Sas tracking handbook

275 Pages·2014·3.483 MB·English

by  Barry Davies

2
Copyright © 2014 by Barry Davies
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in
any manner without the express written consent of the
publisher, except in the case of brief excerpts in critical
reviews or articles. All inquiries should be addressed to
Skyhorse Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New
York, NY 10018.
Skyhorse Publishing books may be purchased in bulk at
special discounts for sales promotion, corporate gifts,
fund-raising, or educational purposes. Special editions can
also be created to specifications. For details, contact the
Special Sales Department, Skyhorse Publishing, 307 West
36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018 or
[email protected].
Skyhorse® and Skyhorse Publishing® are registered
trademarks of Skyhorse Publishing, Inc.®, a Delaware
corporation.
Visit our website at www.skyhorsepublishing.com.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is
available on file.
ISBN: 978-1-62914-235-7
eISBN: 978-1-62914-285-2
Printed in China
3
For my daughter Sarah,
in the hope that you will also become a writer.
4
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction
Chapter 1 — What is Tracking? How is it Used?
Chapter 2 — Understanding Tracking
Chapter 3 — Basic Training Skills
Chapter 4 — Border Patrol Tracking
Chapter 5 — Military Tracking
Chapter 6 — Tracking Using Dogs
Chapter 7 — Animal Tracking
Chapter 8 — Urban Tracking
Chapter 9 — Additional Tracking Skills
Chapter 10 — Advanced Tracking
5
INTRODUCTION
In an age where humans rely more on technology and
robotics, the potential of visual tracking seems to be an old
hat with its true value totally misunderstood. There are so
many misconceptions about tracking that the art has somehow
lost its attraction, especially within the military. Visual
tracking is seen as a skill associated with the Native
American, San Bushmen, Iban, or Dyak trackers; an era in the
past with no modern day significance. Today, electronic
tracking, mobile phones, and drones take priority over the
human eye.
Yet a few have kept the skill alive, most of whom are retired
Special Forces personnel that have successfully practiced
their tracking skills during military operations. In the 1950s
through the end of the Vietnam War, military commanders
used the skills of the tracker to gain vital intelligence on the
enemy, locate their position, and thus enable
search-and-destroy missions. This ability to locate, identify,
pursue, and interpret those signs, as well as form reasonably
accurate conclusions based on the evidence left by the quarry
was invaluable. Now it is all but gone, replaced by drones and
other high-tech battlefield surveillance.
As modern warfare turns from raging tank battles to more
isolated counter-terrorism, the need for visual trackers once
more becomes a relevant military skill. No terrorist can move
across any terrain without leaving some type of evidence.
Gathering this evidence may well mean email or phone
interception or the use of high flying drones; but in the
jungles and mountains where technology is sparse; there is
6
still a place for the visual tracker. In such areas, signs left by
the quarry can reveal much about the enemy.
Historically, visual human tracking has been used by many
military and law enforcement agencies in other countries
around the world with a great deal of success. The ability to
employ visual trackers to locate and interdict a subject
attempting to elude their pursuers, gather information for
intelligence purposes, or help rescue lost individuals and
groups is essential. While it may not be noticeable, visual
tracking in one form or another is still widespread with border
police around the world, constantly searching millions of
miles on a daily basis in an effort to stop illegal crossings.
The tracker’s art is simple: from the signs left behind they
will follow a trail and, in doing so, build a picture and
ask—How many persons am I following? How are they
equipped? What is their state of morale? Do they know they
are being followed? Where are they going? To answer these
questions, the tracker uses available indicators; that is, signs
that tell if any action has occurred and at a specific time and
place. By comparing indicators, the tracker obtains all the
answers to his questions.
Tracking started with man’s need for food; to have the ability
to understand what they were following and what would be
the rewards if they were successful. In tracking terms, little
has changed: we still track game for sport and food, but man
has found other uses for tracking (border polity, military
tracking terrorists, etc). Over the years, tracking became both
a civil and military skill, sadly one that only raises its head
when needed. Military trackers were successfully used in
Malayan, Kenya, Cyprus, Borneo, Vietnam, and Rhodesia to
7
name just a few. Military trackers in particular proved very
successful because they were able to pass back valuable
information such as strength, speed, and other pertinent
information required to successfully bring the fight to their
foe.
In short, visual tracking is the ability to follow and locate a
man or animal by observing its path by the signs they have
left behind. These signs are classed as top or bottom sign,
temporary or permanent; but sign can also mean direction,
display habits, leave scent or smell, and many other factors
that will help identify the path taken.
In many tracking units, man’s best friend is the tracker dog.
Humans and dogs work well together and often speed up the
tracking process, as dogs track by smell and not sign. Yet
more and more today, man relies on technology and most of
the world borders and war zones are inundated with
surveillance drones. These eyes in the sky move very quickly
and are capable of detecting a moving target from a distance.
Powerful camera gimbals support both day and night
observation, seeing clearly into the darkness displaying the
heat signature on a computer terminal hundreds of miles
away. We slip our credit card casually into an ATM while on
holiday in Asia and immediately people have your rough
location. Finally, try walking undetected in the UK with its
4.2 million closed circuit TV cameras, 265,000 of which are
in London alone; that’s one for every fourteen people!
As our world matures, so does the amount of surveillance.
Believe me, we are all being tracked.
8
Chapter 1
WHAT IS
TRACKING?
HOW IS IT
USED?
The success or failure of the modern tracker is dependent on
their personal skills. Training is vital in learning tracking
skills, and continuous exercise is the best way to interpret
sign. These skills are rarely found, but remain hidden deep
within all of us. The British SAS tracked down terrorists in
the jungles of Malaysia and Indonesia, while the Selous
Scouts used their skills in the bush of Rhodesia. Today, there
are many specialist military and police units operating around
the world each practicing and refining their tracking skills.
Tracking is a skill that has been passed down from generation
to generation and to some degree, it takes place every day.
Most people are completely unaware of the amount of
tracking that takes place around the world. Apart from
hunting skills, the main use of tracking today is to track down
humans. This may mean protecting our national borders
against illegal immigrants, looking for terrorist training camps
in the desert or jungle, or trying to locate climbers lost on an
inhospitable mountain. No matter the reason, the basics of
human tracking remain very similar to as they did thousands
of years ago.
Then there is modern-day tracking, which uses sophisticated
electronic devices to aid in finding the whereabouts of an
individual no matter where they are in the world. While this is
9
still referred to as tracking, it is a completely different
science. Today thousands of individuals are “tagged” for
tracking because they have committed some form of criminal
act. Governments attached small and in some cases minuscule
tracking devices onto a car or even on the individual, so that
their whereabouts can be tracked without even leaving the
office.
Kuna Indian hunter from Colombia, skilled at tracking and
familiar with what was in his own backyard.
Most people relate human and animal tracking to the forests
and wilderness, or some war zone in a far-off land. While this
is basically true in the real sense of tracking, but we also track
people in urban areas and the cities of the world. The normal
signs left behind by man and animal do exist, and if they do,
they are soiled by the multitude of people living and working
in a close community, such as a town or city. Yet in the cities,
tracking is possibly more prevalent than in the wilderness.
Some criminals are fitted with electronic bracelets on their
ankles so that their whereabouts can be tracked at all times.
CCTV cameras monitor most city centers and major
10