Drill – Peeling

Purpose

To break out of the Four Fs by disengaging with the enemy. Disengaging is done when a firefight or a position is untenable or contact is undesirable and can be called at the discretion of the lowest level of command in order to preserve his/her force.

 

Execution

In training, this drill is usually executed immediately after an Immediate Assault is started, but in practice it can be used at any point during a firefight.

There are three kinds of peels; Peel Back, Left and Right. Back means the team will peel to the 6 o’ clock of the contact direction, left to the 8 o’ clock and right to the 4 o’ clock.

  1. The PL calls for a “Peel Back/Left/Right!”.
  2. The PL’s buddy team will peel back first, with both members saying “Peeling Back/Left/Right!” when doing so. They will then sprint to a new position 10m to 15m to the direct/left/right rear of the other buddy team, which will in the mean time lay down suppressive fire and possibly a smoke screen. The exact distance an individual peel ‘step’ is depends on the terrain, visibility and how far a buddy team can travel from another while still being audible in direct speak under gunfire.
  3. When the new position is reached, both of the PL buddy team members will shout “Set!“. Radio’s can be used, but shouldn’t be necessary if the peel is done properly.
  4. The other buddy team will then immediately perform step 2 with the buddy team’s roles reversed, with the PL buddy team remaining stationary and laying down suppressive fire. The other buddy team will sprint PAST the PL’s buddy team (WITHOUT crossing their line of fire) to their new position and perform step 3 when there.
  5. The patrol will keep performing steps 2 to 4 until either enemy fire is no longer effective, or the patrol broke line of sight with the enemy. The PL will then call “Break Contact!” with all members repeating the order.
  6. The team will then run in formation in an orderly fashion to a relatively safe area, where the patrol will perform their Follow-Through.