Strategy & Tactics

Definitions• Strategy - the science and art of employing all

available forces in as effective a manner as possible to achieve a successful resolution

• Tactics - the methods and concepts used to accomplish particular missions In law enforcement terms, strategy is to tactics as policy

is to procedure

• Techniques - procedures for performing specific tasks or functions ♦ Techniques almost always involve the employment or

utilization of a weapon or piece of equipment.

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• Strategies confront a situation as a whole

• All strategies will require setting priorities and accepting compromises

• Synchronization refers to the arrangement of all activities in time, space and purpose to produce maximum results♦ This unity of effort, must come from the top

and is called “Command Guidance”

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• Strategies are always one of two types, but both are commonly employed at different times in the same operation♦ Symmetric♦ Asymmetric

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Symmetric Strategies• Attempts to match, or rather

overmatch, an adversary’s strengths

• Adherents are understandably zealous in demanding increased firepower

• Lacking overwhelming strength, they are have two shortcomings

♦ Can easily lead to “wars of attrition”

♦ Leave little or no roomfor error

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Asymmetric Strategies• Attempts to apply strength against a weakness

• Especially advantageous in offsetting technological or firepower advantages

• Ingenuity is often the critical factor

• Works by employing any of the following:♦ Dissimilar techniques, technologies, or other

capabilities♦ Using surprise

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Force Multipliers• Anything that increases the

amount of force that can be applied

• May be tangible, as in better weapons or equipment, or some terrain advantage

• May be intangible, as in better training, better leadership or higher morale

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Threats• Never underestimate the power

of a credible threat

• Two types of threats♦ Explicit - the consequences

of defiance are made known♦ Implied - the consequences

of defiance are left to the imagination of the adversary

• Implied threat is always more powerful

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Tactical Dilemma• Dilemma creates a choice

between two or more disagreeable alternatives

• Goal of every adversarial operation is to place the suspect in a position where surrender is likely, but resistance is futile

• Dilemmas can be created with space or time

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Dilemmas using Space• Five ways of using space to create a tactical dilemma

• Crossfire - Subjects suspect to fire whether he stays or moves (most common method)

• Chemical Agents - makes space uninhabitable

• Deceptive Diversion - creates a misleading assumption

• Combined Arms - more than one weapons system, (shortcomings of one offset by another)

• Deprive the Value of the Space - Dependent upon how suspect is using the space (concealment - light, observation - smoke, etc.)

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Dilemmas Using Time• Three ways of using time to create a tactical

dilemma

• Surprise - striking at unexpected place or time, or in an unanticipated manner

• Physiological Diversion - overwhelms body’s environmental adaptation system (flashbang most common)

• Tactics - overwhelms suspects’ ability to effectively resist

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TacticsTactics is not whether you go left or right.

Tactics is why you go left or right.

Good tactics not only leave your adversary defeated, but confused!

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Tactics• Most police operations against an adversary use

one of three tactics.♦ Hammer and Anvil♦ Envelopment♦ Pincer

• Even a rudimentary understanding of why they work provides great insight into the selection and adaptation to specific situations

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Hammer and Anvil• One of the oldest recorded tactical maneuvers

♦ Often called “block and sweep” operations in Vietnam

• Uses a stationary force in place (anvil) and a mobile force (hammer) moving toward it with the suspect(s) caught between♦ In law enforcement operations, perimeter containment

is the “anvil,” and the entry team is the “hammer.” ♦ Sometimes terrain features (barriers) can be used

as the anvil

• Advantages are that it is simple to implement but because overwhelming force is the primary factor, a disadvantage is that it requires a substantial amount of personnel and/or firepower

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Hammer and Anvil6

Envelopment• Another old tactic that dates back at least 2,000 years!

• Basic concept is to apply strength against weakness

• Attempts to fix adversary’s attention on one area while the main force exploits a weakness in another area

• Avoids the “front,” which is usually more heavily guarded, and strikes from one of the flanks

• Law enforcement frequently uses this method on suspects in buildings after refusal to answer “knock and notice”

• The advantage of an envelopment is that it requires less personnel, but because of the high degree of necessary coordination, requires more extensive and detailed planning

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Envelopment4

Pincer• Fundamentally, a variation of an envelopment• Works by employing two moving forces closing toward

each other with the adversary caught between• Law enforcement frequently uses this method on foot

pursuits• The advantage of a pincer movement is that it is quick

to set up, but it has several disadvantages:♦ Difficult to coordinate because keeping track of

everyone is nearly impossible♦ Broken terrain makes it difficult to ensure all avenues of

escape are covered because there is no containment ♦ Shifting gun-target lines creates potential friendly

fire problems

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Questions?