Fieldcraft is the techniques involved in living, traveling, or making military or scientific observations in the field and the methods used to do so. The term "fieldcraft" is used in a broad range of industries including military, oil and gas, wildlife and food and agriculture. In the anti-terrorism field, field craft is defined as "the art of evading monitoring by police and the security services." Terror groups such as the one tracked by '' Operation Guava'' were caught "despite their own well developed field craft." The term has been used since at least World War II. For example,

Diana Rowden Diana Hope Rowden (31 January 1915 – 6 July 1944) served in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force and was an agent for the United Kingdom's clandestine Special Operations Executive (SOE) during World War II. Rowden was a member of SOE's Acrobat circ ...

, a war hero, was described at the time as "very good in field craft and excellent with guns”. Field skills include

camouflage Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the b ...

, land and water

navigation Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navigation ...

, understanding the difference between concealment from view and cover from small arms' fire, using the terrain and its features to mask ground movement,

obstacle An obstacle (also called a barrier, impediment, or stumbling block) is an object, thing, action or situation that causes an obstruction. Different types of obstacles include physical, economic, biopsychosocial, cultural, political, technologic ...

crossing, selecting good firing positions, lying-up positions, camping positions, effective

observation Observation is the active acquisition of information from a primary source. In living beings, observation employs the senses. In science, observation can also involve the perception and recording of data via the use of scientific instruments. The ...

, camouflage penetration,

countersurveillance Countersurveillance refers to measures that are usually undertaken by the public to prevent surveillance, including covert surveillance. Countersurveillance may include electronic methods such as technical surveillance counter-measures, which is t ...

, detecting enemy-fire directionality and range,

survival Survival, or the act of surviving, is the propensity of something to continue existing, particularly when this is done despite conditions that might kill or destroy it. The concept can be applied to humans and other living things (or, hypotheti ...

, evasion, and

escape Escape or Escaping may refer to: Computing * Escape character, in computing and telecommunication, a character which signifies that what follows takes an alternative interpretation ** Escape sequence, a series of characters used to trigger some s ...

techniques. Good fieldcraft is especially important for the effectiveness and survival of

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...

soldiers,

snipers A sniper is a military/paramilitary marksman who engages targets from positions of concealment or at distances exceeding the target's detection capabilities. Snipers generally have specialized training and are equipped with high-precision ri ...

special forces Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equi ...

reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops ( skirmishe ...

and

sabotage Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. One who engages in sabotage is a ''saboteur''. Saboteurs typically try to conceal their identitie ...

teams. Efficient fieldcraft is only possible by spending time, effort, and attention to memorizing battlefield details, infiltration and escape routes, construction and employment of hiding positions, enemy force doctrines and equipment.

References

Military tactics {{Mil-stub

See also

References