Long-range reconnaissance patrol
A long-range reconnaissance patrol, or LRRP, is a small, well-armed reconnaissance team that patrols deep in enemy-held territory.[1]
The concept of scouts dates back to the origins of warfare itself. However, in modern times these specialized units evolved from examples such as
Postwar, the role was carried in various
History
As indicated, the use of scouts is ancient, however, during the
Long-range reconnaissance patrol by nation
Australia
During the Second World War, the 2/1st North Australia Observer Unit was tasked with patrolling the remote areas of northern Australia on horseback. Many from the Unit were recruited to join M Special Unit and Z Special Unit for long-range specialist reconnaissance and sabotage behind Japanese lines.
From 1966 until 1971 troopers from the Australian
In the 1980s the
Canada
The Canadian Rangers conduct long-range surveillance or sovereignty patrols in the sparsely settled areas of Northern Canada. Although part of the Canadian Army, they are an irregular military force. Patrol Pathfinders units form part of the Reconnaissance Platoon of the 3rd (Light Infantry) Battalion of each Regular Force infantry Regiment. Patrol Pathfinders are trained in airborne and amphibious insertion, including by submarine, and conduct deep reconnaissance missions
Denmark
The Danish Defence Forces had three Long-Range Surveillance companies (LRSC) known as "Patrol-Companies" (PTLCOY): two assigned to the two Land Commands: LANDJUT and LANDZEALAND (Corps-level) (abbreviated "SEP/ELK" and "SEP/VLK" for: "Specielle Efterretningspatruljer/Østre resp. Vestre Landskommando" i.e. Special Intelligence Patrols) – two all-volunteer units within the Danish Home Guard - that was changed into the Special Support and Reconnaissance Company (SSR) in 2007 as a Special Reconnaissance (SR) Company dedicated to supporting the Danish Special Operations. The third and last company (PTLCOY/DDIV) was assigned to the Jutland Division (later Danish Division/DDIV) and was trained by instructors from the Danish Army Special Operations Forces: Jægerkorpset (i.e. Hunter Force) in Aalborg. PTLCOY/DDIV was disbanded in 2002 due to budget-cuts and the intent to implement UAV in the Danish Army as the primary means of ISR. The first UAV project later failed and was disbanded too.
In addition to these units, the 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, Guard Hussar Regiment, also has Long range reconnaissance capabilities, particularly in 1st and 2nd Light Reconnaissance Squadrons (1.LOPESK & 2.LOPESK), whose primary role is long range reconnaissance and sabotage in light vehicles and with minimal support and resupply.
Likely to be the world's smallest LRS unit is the Sirius Dog Sled Patrol (Danish: Slædepatruljen Sirius), known informally as Siriuspatruljen (the Sirius Patrol). It is a small squad-sized elite unit in the Danish Navy, that enforces Danish sovereignty in the Arctic wilderness of northern and eastern Greenland, and conducts long-range reconnaissance patrolling. Patrolling is usually done in pairs, sometimes for four months and often without additional human contact.
Finland
In
Former President of Finland, Mauno Koivisto, served in Lauri Törni's specially designed Jäger Company (called Detachment Törni) in the Finnish 1st Infantry Division. Lauri Törni became a US citizen and entered the US Army Special Forces. He gave important knowledge in long-range patrolling techniques and was declared MIA during the Vietnam War in 1965. His remains were later found, brought to the US, and buried in Arlington on 26 June 2003.
France
French Army has 2 units specialised in reconnaissance : 13th Parachute Dragoon Regiment and 2nd Hussar Regiment
Other French units can perform long-range reconnaissance but are not specialised in it: 1er RPIMa, Commandos Marine, GCP and GCM, dedicated companies in cavalry regiments...
Germany
In the German
India
Indonesia
Kopassus and Tontaipur of the Indonesian Army are units able to conduct long-range reconnaissance patrolling including pathfinder and Special reconnaissance operations.[8]
Italy
Historically, airborne units are normally tasked with carrying, apart from the ordinary airborne assaults, deep infiltration small unit reconnaissance. After World War 2, during the Cold War, the main LRRP unit was the "Col Moschin"
Kenya
The Kenya Defence Forces has one LRS unit based in Nairobi. This unit shares LRP missions with the Special Forces Group.
