When thinking about concealment – think of the 10s’ – being: Shape, Silhouette, Shadow, Shade, Shine, Spacing, Size, Silence or Sound, Smell and Scent.
Shape
The shape of the human body – is instantly recognisable anywhere. Unlike most things in nature, which are irregular in shape, the human head, torso, arms and legs are identical in shape. [also remember that when fighting in urban terrain, most objects are manmade again, consisting of sharp angles and straight lines]. When thinking camouflage, you need to try and disrupt and break up the lines of the human body. [without trying to turn into a walking bush, that is]. The purpose of a ghillie suit is to do just this – disrupting the contours and lines of the body and head.
Loose, baggy clothing, is better at breaking up lines than tight fitting clothing. The head and shoulders can be broken up with a scarf draped over the head, with pieces of burlap {strips of camo cloth), tied to it. Floppy bush hats or caps are easier worn and concealed than helmets. Big bushy beards are not regimental, but they go a long way in breaking up the chin line. A poncho doctored with strips of burlap hung from the shoulders breaks up the torso and hips. You want to pay special attention to the head, neckline and shoulders, because they would be the most exposed and also is easiest noticeable.
When transforming yourself into a ghost, make sure that you do not overdo the process. How many photos have you seen with regular troop with a tree tied to their heads. You want to keep it minimal but effective.
It must in no way hinder vision or movement, and you don\’t want unsecured pieces falling off as you move – leaving a trail to your location. Making use of surrounding foliage is fantastic BUT make sure as you move from one type of terrain to another, that the foliage you are wearing matches the new terrain. You might think it is also mighty clever in breaking of small branches off a young sappling to supplement your camouflage. Wrong !!! A well trained person will be looking at every twig, tree and leaf, for signs of your presence. It is very easy to spot a broken twig, or a torn of branch in the bush. So avoid this anywhere within your operational zone.
We use to call the paint used for the face in Angola dubbed ‘Black is Beautiful‘. To watch troop apply this matt black make-up is comical. Most smear their entire face with it (ok for night raids maybe), ending up looking like a negative of themselves. What you want to do here again, is break up the line of the chin, nose, eyebrows and those floppy things on each side of your head. It is amazing how many people forget their bloody ears. Irregular ‘tiger stripes’ across an angle is effective and fast to apply. The nose break up with horizontal lines, the eyebrows and mouth with vertical etc. Shiny areas [forehead, cheekbones, nose, ears, and chin] are painted with a dark color, and shadow areas (around the eyes, under the nose, and under the chin) are painted with a light color.
Perfection
No you are not done. Any exposed skin, that means, the neck, and the back of the neck, the hands and forearms must be treated. As you sweat away, ask your buddy to make sure your camo is still in order.
If you do not have the black or green makeup above, make use of charcoal which works like a dream and helps with the mosquito problem. Any old fire will have some burnt wood, charcoal lying about. Use it.
Silhouette
The perfect shot is on a silhouetted target. Be it against the skyline or a wall. Not easy to miss. When you move, you need to constantly consider if you are being silhouetted against the background or horizon, e.g. when moving along a ridge, stay below the ridgeline, that includes your head. If you need to ‘look over’ the ridgeline (also a big no-no) choose a spot that has a bush or a tree, or a indentation in the ridgeline to observe from. Always try to look through a tree, or bush [get inside it if you have to], or around an object. Pop your big head over the ridgeline or over a wall and loose it. Find a hole and look through it, trying to remain back from the hole and not up against it. When standing behind a vehicle choose the wheels to stand behind. You have feet and a prone enemy will see your big ugly feet or legs easily behind the truck.
Finding a target against a skyline, and yes even the night sky, is pretty easy. If you are in a room observing from a window, stand back from the window and to the sides as far as possible. If you need to scan both sides on the outside, make use of the ‘slice the pie’ technique, moving in a half circle around the window position. May attention at all times of light conditions behind you – darkness, shade are your friends. Befriend them. The human eye has trouble distinguishing features in shades or darkness.
