Some Basics of Scouting

1 Samuel 26:4 David therefore sent out spies, and understood that Saul was come in very deed. The concept of a scout is an old one. In the Bible, scouts are referred to as a spy, but the concept remains the same in forewarning and information gathering without being seen. This time in David’s life is an interesting study. He lives in the mountains, protecting his people and exercising restraint while being unjustly pursued by Saul. There is a lot to be gleaned about his nature by how he conducts himself, as well as much to learn about how he keeps his people safe.

In the most basic sense, a scout is someone who goes out and gathers information. They go out without being observed and note the things happening and changes to an area. A peace time scout they go out to locate resources. For example, before hunting an area, a scout would see if game is in an area, where it is traveling, what food source(s) it has, etc. They could be checking for firewood, water, or minerals. A 150 years ago scouts would go out and look for minerals and natural resources in locations that would make it profitable to retrieve and use, mountain men and gold prospecting, for example.

If we remember the first two charges of the Canadian Rangers from our Home Guard study we see: Patrol the local area. And report suspicious activity. The bulk of their mission was to function as scouts. Mastery of the scouting skills will set the rural Home Guardsmen up for success in other areas of training.

This is a role requiring more self sufficiency. Depending on the context, scouts go out in very small groups or alone. If a foreign invasion (Home Guard context) is the worry then a small team is going to make you much safer and should be considered a minimum. However if you are simply investigating the homestead or looking for resources one or two people might be all that is available.

The military has teams of about six people set up to perform the reconnaissance and surveillance work. They also would use three man sniper teams at the battalion level. My exposue to that world was limited being with a rifle platoon, it did seem as though they were rarely haven the freedom to do their job with a small team, often wanting only large groups to leave the forward operating bases (FOBs).

When I was with the mountain team in the Border Patrol, one of tasks we had was to locate the current trends of criminal activity and border crossing patterns. Here our scouting included figuring out locations, routes, and times. We also spent time identifying how to use the terrain to our advantage in relation to those current trends. Most people and animals function out of habit because once they have found what works they stick with it. There are those wise to vary their routes and times, but most aren’t. Something a scout should consider as well so they don’t become predictable.

Going out and learning what is happening in an area prior to working it saves you and your team time, allowing you to focus efforts where there is work to be done. You will either need to know the area you are going to from prior knowledge or spend some time studying it on maps. This is fore knowledge will help with planning a scouting patrol.

Even if successful operations were being ran in an area, periodic scouting patrols would go out to see what we were missing or if there was a shift in the traffic, it is important to identify if things are being missed or to confirm that things nothing is happening in certain areas through tracking.

Our methods relied on what worked, which was small foot patrols, tracking, game cameras, observating, and knowledge of the local area.

A scouting patrol should be as low key as possible. The threat was a criminal organization heavily motivated by success. This motivation resulted in their investment in their own gathering information, which they were turning into intelligence. If scouting for the Home Guard concept, similar to the Canadian Rangers to the north, the possible threat could be another nation state. Meaning you don’t know what you could encounter, but if they don’t know you are there, they are less likely to hurt you. Remembering in a military context, scouts are set up with the primary mission of engaging.

So how does one become low key? Their are two methods that I’m aware of that work.

The first is to be completely invisible: moving slow, completely out of sight, no vehicles entering or leaving the area (or at least not something new). And not leaving footprints or other sign of our passage. This way always best if it could be managed.

The second method was to look like you belonged in the environment. Look and act like a regular patrol agent (in the Border Patrol) or military patrol, driving the same kind of work truck and wearing the same sort of equipment. Yes, these activities will be noticed. Hopefully, they have less attention paid to them if they seem “normal.” They other option was to blend in with the regular civilian look of the area, same idea just look and act normal. Then, once you got to an area out of sight, you could begin a scouting patrol.

This same concept applies to scouting for hunting. If you are obvious in making your presence know, it will disrupt the animals patterns (some worse than others). Versus, if they don’t know you are there then they will act normal, and the risk of pattern changes is decreased.

As soon as the patrol was concluded you need to make notes about what you saw and didn’t see. Include photos, locations on the maps, etc. until you have the information recorded while it’s still fresh in your mind.

All of the information would be gathered together along with other data such as: apprehensions, weather, trends, etc, and the information would be turned into intelligence. It is the act of processing information and applying analysis that turns collected information into usable intelligence.

Intelligence was the piece needed to shape the next operational cycle. Meaning bits of information by themselves weren’t particularly useful, but all of the information viewed together gave us a better idea of what was happening (intelligence). With a whole picture understanding of what was happening, a plan could be made that had a reasonably high chance of success.

To conduct a scouting patrol the more knowledge you already know about the thing you are looking for the, easier your task is. You can start by looking in those areas where the person or animal is coming from or going to.

If you are looking for a resource then you need to go to those areas the resource is likely to exist in. Old scouts like the fur trappers of the early 1800s needs to go were the game existed. Or Fredrick Burnham the scout who inspired Baden-Powell, the founder or the boy scout movement, spent a part of his scouting career looking for minerals and resources. The need for this skill may come back as the world seems to rapidly be moving from a global one to local one. Which is relevant here at the Outpost as we are focusing on a small community become more self-reliant.

The ability to read a map was also important in the world of scouting. Not only is getting lost not helpful, but it is telling of a scouts ability… knowing your location and the coordinates is important if you are going to compile information into intelligence. The things a topographical map will tell you about lines of drift, which is the route a person or animal is likely to take, will give you a lot of useful information for planning. You are also able to look at the areas where your travels are going to be more visible to a threat location. After all, there is the potential of someone looking for your presence, too.

The ability to track and interpret sign is of extreme importance, in my opinion. If you are looking for someone/thing that passed though and is now gone and not visible, then your ability to track is going to give you the most information. The Marine Corps rediscovered this and in and made it an integral part of the Combat Hunter program. It is an extremely valuable skill if you want to understand what is happening in your area.

A scout facing the possible work in defensive of the Home needs to have strong survival, evasion, resistance, and escape (SERE) skills, as pointed out in H. John Poole’s works. Our modern military doesn’t spend any time on this subject, at least not for the infantry. Remember, a scouts main job isn’t fighting they really aren’t equipped for it, and their best defense is found in not being found. The Border Patrol certainly has shown me how difficult it can be to find someone who doesn’t want to be found, especially if that someone has some skills and practice at remaining not found. Comparing this knowledge with what I experienced in Iraq, I fully understand why insurgents could hit us and escape before we could mount a meaningful response.

Why does this matter? If we are going to continue a study of the Home Guard and specifically the Scouts & Rangers concept which is most viable for rural security and defense, then it is the best force multiplier at the Outpost and has the benefit of teaching plenty of useful skills for anyone living in a rural lifestyle.

-Joe