Cover, Concealment, and Camouflage: A key aspect of remaining undetected
Posted: Thu Feb 11, 2021 2:27 am
Every operator needs a firm understanding of CCC, which stands for cover, concealment, and camouflage. Moving quietly or having expensive gear does not help if you travel down the middle of a street. CCC is applied the minute you are in the field, whether you perform it through planning or spontaneously.
CCC is mainly focused on snipers when described in manuals. Cover is defined as a barrier that can protect from small arms fire(Ex, a support pillar). Concealment is defined as an object that protects you from enemy observation, NOT small arms fire(Ex, a bush or shadow). Camouflage is defined as something on your person that protects you from enemy observation(Ex, camouflage clothing or taping leaves to yourself). How can we better tailor this concept to our activities? After all, the casual operator is not too concerned about being shot at and shooting back and we utilize this information differently than snipers.
Cover is better defined as "A solid object that directly blocks vision"(Ex, a wall or dumpster). Concealment is better defined as "Something or an object that protects you from enemy observation but still allows you to observe to an extent"(Ex, a bush or shadow). Camouflage is fine as described, which is "Something or an object on your person that protects you from enemy observation"(Ex, camouflage clothing or taping leaves to yourself).
Now, here are the definitions simply laid out.
Cover-"A solid object that directly blocks enemy observation"
Examples; Walls, AC units, vehicles, large trees, rocks, hills
Concealment-"Something or an object that semi-protects you from enemy observation but still allows you to observe to an extent"
Examples; Landscaping, un-solid fences, shadows, flora, "peepholes"
Camouflage-"Something or an object on your person that protects you from enemy observation"
Examples; Camouflage patterns, artificial or natural flora/netting, ghillie garments, sniper veils, loose ground material
It is important to note that you will most likely not be entirely covered, concealed, or camouflaged. Using one side of a wall hides you, but then there is the other side. Maybe it casts a nice shadow or has some shrubs to offer concealment? Maybe it does not, in that case, utilize your camouflage or find a better spot.
When do you use this? When completing a serious operation, you most likely plan out Thieves Highway's for infiltration, exfiltration, etc. You can do this through physical or digital reconnaissance, and therefore plan a route that best hides you. Additionally, E&E requires rapid identification of CCC routes during some portions of the process. There are of course other uses, but these are just a few general ones.
How do you apply this? I am not a seasoned operator, so therefore I cannot give a solid method to use. However, I would try to "scan" the environment and identify the cover, concealment, and camouflage available. Several resources in the library cover this, and there are several sources on the internet for situational awareness and scanning. I am not currently citing anything on this, I plan on writing about it later.
Do note, I plan on making better content, just establishing a basis.
Works Cited
Note that the entire source does not necessarily reference the topic discussed here.
https://nightops.net/wiki/lib/exe/fetch ... ge.pdf-The library!
https://fieldcraftguide.com/6-secrets-for-camouflage/-A source
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEMs1Qq1omg-get past the accent if you can
My favorite source; Anyone with common sense, will you be easier seen in the open or behind a wall? Exactly, I mainly put sources just to have them there, but anyone can tell you this makes sense.
CCC is mainly focused on snipers when described in manuals. Cover is defined as a barrier that can protect from small arms fire(Ex, a support pillar). Concealment is defined as an object that protects you from enemy observation, NOT small arms fire(Ex, a bush or shadow). Camouflage is defined as something on your person that protects you from enemy observation(Ex, camouflage clothing or taping leaves to yourself). How can we better tailor this concept to our activities? After all, the casual operator is not too concerned about being shot at and shooting back and we utilize this information differently than snipers.
Cover is better defined as "A solid object that directly blocks vision"(Ex, a wall or dumpster). Concealment is better defined as "Something or an object that protects you from enemy observation but still allows you to observe to an extent"(Ex, a bush or shadow). Camouflage is fine as described, which is "Something or an object on your person that protects you from enemy observation"(Ex, camouflage clothing or taping leaves to yourself).
Now, here are the definitions simply laid out.
Cover-"A solid object that directly blocks enemy observation"
Examples; Walls, AC units, vehicles, large trees, rocks, hills
Concealment-"Something or an object that semi-protects you from enemy observation but still allows you to observe to an extent"
Examples; Landscaping, un-solid fences, shadows, flora, "peepholes"
Camouflage-"Something or an object on your person that protects you from enemy observation"
Examples; Camouflage patterns, artificial or natural flora/netting, ghillie garments, sniper veils, loose ground material
It is important to note that you will most likely not be entirely covered, concealed, or camouflaged. Using one side of a wall hides you, but then there is the other side. Maybe it casts a nice shadow or has some shrubs to offer concealment? Maybe it does not, in that case, utilize your camouflage or find a better spot.
When do you use this? When completing a serious operation, you most likely plan out Thieves Highway's for infiltration, exfiltration, etc. You can do this through physical or digital reconnaissance, and therefore plan a route that best hides you. Additionally, E&E requires rapid identification of CCC routes during some portions of the process. There are of course other uses, but these are just a few general ones.
How do you apply this? I am not a seasoned operator, so therefore I cannot give a solid method to use. However, I would try to "scan" the environment and identify the cover, concealment, and camouflage available. Several resources in the library cover this, and there are several sources on the internet for situational awareness and scanning. I am not currently citing anything on this, I plan on writing about it later.
Do note, I plan on making better content, just establishing a basis.
Works Cited
Note that the entire source does not necessarily reference the topic discussed here.
https://nightops.net/wiki/lib/exe/fetch ... ge.pdf-The library!
https://fieldcraftguide.com/6-secrets-for-camouflage/-A source
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEMs1Qq1omg-get past the accent if you can
My favorite source; Anyone with common sense, will you be easier seen in the open or behind a wall? Exactly, I mainly put sources just to have them there, but anyone can tell you this makes sense.