Individual movement techniques or IMTs (also known as infantry minor tactics in

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) are the most basic tactics that are employed at the

fireteam A fireteam or fire team is a small modern warfare, modern military sub-subunit, subordinated element of infantry designed to optimize "Non-commissioned officer, NCO initiative", "combined arms", "bounding overwatch" and "fire and movement" mi ...

squad In military terminology, a squad is among the smallest of Military organization, military organizations and is led by a non-commissioned officer. NATO and United States, U.S. doctrine define a squad as an organization "larger than a fireteam, ...

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platoon A platoon is a Military organization, military unit typically composed of two to four squads, Section (military unit), sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the Military branch, branch, but a platoon can ...

level. They are similar in most modern armies. In most situations except static defense, IMTs are based on the principle of

fire and movement Fire and movement, or fire and maneuver, is the basic modern military low-level unit Military tactics, tactic used to maneuver on the battlefield in the presence of the enemy, especially when under fire. It involves heavy use of all available c ...

. That is, firing and moving as fire teams, with one supporting team suppressing the enemy whilst the other moves either toward the enemy or to a more favourable position. The movement is often only 5–10 metres per move. When closing on the enemy position, the team breaks down into pairs for better angles of suppression, and this technique is referred to as "pepper-potting" (British/Commonwealth). The

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

focuses on the three individual movement techniques of high crawl, low crawl, and 3-5 second rush. Most IMTs are taught in the form of a battle drill, a series of choreographed steps that occur automatically in reaction to certain stimuli, such as sighting an enemy to the front, or being fired upon by an enemy from the

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. The initial stages of the drill are always the same and therefore action does not require full appraisal of the situation. Such stimulus-response training allows coordinated responses without the need for direct orders. In combat, this allows the first few moments of the engagement to occur almost automatically and gives the soldiers a way to respond appropriately and predictably while the unit commander evaluates the situation prior to issuing orders.

References

{{reflist Military tactics

See also

References