Tactical Lessons from Ukraine

What do they mean for modern conflict?

Vermilion China

Nov 5, 2023

All warfighters know that basic skills and the ability to manage human factors are critical to success on the battlefield. In the case of potential conflict with China all of the fundamentals still apply, but war with a peer enemy is something that the US hasn’t experienced since World War II. In order to have an idea of how American forces need to adjust tactics, modify immediate action (IA) drills, and improve training, lessons learned while fighting the Russians in Ukraine are highly pertinent.

The following AARs are from former Marines who compiled a list of lessons learned while conducting combat operations in Ukraine. Vermilion appreciates what you do.

If you take nothing else from this, learn how to drive a standard transmission vehicle.

Violence & Stress Inoculation

Prepare for violence because it will always find you
If you can’t be violent, you are a liability to your team
Prepare for violence outside of combat by training boxing, mma, jiu jitsu, or whatever multiple times a week
Get used to being punched in the face and learn how to fight back
Go out of your way to train in the worst possible conditions (weather, time, terrain, energy levels, etc)
Sleep, chow, and water are all crutches. Cannot stress enough how less chow and sleep in training are great ways to add stress
Training should be as difficult and uncomfortable as possible while still maintaining high training value
Learn to drive stick

The vast majority of men entering combat for the first or even second time will often simply freeze or move very slowly. Everything is done as if they are in a mental haze or are simply an observer not in danger themselves. This is the shock of violence, and it is a numbing hood thrown over many a man’s head. This hood has killed many in the opening seconds of combat. The shock of violence can have greater effects on men who have not been thoroughly inoculated to stress. Hunger, thirst, and tiredness will decrement everyone’s capabilities. It is the purpose of hard training to reduce that decrement to a very small amount.

Be Comfortable Being Uncomfortable

Friction is war
You are going to be cold or wet or cold and wet, get over it
If your route doesn’t have a swamp, mountains, or both, you are walking into the enemy engagement area
Never drop your pack mentally or physically - you will be ambushed or step on a mine at the exact worst time
Learn to drive stick

Mindset and maturity are critical in achieving mental clarity during physical discomfort. It is mental clarity which will speed up your decision making process, gaining advantage over the enemy. Being able to force the enemy into a physical space which affects his mental comfort space will stress the enemy unit and slow it down enough in order to more easily attain decision advantage. Taking advantage of lazy opponents who do not embrace the cold, the wet, the darkness, or rough terrain should be second nature.

Be a Master of Your Trade

Combat experience creates a sense that you know more than you do and makes new learning very difficult
Learn your trade, most especially the not fun parts
Learn every aspect of your trade, at echelons above and below
You can’t teach others if you don’t know what you’re doing
Train individual actions constantly, they should be second nature
Crosstrain - learn your friends’ specialties
- Learn basic demolitions, charges, priming
- Learn how to ID mines and bypass or render safe
Know how to use every weapon you come in contact with
Pay attention to hip pocket classes, one on a random weapon or some random detail could actually save your life 5 years from now
Javelins, stingers, ATGMs, HMGs, sniper rifles, foreign weapons, learn all you can about employment, disassembly and assembly, and malfunctions
If you don’t know casualty care, you will be why your teammates die
Self rescue - plan to save yourself
Small things add up - nip buds before they become turd blossoms
Learn how to drive on and off road, learn basics on how to fix a car or at least identify the problems
Learn how to use boats and maritime motors - paddling and steering small boats is not second nature
Learn to drive stick

A master warrior focuses on two things: the outcome while on a mission and the process at all other times. When your own and other’s lives are at stake, perfection is the standard, yet it is a standard which can never be attained. This is why for any training or education, the focus is on the process. How to get from step 1 to step 2 and keep improving. There is no end to improvement. Physical training doesn’t end, it is a process. Weapons training doesn’t end, it is a process. Language training doesn’t end, it is a process. This mentality shifts once a mission is assigned in combat. What matters is the accomplishment of the mission above utilizing the “correct process.”

Find a Way to Win

The most important part of war is winning
Maintain your honor, but focusing on fairness will make you lose
Strike at night
Never lose, losing is a disease
Fight the fight by improving you tactical situation - you always have another 30 seconds
Learn to drive stick

Decision Making, Planning, & Preparation

Mission first, troops second. Putting troops first puts troops at extreme risk.
Learn how to think it terms of METT-T (Mission, Enemy, Terrain, Troops & Fire Support, Time), it is the essence of understanding and will guide you
When the plan fails, everyone will fall back on METT-T
Dispersion is not necessarily distance. Formations should be fluid and based on the METT-T, not dictated by the plan saying you need to walk in a wedge
An okay decision right now is better than a perfect one in ten minutes
Don’t wait for someone to tell you what to do, it will be too late
In the absence of orders, go towards the sounds of gunfire and kill everyone not dressed like you
Regular infantry is doing the majority of the maneuver and the fighting, and regular artillery is doing the majority of the killing. These things won’t change
Insert and extract are the most dangerous times - BE PREPARED
If possible insert by walking in - you have the most control walking
Walking has the lowest signature and most freedom of maneuver
While walking you can react faster and spot threats more effectively
The guy on the radio can’t help you, stop giving precedence to him in the moment regardless of the shape on his collar
Stay inside the enemy’s OODA (Observe Orient Decide Act) Loop, make better decisions faster
Bring what you need to fight
Learn to do without. You don’t need half the stuff you bring
You must train with your team. If you are going on a patrol, practice patrolling
Live in the rehearsal box - it is time better spent than planning or dealing with orders
Only plan to the 80% - its all going to change after contact
The plan is a dirty slut, don’t marry it and it is ok if your friends fuck it
Never go the same route twice; stay off paths - enough said
Rehearse with your combat gear setup, train with your combat gear setup
Nobody expects you to have all the answers; be open and willing to change
Control the shit you can control; don’t worry about the shit you can’t
Learn to drive stick

