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ANNEX F (Remain Over Night (RON) Tips) to Detachment B-52 (Project Delta) Reconnaissance Tips of the Trade.

REMAIN OVER NIGHT

1. Practice proper RON procedures when your team is training, even if you are on a rifle range. Take advantage of all training opportunities. Many training areas are not in what we could call “safe zones”.
2. Select a tentative site for RON, from your map, at least two hours in advance.
3. Deviate from your route of march often. Never move in a straight line.
4. After passing a suitable RON site “fish hook” and move into your selected position so you can observe your own trail.
5. When in position, personnel should keep their equipment on and remain alert until the perimeter has been checked for 360 degrees at a distance of no less than 40 to 60 meters.
6. Packs should not be taken off until it is dark.
7. Before dark each team member should memorize the azimuth and distance to the trees and bushes around his RON.
8. When deploying the team for RON, place the point man in a position opposite the most likely avenue of approach to lead the team out in case of emergency.
9. If a team is within range of friendly artillery, and has preplanned concentrations, azimuths should be taken (OT line) to be concentrations, noting distances, prior to night fall. Nearby large trees, or pre-positioned stakes will aid as hasty reference points for calling artillery at night.
10. If it is necessary to send in a nightly “SITREP”, do not send the message from your RON position. Send your present location but add that you will RON 100 meters east or 200 meters north, etc. This will confuse the enemy as to your exact location in the event he has monitored your transition with DF equipment. Use your SOI.
11. Keep transmissions to a minimum. It is better to send the location of your RON position the next morning, after you have moved out. The enemy my monitor your traffic but he will not know in what direction you plan to move.
12. Do not send radio transmissions from your RON site unless they are necessary. Be prepared to move if you do send radio transmissions.
13. Prior to dark, the team leader should tell each man the primary and alternate rally points.
14. One half of the team should have their compasses set on the primary rally point and the other half on the alternate. If the enemy comes from the direction of the primary rally point, the man with the azimuth of the alternate rally point set on his compass can lead the team out.
15. A buddy system should be established in case casualties are taken at night. Ach man will take care of another man and his equipment if one is wounded, injured or disabled.
16. The pack or rucksack can be used as a pillow, however, ensure that the straps are in the “up” position for easy insertion of the arms in case of rapid withdrawal.
17. It is permissible to unhook the web gear or harness but it should not be taken completely off, at night or any time during the entire stay in the field.
18. If a person coughs or talks in his sleep, make him sleep with a gag in his mouth.
19. U.S. team members should not “bunch up” or sleep next to each other. One grenade or automatic burst from a weapon could get them all. Each team member should be able to touch each other without moving from the position.
20. Check your RON position to form a peak in the canopy for using the strobe light to direct “Shadow” at night.
21. Know what your next day plans are to be before settling down for the night.
22. When placing claymores around the RON they should be placed one at a time by two men, one man emplaces the mine while the other stands guard. Never emplace claymores in a position that prevents you from having visual contact with it.
23. Claymores should be placed so the blast is parallel to the team, ensuring that the firing wire does not lead straight back to the team position from the mine. If the claymore are turned around by the enemy they will not point at the team.
24. Determine, in advance, who will fire each claymore and who will give the command or signal.
25. In most instances it is better not to put out claymores around a RON positions but rather to rely on the use of CS grenades for the following reasons:
a. When claymores have been put out, and the enemy is discovered to be moving on the team, the team will have a tendency to stay in place too long, waiting for the enemy to get with in the killing zone.
b. If the team discovers the enemy moving in on them, the enemy will normally “in line” not knowing the exact position of the team. If no claymores are out, pre-designated team members can throw CS grenades in the direction of the enemy force. After the gas begins to disperse the team can withdraw. When the enemy is hit with CS he will normally panic. If he has gas masks with him, and puts them on, he can no longer see clearly. If he does not have them he will run away and may even fire his weapon indiscriminately, causing overall confusion and panic. In either case, the team has a good chance to escape, unharmed and unseen.
c. If a claymore is triggered, a grenade thrown, or a rifle fired, the enemy may flank the team and box it in.
26. All team members should be awake, alert, and ready to move, prior to first light.
27. Another check of the perimeter, for 360 degrees, at a distance of 40 - 60 meters, should be made prior to moving out or prior to retrieving claymores.
28. A thorough check of the RON site should be made to ensure that nothing is left behind and that the site is sterile.
29. The team leader must make sure that each man takes his daily malaria tablet.
30. Never eat chow or smoke cigarettes in your RON position. The odor of the food or tobacco gives your position away.
31. Be alert when leaving your RON. If you have been seen, you will probably be attacked or ambushed within 300 meters.
32. Team leaders should check themselves to ensure they are not forming the common habit of constantly turning to the left, or right, when fish hooking.
33. Habits are easily formed, as mentioned previously around certain times of the day. For example, some always move into a RON site at 1830 hours or into a noon break position at exactly 100 hours each day. If the enemy has been observing you, he will take note of this and plan an ambush for you.