Netherlands
The Korps Commandotroepen and NLMARSOF are LRRP capable. During the Cold War, the Korps Commandotroepen were known as Waarneming en Verkenning Compagnie (observation and reconnaissance company) and specialized in staying behind enemy lines. NLMARSOF's C-Squadron consists of two special recon units: Mountain Leaders and Special Forces Underwater Operators.[9] From 1995 until 2010 the 11th Airmobile Brigade Air Assault had 3 platoons of long range scouts (RECCE). Main objective battlefield intelligence and direct actions. Trained in stay behind operations working in small units. These highly flexible units operated completely on its own in cross FLOT operations.
New Zealand
The
Norway
The Norwegian Army has LRRP operations dating back to the 1960s, Fjernoppklaring (remote reconnaissance). It was split in two, creating a new group of airborne special forces, Hærens Jegerkommando, and the current LRRP unit Fjernoppklaringseskadronen. Fjernoppklaringseskadronen is part of the Norwegian army under Etterretningsbataljonen (Military Intelligence Battalion).
Portugal
Presently, in the Portuguese Army, LRRP operations are carried out by the Special Operations Forces.
The Special Actions Detachment of the Portuguese Navy also carries out LRRP missions, mainly in the scope of amphibious operations.
From 1983 to 1993, the Portuguese Army
Serbia
LRRP units within the Serbian Army Special Brigade and 72nd Reconnaissance Commando Battalion have been operating since 1992.
Spain
LRRP is carried out in Spain by the Advanced Reconnaissance Parachute Company of the Paratroopers Brigade "Almogávares" VI and the Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (TAR) Company of the HQ Battalion within the Spanish Marine Infantry. In the past long-range reconnaissance patrols of Spanish forces have played a notable role in the Bosnian War, specially the deep reconnaissance patrols carried out by the Special Operations Unit (UOE) of the Spanish marines within the multinational battalion.
Sri Lanka
Long-range reconnaissance patrols of the Armed forces of Sri Lanka have played a notable role in Sri Lanka's multi-phase military campaign against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (
Until the end of the war, the government kept their very existence under wraps.
United Kingdom
In the modern British Army, the Royal Armoured Corps Light Cavalry regiments ( 1st Queen's Dragoon Guards, Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, Light Dragoons) operate in the Long Range Reconnaissance role. All three units took turns to operate as the Long Range Reconnaissance Group, part of Operation Newcombe, The UK's contingent in the United Nations mission in Mali. This involved deep penetration vehicle mounted patrols into the Sahel scrub and desert for up to four weeks at a time to search for Islamist insurgents. The Honourable Artillery Company (HAC)[12] and its regular sister unit, 4/73 (Sphinx) Special Observation Post Battery Royal Artillery, currently operate in the surveillance and target acquisition role.[13][14]
During the Second World War, the
Cold War
The 21 SAS was stood up in 1947 specifically for the task of letting themselves be bypassed and staying-behind in the event of a Soviet Invasion of Western Europe, they were later joined by 23 SAS and in 1973, the Honourable Artillery Company (HAC) which became a Surveillance and Target Acquisition (STA) Patrol Regiment providing Stay-Behind Observation Posts (SBOP) with their three squadrons each with a number of four to six man patrols. HAC provided SBOP capabilities to the HQs of 1st Artillery Brigade (HQ Sqn HAC), 1 Armoured Division (I Sqn HAC), 4 Armoured Division (II Sqn HAC), and 1 BR Corps (III Sqn HAC) with one ‘sabre’ squadron each[15][16][17][18]
United States
World War II
The predecessor of the U.S. Army's LRRP teams was the
In Germany
The modern US Army long-range reconnaissance patrol concept was created in 1956 by the
All LRRPs were redesignated as "Ranger" on 1 February 1969, and these two units (companies C and D) respectively became Companies B and A,
In Italy
In the 1960s, the U. S. Army Southern European Task Force (SETAF) utilized the Airborne Recon Platoon of the 1st Combat Aviation Company (Provisional) located in Verona, Italy. They provided reconnaissance missions as well as target acquisition and battle damage assessment for SETAF which was a missile command.[23]
The Airborne Recon Platoon was a LRRP unit that served as the “eyes and ears” for SETAF. During the period of 1961-62 Lieutenant James D. James commanded the platoon. Three years later in 1965 when Captain James served in Vietnam with the
In Vietnam
In December 1965, the 1st Brigade, 101st Airborne Division, formed a LRRP platoon, and by April 1966, the 1st Infantry Division, 25th Infantry Division and each of the four Battalions of the 173rd Airborne Brigade formed LRRP units as well.[22][25] On 8 July 1966, General William Westmoreland authorized the formation of a (LRRP) unit in each infantry brigade or division in Vietnam. By 1967 formal LRRP companies were organized, most having three platoons, each with five six-man teams equipped with VHF/FM AN/PRC-25 radios. LRRP training was notoriously rigorous and team leaders were often graduates of the U.S. Army's 5th Special Forces Recondo School in Nha Trang, Vietnam.[1][26]