Shadow
Your shadow is your AI backup. Where you move, he moves. You may be hiding in the perfect position, but casting a great bloody shadow across the room or street. What this means, is that you want to keep all natural lighting or artificial lighting, away from you as far as possible. before entering a room, make sure you don’t have any lights behind you. You create your shadow, and you must be aware where it falls.
Shade/Shine
Shade is a natural phenomena. Shade is your friend. Not much to say here, but for you to make use of it whenever you can. Shine is your enemy. Nice watch, remove it over cover it up with a sweatband or cloth. Nice sunglasses, get rid of them. (if you wear corrective glasses, go for matt frames, non-reflective, or paint them). Jewellery? Leave them behind. Dogtags? Tape them up. Pay special attention to equipment and weapons. They are the worse when it comes to shine. Treat all shiny, reflective equipment with camo. Plastic surfaces although matt in appearance are great reflectors. The worst offence is belts of ammo draped across the chest even at night, X marks the spot.
Spacing
Nature does not space its elements in perfect metrical distances. Hills, trees etc are positioned all over the place, or close to a water source etc. When humans plant trees, they space them like soldiers in a symmetry. Regular spaced foliage probably means you are close to civilization, or some patrol leader has positioned his ambush team exactly 50 metres apart, around that hill below. When moving, or laying up in a position, think irregular.
Size
As above, few elements in nature are perfectly sized. Humans are roughly the same size. When laying up, choose cover to hide of irregular size. Size also means you want to try and present the smallest target size possible to the enemy. Expose only what you need to observe and fire with. Prone is better than standing, or crouching. The smaller your size you present the better. Can the rock you are hiding behind, cover your full frame – or is your right foot sticking out the side like a sore thumb?
Silence/Sound
The most difficult to camouflage is noise. The human voice can be heard kilometres away on a quiet night in the bush. The clanging of , and the rattle of equipment – miles. Tape up all loose equipment, stuff loose ammo or grenades in socks. Radio communications are kept to a minimum, or morsed. Weapons are cocked and safety\’s are off far way from the enemy position. People with colds, coughs and sneezes are left behind at the RV. The use of silenced weapons wherever possible is obvious for stealth.
The hardest part is moving quietly through enemy territory. Choose routes that offer the best of concealment and the lowest in noise. Walking through a bamboo plantation is madness, move around it, same with loose gravel. Watch where you put your feet. The crack of a branch under foot is sometimes as loud as a gunshot. When you want to step quietly across an area, put your feet down vertically, slowly and flat. Once your foot is on the ground, move your weight onto that foot and lift the other up – don’t drag your feet. Weight on, weight off etc. When moving though water, the slower you move the more quiet you can cross. In knee deep or waist deep water, waddle, like a duck, swaying your hips forward slow, keeping your feet as flat as possible, If possible submerge to your neck and float across, The more water surface you displace the greater the threat of noise. The neck is narrower than the waist.
When moving through brush or jungle, use your one hand to carefully push leaves and branches aside, being careful not to break it or snag your gear. As you pass through you slowly release the branch back into position, or pass it to the man behind you (if close enough). Never let a branch snap back, or push through with your body. Try and move together, as if to present one set of footsteps, not a galloping cavalry charge.
Pay special attention to wildlife. A bird suddenly fluttering skywards means it has been disturbed, if sun beetles or crickets suddenly stop their racket and go silent, best you do too. Some animals will become territorial, e.g. baboons, monkeys and throw up a racket when you enter their area, domestic animals like dogs especially. Cows or sheep take it one step further and actually stare at you position or approach it.
Smell/Scent
Rule of thumb. On patrol you do not shave, you do not wash, you do not smoke and you do not spray deodorants. Cigarettes or soap can be smelled half a kilometre away, and the longer you spend on patrol the more acute your sense of smell to man made products become. You shit into a plastic bag or cling wrap, and you seal it in an airtight plastic bag, which you carry with you and bury or dispose of in a safe area. Bury it in enemy territory and wild animals will dig it up. Come across animal droppings like from cattle and dispose of it here, covering your shit with cattle shit. This goes really for all litter. You take it all with you, tins, paper, empty cartridges etc. Shit paper? – try and not to drape your beautiful white two ply all over the the countryside.
By ‘Mad Dog’ McEwan