Articles

Articles on preparedness and fieldcraft, improvised weapons and vehicles, plus METT-TC and PACE planning for mission analysis and communication planning frameworks.

Preparedness + Fieldcraft

Here Be Dragons: Map Reading, Land Nav, and Ground Truth

Start land navigation close to home. Print a local map from T.REX ARMS Maps, grab a compass, and take a walk.

Own Your Information: Info Prepping for Sustainment and Survival

Stored information is part of preparedness. For starters, check out the T.REX Field Manual Vault.

Improvised Weapons + Vehicles

Homemade Guns: Hand Crafted Problem Solvers from Around the World

A look at homemade guns from around the world, from crude slam guns and pipe guns to hand-built submachine guns, shotguns, and sniper rifles.

Truck Tactics: Unusual Technical Trucks at War

Technical trucks from Mali, Syria, Somalia, and Iran, including a KPVT-turreted Land Cruiser, an Omar cannon flatbed, and an S-60 dump truck.

P.A.C.E. Planning

Building a PACE Plan After the Ice Storm

Learn how to build a communications PACE plan for a power outage, with separate plans for family and emergency services using radios, satellite, and signals.

PACE Planning Part 1: Introduction

PACE stands for Primary, Alternate, Contingency, and Emergency. Learn the 3 key points of PACE planning from the experience of a MARSOC communicator.

PACE Planning Part 2: Operational Phases + Adjacencies

Every mission phase needs its own PACE plans. See how a MARSOC team maps plans for insertion, Actions On, and extraction, plus each adjacent unit it must reach.

PACE Planning Part 3: Who Establishes the PACE Plan?

Learn who establishes the PACE plan in an operation and why general support units set their own. Also covers SATCOM, VHF/UHF/HF nets, EW threats, and terrain.

METT-TC

What is METT-TC Part 1: Introduction

METT-TC (Mission, Enemy, Terrain, Troops, Time, Civil Considerations) is a military planning framework. Learn its origins and how it applies to civilian life.

What is METT-TC Part 2: Mission

Watch a breakdown of Mission, the first METT-TC variable, covering the 5 W’s and why knowing the end goal lets you adapt when the situation changes.

What is METT-TC Part 3: Enemy

Watch a breakdown of Enemy, the E in METT-TC, covering SALUTE reports, DRAW-D, and the Enemy’s Most Likely Course of Action (EMLCOA).

What is METT-TC Part 4: Terrain + Weather

Learn how to analyze Terrain and Weather in METT-TC with KOCOA-W (also OAKOC or OCOKA), plus how visibility, wind, and thermal crossover affect your plan.

What is METT-TC Part 5: Troops + Time Available

Learn how to analyze Troops and Time Available in METT-TC with HAS/A, reverse planning, the one-third, two-thirds rule, and the 4 B’s of logistics.

What is METT-TC Part 6: Civil Considerations + Information

Learn how to analyze Civil Considerations in METT-TC with ASCOPE and PMESII, and what the Army’s 2022 addition of Informational Considerations means.