Tiger Force was the nickname of an infamous long-range reconnaissance patrol unit[27] of the 1st Battalion (Airborne), 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade (Separate), 101st Airborne Division, which fought in the Vietnam War, and was responsible for counterinsurgency operations against the North Vietnamese People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) and Viet Cong.[28]
The platoon-sized unit, approximately 45
Since satellite communications were a thing of the future, one of the most daring
The US Marine Corps also performed long-range reconnaissance missions typically assigned to Marine Recon, especially
In February 1969, all US Army LRRP units were folded into the newly formed 75th Infantry Regiment (Ranger), a predecessor of the 75th Ranger Regiment, bringing back operational Ranger units for the first time since the Korean War. The Army had inactivated Ranger units after Korea, but kept Ranger School, on the premise that spreading Ranger School graduates throughout the Army would improve overall performance. The initial Ranger companies formed in 1969 were: "A" V Corps, Fort Hood, Texas; "B" VII Corps, Fort Lewis, Washington; "C" I Field Force, Vietnam; "D" II Field Force, Vietnam; "E" 9th Infantry Division, Vietnam; F 25th Infantry Division, Vietnam; "G" 23d Infantry Division, Vietnam; "H" 1st Cavalry Division, Vietnam; "I" 1st Infantry Division, Vietnam; "K" 4th Infantry Division, Vietnam; "L" 101st Airborne Division, Vietnam; "M" 199th Light Infantry Brigade, Vietnam; "N" 173d Airborne Brigade, Vietnam; "O" 3d Brigade, 82d Airborne Division, Vietnam; and "P" 1st Brigade, 5th Infantry Division (Mechanized), Vietnam.[34][1] Following its mobilization for Vietnam service, Company D (LRP), 151st Infantry of the Indiana Army National Guard completed its tour in Vietnam and, as it departed, Company D (Ranger), 75th Infantry was raised to replace it. Company F (LRP), 425th Infantry of the Michigan Army National Guard and Company E (Ranger) 65th Infantry of the Puerto Rico Army National Guard were not mobilized or sent to Vietnam. As National Guard units, D-151st, E-65th, and F-425th retained their regimental designations[35] and were not reflagged as companies of the 75th Infantry.
As the Vietnam War matured,
During the War on Terror, Long Range Recon (LRS-D or Long Range Surveillance Detachments) were used to conduct high value target and small kill team operations deep in hostile territory. LRS-D units were inactivated in 2017 and personnel were absorbed into R&S (Recon and Surveillance) Teams.
The legacy of LRRP units later continued with the U.S. Army's
NATO International Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol School
In 1977, Belgium, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom sent instructors to Germany to work on the planning of an international long-range reconnaissance patrol (LRRP) school. From 1979 onward, joint training for LRRP and military stay-behind units was conducted at NATO's International Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol School (ILRRPS) in Weingarten, Germany, under the lead of UK SF. British SAS, German Fernspäher, Dutch Marines, Belgian Para-Commandos, US SF, and others worked and trained together on a daily basis. ILRRPS provided specialist training to allow soldiers to operate effectively in gathering intelligence behind enemy lines.[37] Courses included Long Range Reconnaissance, Combat Survival (E&E and resistance to interrogation), Advanced WP Specialist Recognition, Close Quarter Battle and so on. TRISTAR, a NATO LRRP exercise originally sponsored by the SAS, was conducted annually.[18] In May 2001, the ILRRPS was renamed the International Special Training Center (ISTC).[38]
See also
- Battle of Signal Hill
- Commando
- Company E, 52nd Infantry (LRP)
- Long-range penetration
- Long Range Surveillance Detachment
- LRP ration
- Operation Delaware
- Patrolling
- Recondo School
- Special reconnaissance
- United States Army Rangers
- United States Army Reconnaissance and Surveillance Leaders Course
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h Ankony, Robert C., Lurps: A Ranger's Diary of Tet, Khe Sanh, A Shau, and Quang Tri, revised ed., Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Lanham, MD (2009). [1]
- ^ "1st Squadron, Special Air Service Regiment". Vietnam War, 1962–1972 units. Australian War Memorial. Archived from the original on 3 February 2014. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
- ^ "2nd Squadron, Special Air Service Regiment". Vietnam War, 1962–1972 units. Australian War Memorial. Archived from the original on 3 May 2014. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
- ^ "3rd Squadron, Special Air Service Regiment". Vietnam War, 1962–1972 units. Australian War Memorial. Archived from the original on 3 May 2014. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
- ISBN 1-876439-99-8.
