Infantry Drills

H-23: Support Force

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(FM 3-21.8 The infantry Rifle platoon & squad)

Previous: H-22: Breaching Organization

H-23. The support force’s primary responsibility is to eliminate the enemy’s ability to place direct or indirect fire on friendly force and interfere with a breaching operation. It must—

  • Isolate the reduction area with fires and establish a support-by-fire position to destroy, fix, or suppress the enemy. Depending on METT-TC, this may be the weapons squad or the entire platoon.
  • Mass, control direct and indirect fires to suppress the enemy and to neutralize weapons able to bring fires on the breach force.
  • Control obscuring smoke to prevent enemy-observed direct and indirect fires.

Next: H-24: Breach Force

Go Back To: U.S. Army FM 3-21.8: The Infantry Rifle Platoon and Squad

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