalling techniques) or obsolete methods like Morse Code – which works with sound, light, drawn images, or spacing of objects on the ground/windowsill.

Without comms, operations and business in this modern age become almost impossible. Knowing this NOW means you can plan for it in the future.

Until next time…Keep your ears on Good Buddy!

Mountainman.