Everyone should aspire to a cheerio-sized OODA loop. This is what will lead to effective plan execution as well as effective action once the plan falls apart. Every team member needs to be put through multiple billets (including being a follower) and every team member needs to practice planning and issuing orders while simultaneously being prepared for the plan to immediately fall apart at contact. Be familiar with time-based planning as well as conditions-based planning and the difference between the two. Ultimately, rehearsals are worth far more than planning or orders. Solid rehearsals translate into battlefield success.

Education & Training

Read books, learn from others, and listen to select podcasts. There is 5,000 years of military history to learn from
If you’re playing video games and not learning in your off time, you’ll die
Know how to do basic math like the WERM rule
Be able to use your tools (radio, range finder, compass, CLRF-IC, etc.)
Know how to read a map and do land navigation
Learn to drive stick

Primary knowledge is critical. It is very rarely found on the internet, social media, instagram, youtube, etc. At least as of 2023, primary knowledge more often comes in the form of personal experience and books about people’s personal experience.

Courage Over Kit

Expensive pants don’t win wars; men in pajamas have kicked the US in the pants in two wars
Don’t replace skill with technology
If you think you are in good enough physical condition, you are not - do another lap
Put a mag in your back pocket and your IFAK in your cargo pocket, just get in the fight
Instagram models don’t win wars, only focus on functional kit
Radios are WAY OVERRATED in the current electronic warfare environment - learn to do without
If you are going to spend a bunch of money, spend it on boots - this job depends on your feet - GoreTex vs Jungle, they both have a place, learn it
Helmets are more important than plate carriers in this fight - everyone lays down
Shrapnel doesn’t kill, but wounds - helmets buffer you against the blast front, which is why kills
Learn to drive stick

This point can’t be stressed enough. A true mark of the amateur is a focus on gear. Gear is tangible, definable, and gives false confidence. Gear should simply fit the mission and most times be reduced to the bare necessities. Weapons need to be simple and perform reliably. Practice, training, drills, and rehearsals are worth far more than gear. Gear is stuff, which is supply, which is different from logistics - the ability to sustain consumption during combat and campaigning. Logistics is important, gear less so.

Reputation is Everything

Be easy to work with. If you are difficult to work with you’ll get fewer missions
Don’t be a pushover, but there is no need to be a dick
Understand and be honest with your own personal capabilities and limitations
Ditch the ego
If you have something that someone needs, help them out. Favors are remembered and you may need to call on them later
Don’t complain
If you have to “borrow” from others, don’t screw the other person over. Take only what you need and give back when possible
If you are the guy who always forgets something or is always mooching off of others, you’ll quickly find yourself without a team
Your team won’t want to work with you if you aren’t prepared
NEVER steal from your team
Learn how to drive stick

Drones

Both sides will have them and it is almost impossible to know if they are friend or foe
If you don’t have anti-drone capability, hide until they go away
Quick movement draws the eye, don’t run until you’ve been spotted. You’ll know when you’ve been spotted when you hear mortars enemy mortars firing
If you are spotted, run faster than the enemy mortar team can adjust fire
If you are a commander, even though you’re observing the feed, let the guy on the ground make the tactical decisions
If you are a commander, do not use drones to see who hasn’t shaved or who has their sleeves cuffed
Drone operators need to use low angles as well as looking straight down. This will give you a better idea of distance and allow you to spot dead space
Ground reconnaissance is still critical. Drones do not replace walking the actual conditions on the deck
Learn to drive stick

Night Vision & Thermals

Train at night, you will always win if you can fight effectively in the dark
Every leader and point man requires thermals
Learn passive aiming, you can’t always use your laser
Learn what and when periods of thermal crossover are
You can use thermals during night and day
Be careful with thermals mounted on weapons. It makes IFF difficult and a hot barrel will blind the thermal optic
Thermals are game changers and will skew the battle in favor of whoever can use them to the best effect
It isn’t that hard to hide from thermals. Glass, tarps, ponchos, veg screens, or literally any physical object between you and the observer will help you hide
The enemy has night vision and thermals. Be better at using them
Learn to drive stick

From the time of the Vietnam War to today, the US has fielded much better night vision capability at higher density than enemy forces. This has now changed and US forces can no longer “rent the night.” Night vision has become a more basic capability akin to fielding body armor or an adequate rifle. This means it is no longer enough to simply have the latest and greatest, US forces must train thoroughly and frequently with their night vision/thermal equipment much as they would rifle marksmanship.

Learn Combat Marksmanship

Slow is smooth, smooth is fast does not work in a combat situation
You will not have time for a slow steady squeeze. Learn how to make accurate shots quickly
You don’t need to cut nice tight holes in a target, this isn’t pistol qual. Learn how to shoot rapidly
The first person to land a shot usually wins
Aim low and at the left side of cover. People are going to lay prone and most are right handed shooters
Perfect reps build speed. If you mess up a rep, start over at square one. Bad reps make you slow and build bad habits. This will get you killed
Suppressors are about signature reduction. If you plan to fight at night, they are a requirement
The extra weight and awkwardness of a suppressor will be overcome by training
Suppressors are cheap and easy to make. Your enemy will use them
Learn to drive stick