- ^ "Kaukopartiomiehet vakoilivat myös Naton laskuun | Yle Uutiset". yle.fi. 13 December 2011. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
- ^ German Army Office Article
- ^ "Inilah Tontaipur, Pasukan Spesial Angkatan Darat Indonesia yang Kemampuannya Luar Biasa". boombastis.com. 24 September 2016. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
- ^ Defensie, Ministerie van (16 February 2018). "Special forces en combat groups". www.defensie.nl. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
- ^ "Unit notes – Vietnam Veterans Roll". VietnamWar.govt.nz, New Zealand and the Vietnam War. Archived from the original on 22 May 2014. Retrieved 5 November 2015.
- ^ "The Deadly Mahasohon Brigade". 14 October 2007. Archived from the original on 14 October 2007. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
- ^ "Army Reserve Quarterly: Spring 2015" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 April 2015. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
- ^ Mines, Heidi. "Life after Harry". Soldier Magazine (October 2008).
- ^ Goldthorp, Sarah. "In hostile territory, the covert surveillance soldiers supporting all Army operations". Soldier the Magazine of the British Army (March 2014).
- ^ ISBN 978-1-84885-071-2
- ^ a b [2] "The Honourable Artillery Company", Soldier of the magazine of the British Army, March 2014.
- ^ a b http://firepower.org.uk/fighting-talk/richard-winchester/. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
{{cite web}}
: Missing or empty|title=
(help) - ^ .
- ^ Dilley, Michael F. (28 January 2015). "A Book Review of Lance Zedric's 'Silent No More: The Alamo Scouts in Their Own Words'". Alamo Scouts Historical Foundation, Inc. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
- ^ "The Alamo Scouts". The Army Historical Foundation. 28 January 2015. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
- ISBN 0804108757, pps. 13-16.
- ^ ISBN 0804108757.
- ^ a b Ankony, Robert C., "Company E 52nd Infantry (LRP)/H Company 75th Infantry (Ranger)," Patrolling magazine, 75th Ranger Regiment Association, (Fall 2014).
- ^ "USAREUR Units & Kasernes, 1945 - 1989". www.usarmygermany.com. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
- ^ Gebhardt, James (2005). Eyes Behind the Lines. Fort Leavenworth, KS: Combat Studies Institute Press.
- ISBN 0804108439, pps. 131-77.
- ^ p. 33 Rottman, Gordon L. US Army Long-Range Patrol Scout in Vietnam 1965-71 Osprey Publishing, 2008
- ^ Sallah and Weiss, Tiger Force, 22–23.
- ^ Sallah and Weiss, Tiger Force, 13–14, 23, 224.
- ^ Mahr, "Unit's founder".
- ^ U.S. Army, "101st Airborne Division".[dead link]
- ^ Ankony, Robert. C., "No Peace in the Valley," Vietnam magazine, cover story, Oct. 2008, 26-31.
- ^ Fred Pushies, Marine Force Recon, Zenith Press (2003).
- ^ Patrolling magazine, 75th Ranger Regiment Association, Winter/Spring 2015, vol. 28, issue II.
- ^ Gole, Henry (1 May 1981). "Bring Back the LRRP" (PDF). Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC). p. 12, Endnote #6. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 February 2024. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
- ^ Westmoreland, General William, A Soldier Reports, Doubleday & Company, Inc. Garden City, New York, 1976.
- ^ "THE INTERNATIONAL LONG-RANGE RECONNAISSANCE PATROL SCHOOL [Main Title]".
- ^ "International Special Training Center and NATO celebrate 30 years of teaching special forces".
Further reading
- Inside the LRRPs: Rangers in Vietnam, Michael Lee Lanning, Presidio Press (1988).
- US Army Long-Range Patrol Scout in Vietnam 1965-71 by Gordon L. Rottman, Osprey Publishing (2008)
- US Army Rangers & LRRP Units 1942-87 by Gordon L. Rottman, Osprey Publishing (1987)