What engagement techniques to use depends on a lot of different factors besides simply whether or not the enemy has NV technology—even cell phones and camcorders can sometimes detect IR emissions, you don’t need to have sophisticated Gen. 3 devices simply to know that your enemy is coming if they’re using active IR, but in doing so, you’ve denied them the element of surprise.

Just like some situations may dictate staying covert and using NV after the shooting has started while others dictate switching to white light, it depends a lot on the specifics of the situation, and is not a binary that you can easily say x = active, y = passive.

Moreover, you may be in a situation where some members would go active, while others might remain passive, e.g., you may want to conceal your numbers or maintain certain undetected positions.

One thing to remember in any team based context, but especially a military one is that not everyone is an “assaulter,” the success of the whole enchilada depends on a number of mutually supporting functions that may use differing equipment and engagement techniques.

While vitally important, weapons manipulation and engagement techniques are not “tactics,” and are more a matter of individual competencies that you need before progressing to actual tactics and maneuver, but the particular way you execute them is largely irrelevant to success compared to proper application and integration of warfighting functions, fundamentals and principles of operations and tactical tasks, fires planning, and a whole host of other elements of combat operations.

“TTP”s are Tactics, Techiques, and Procedures—most of what we talk about on open forums are techniques and procedures if that, much of it is raw hardware comparison.

Finally, assuming that the enemy has lesser capabilities than they do, especially when such things are easily available commercially is a sadly common intelligence mistake that can get people and units in to a lot of trouble. A well worn truism: “most of the dumb ones are already dead.”

~Augee

Never going to fully get rid of your signature at night.

I remember almost 30 years ago now, some SF guys took us out to train. O dark thirty, middle of the FL swamps. Silhouette targets at about 25 yards that just had the little 2" or so "fishing" cyalume lightsticks on them. Someone asked what was the purpose of the tiny lightstick-

"Sometimes at night this is all you have of the enemy to shoot at." And we learned to hit it with iron sights. Sucked, but it was a good skill set.

Even with a suppressor on your rifle, your going to have SOME signature at night.

Proper training should overcome that. Pressure pad on, break the shot, release, move if possible.

Why I am not a huge fan of having 500 sources of extra IR illumination on your head, ankles, ass, whatever. Some think it's about going out light up like a Christmas tree, but IR should be used sparingly. If it's just Bubba out whacking coyotes that's another thing though, use as much IR as you like. If your training to use NV for defensive purposes, learn to use as little IR as possible.

I have staff looking to see if anyone knows her husband, and help direct her.

Sorry about the derail guys. Working on it.

No need to apologize.  Anything we can do to always help with terrible news we hear like this....