L-1-1-43 Ground Sign Flashcards
What are the two key areas of Human Activity?
Human presence and human patterns
What constitutes Human Presence?
- Actual footprints and tracks
- Partial tracks, ground scuffs, or ground marks
- Traveled paths at IED incident site
- Vehicle tracks associated with IED incident site
- Debris, litter, discarded items, and trash
What are some factors associated with Human Patterns?
- Well worn trails
- Well traveled routes
- Choke points
- Known enemy techniques, tactics, and procedures (TTPs)
What are the components of Visual Processing?
- Outlines
- Shapes
- Colors
- Value
- Texture
- Shine
- Rhythm
What does Disturbance in Identifiable Characteristics indicate?
Marred or disturbed ground, out of balance with surrounding natural state
What is Color Change in the context of Identifiable Characteristics?
Soil color differs due to moisture content or leakage from explosives
What does Regularity refer to in Identifiable Characteristics?
Presence of straight lines or unnatural shapes in nature
What is Flattening?
Mashed or flattened ground caused by weight and pressure
What is Transference?
Movement of one medium into another, intentional or unintentional
What constitutes Ground Spoor?
- Regularity
- Flattening
- Transference
- Color change
- Disturbance
What is Aerial Spoor?
Damage and disturbance to vegetation from enemy passage
What clues are included in Aerial Spoor?
- Crushed, broken, or bent vegetation
- Leaf creases
- Crushed or bruised leaves, plants, and twigs
- Broken or stripped branches
- Skinned bark or knocks
- Twisted or dragged vegetation
- Dew knocked off vegetation
- Turned over leaves
- Vegetation ‘out of balance’
What is Sign in the context of tracking?
Any indicator other than ground or aerial spoor indicating change from the natural state
What are some examples of Sign?
- Broken cobwebs
- Displaced vegetation or stones
- Disturbed insect nests
- Animal or bird alarms
- Water splashes and deposits
What is the importance of assessing aged indicators?
It assists in the visual detection of older emplaced IEDs
What are some unique signatures of older IEDs?
- Depressed/hollow ground
- Reduced traffic areas
- Dead vegetation
- Exposed components
What is the typical detection difficulty for older visual indicators at 7-10 days post emplacement?
Hardest to detect
What causes the increase in visual detection from 14 days onward?
Flattening
What environmental factors should be considered when assessing the age of indicators?
- Seasonal Conditions
- Geographical Location
- Weather Elements
- Domestic Animal Movements
- Wildlife and Game Movements
- Seasonal State of Local Vegetation
- Ground Types
- Local Activity
What is a Quick Scan Search?
A search conducted immediately when the tracker loses sight of the spoor
What does a Likely Lines Search involve?
Identifying and examining several potential lines the enemy may have taken
What is the purpose of the TRACKER 360 procedure?
To conduct a wide circle search pattern to relocate lost tracks
What is a Box Search?
A systematic search using natural or artificial lines surrounding the area where the spoor was lost
What is the Flank Track Trap Search?
A search method that utilizes features that capture and hold tracks along a suspected route
