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Military

LESSON 1
PRACTICE EXERCISE

Instructions The following items will test your understanding of the material covered in this lesson. There is only one correct answer for each item. When you have completed the exercise, check your answers with the answer key that follows. If you answer any item incorrectly, review that part of the lesson which contains the portion involved.

Situation:    You are a mechanized infantry officer who must prepare your troops and equipment for desert operations somewhere in the Middle East. You and most of the soldiers under your command are inexperienced in desert operations and will require several weeks of desert training prior to departure overseas in accordance with METT-T (Mission, Enemy, Terrain, Troops and Time Available). Desert training will take place in the Southwestern United States where the extremely arid terrain includes mountains, rocky plateaus, sand dunes, salt marshes and dissected terrain.

1. According to a situation map of the training area, you are about to enter a rocky plateau area interspersed with flat areas and sand dunes. Your best movement plan would be to

A. travel only at night to avoid being sighted by the enemy.
B. travel only at night or early morning when the sand is damp and traction is better.
C. travel day or night but keep to the outer perimeter of the sand dunes and flat areas.
D. travel during the day through the rocky plateau, which may offer water, shade, and concealment.
2. You have a training mission to capture an airfield in a poorly mapped sand-dune area. Although neutralized by air power, you must drive there through sand dunes. A careful route reconnaissance has been made. Before entering the sand, you first command your drivers to

A. select a gear that will allow the vehicles to maintain torque without wheel spin and to minimize changing gears.
B. maintain momentum if sand builds up between rear sprockets and treads.
C. use four-wheel drive only after a vehicle bogs down.
D. climb the crust of a downwind side of a dune and halt at the crest to check the angle on foot.
3. During your desert training, you learn about arid-area vegetation and wildlife that

A. like rodents, you conserve your moisture by halting at mid-day for a designated sleeping area away from the direct heat of the sun.
B. some troops wake up after their first night with a case of agoraphobia, although bugs and snakes are dormant at night.
C. you have no difficulty finding shelter and camouflaging in areas that have a water table within one meter.
D. for best protection against chemical attack, your troops should sleep directly on the ground dispersed away from large vehicles that may be targets.
4. When issuing your operation order, an important consideration to mention is

A. ground transportation should stick to only well-maintained roads and trails.
B. structures or ruins are to be avoided as defensive positions.
C. avoid contact with high-mineral or high-salt content soil or even water for wetting your uniform to cool off.
D. tracked vehicles should use irrigation canals for evasion and to prevent getting lost.
5. Your men are engaged in light activity in 79 degree WBGT (slightly less than 105 degrees fahrenheit) temperature. To prevent heat illness in your command, you ensure your troops

A. acclimatize by progressively reducing their water intake.
B. condition themselves to stop sweating when exercising during periods of high air temperature.
C. drink only when thirsty or when suffering water depletion symptoms of fatigue, cramps or vomiting.
D. drink at least six quarts of water per man per day.
6. After desert training is complete, you know your troops will experience jet lag upon arrival in the Middle East and will require some after flight recovery time. Ideally, you would allow your troops a recovery time of

A. one hour for every time zone crossed.
B. eight hours for every time zone crossed.
C. one day for every time zone crossed.
D. two or three days maximum.
7. After you arrive in the Middle East, one of the first things you notice when you step off the aircraft is how hot it is. You can find relief from heat gain with all three of these factors EXCEPT

A. controlling hot, blowing sand-laden winds.
B. avoiding conductive heat from direct contact with the desert sand and rock.
C. getting started on acquiring as much of a suntan as possible the first day.
D. shielding the reflective heat of the sun's rays bouncing off the sand.
8. The DMZ generally runs from the north to the south, and you are on the west. You must be particularly alert to a

A. mid-day chemical attack with the sun dangerously exposing M5 impregnating kits.
B. night infiltration when your defense is handicapped by the extremely poor range of light.
C. prepositioned searchlight rotating in the west.
D. morning attack with the sun comparatively low and behind the enemy.
9. You decide to convoy at night to minimize the use of water. An important consideration about desert operations at night is

A. units should start their engines at 30-second intervals for psychological effect.
B. red filters must be put over lights to prevent detection by enemy passive night-vision devices.
C. light and noise can be seen or heard from miles away.
D. drivers are prone to the optical illusion of refracted light obscuring a vehicle on bounding overwatch.
10. You drive over a ridge and come upon a uniformly-colored open area of several miles. There appears to be a large lake with scattered islands. On one island you see a row of enemy vehicles that appear to be moving. You take aim with mortars and artillery. Chances are someone ignorant of desert effects would have a range estimation that causes rounds to

A. fall short because of optical illusion.
B. fall behind the target because bodies of water look farther away.
C. have a tightly-grouped pattern after any mirage effect is overcome by getting to low ground.
D. hit the target with greater accuracy when terrain features are more visible around mid-day.
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