Stay Away From The Walls

SpecOps87 SG

While watching Black Hawk down, I realized there's this scene where this Ranger Grimes was following this group of Delta force troopers in a corridor of some sort. The Delta guy called out "Hey Grimes, stay away from the walls" and a few seconds after he says that, an RPG was launched and hit the wall which Grimes was near.

So just curious, is there any restrictions for FIBUA/Urban Ops which advices soldiers to stay away from the walls?

tankee1981 SG

I think i read from the Black Hawk Down book, it did mentioned the same thing. The explanation given there is that the bullets will hit the wall and somehow 'richochet' all the wall thus hiting whoever along that same wall. Very Happy

moca SG

Sure, if you are in front of a wall, a shell hitting the wall can throw shrapnel at you or bullets can ricochet etc...

But what are the choices?

Keep away from the walls and stand out in the open?

In FIBUA, how to keep away from walls when walls are everywhere?

scabstermooch SG

No. I think its stated for dramatic purposes. Remember this?

This - wiggles finger - is my safety

Oh how I wished I had told my BMT sergeants that. Laughing

calvin2224 SG

Walls are all the cover one is going to get in an urban setup. One must not forget too, that certain rounds, from the GPMG especially, can shoot through walls. Not all walls are impenetratable too. Choose the right kind of wall!

RaTtY8l SG

reminds me of a joke... mayb off topics.
last time, when we r leaning against the wall, the sergeants will make us hold on the wall n shout... help help, the wall is falling....

so stay away from the wall!!! Laughing

SpecOps87 SG

My rationale when I saw it was that, being in a FIBUA / Urban area, rounds fired will inevitably always end up hitting walls around you. So its like, the close you are to a wall, the more likely you are to get hit.

Ito_^ SG

i watch swat stuff, they always lean towards wall one leh.

storywolf SG

Stay away from the walls ? Is it a truely a good advice that come out from iraq ? Well it seem like a good ideal especially when when RPG rounds hit the wall, as wall fragments fly may hit the soldiers.

But one must not forget, one can get shot at one if one is seen by the enemy, and in urban / fibua, staying close to the wall usually help to hide soldier better, walking too far from the wall make one too easy.

The advice of not close to the wall, is actually not hugging it , that is because bullet do the bounce off a wall at a angle, but it will follow along the wall, and hit anyone hugging it.

In real, think the best is to stay close to wall enough to get come camo into the environment, but not hugging it till bullet that travel along the wall will not hit you.

storywolf SG

Swat most important is stealth, that why they will stay as close to the wall as one can, as the wall is their only camo.

Shotgun SG

"Stay Away from the Walls."

Means don't stick to the wall and remain stationary there. You can advance along walls, but don't stay put there. Keep moving or find other better cover.

Si Geena SG

I was thinking more along the lines of "Walls give you the illusion of cover and safety."

A similar situation is keeping low when in the rubber dinghy. The rubber dinghy doesn't provide any cover whatsoever, but we keep low, for concealment, but that doesn't mean that you're covered.

Shotgun SG

Walls do give you cover... in one direction. If the fire is coming from the other direction, staying near the wrong wall would allow ricochet rounds and explosive fragments more easily.

I'm sure when he yelled "Stay away from the walls!" He didn't mean that the rangers should run out into the open away from the walls. Fire was coming from the exposed direction and staying near the walls would actually make it more dangerous for them?

baer SG

Just to mess everyone's minds. BCTC FIBUA drill, follow walls till come to opening (window/door) then do room enter drills.

Think not likely to hug wall b/cos in FIBUA environment lots of debris collect on edges etc.

SpecOps87 SG

Don't quite get what you mean Shotgun. Hope you can like elaborate

scabstermooch SG

He is saying that if you are being shot at and you are in front of the wall, you run a risk of being hit by bullets that have ricocheted off the wall if you are too close.

Commonsense really. Can't see what the fuss is about.

Herzog_Zwei SG

If cover is too far, I believe you should drop and leopard crawl to cover even if it's beside a wall?

Shotgun SG

Hmmm, okay... A wall that is not between u and the enemy is not helpful.

A wall that is behind u, is more dangerous due to POSSIBLE ricocheting rounds, explosive shrapnel and even debris.

A lot of things may be common sense when we discuss it in words. It sure gets trickier practice. Example, if u take fire from high elevation, should one prone immediately ( as we were taught in BMT, Sgt always like to say be a smaller target )? It makes you a larger and slower target depending on the elevation.

There are always exceptions to normal situations. You should stick to the walls cos it gives u cover from 1 direction, allowing you to only focus on the other. You shouldn't stick to THAT wall if u take fire from the exposed direction.

Aiya, we talk so much also no use one actually. In combat, just listen to the lau chiau who's been shot at most often and is still alive. *provided he's not the sole survivor died who most probably survived by sacrificing his mates.* Laughing

SpecOps87 SG

Haha, got it. Very Happy

SpecOps87 SG

Yah, but its difficult to visualize in words in case you didn't realize. Btw, have also watched some SWAT unit videos, where they have this tactic called the "wall flood" where the shooters basically line themselves against the wall upon entry and start shooting. So I mean contary to the "stay away from the walls" warning, they are actually pretty close up to it. So yeah...wondering what's the diff. in the techniques used.