Jungle Warfare Days Are Over…Or Are They?

Over the last ten years or so, I’ve heard so many times that British soldiers’ tactics are a thing of the past.

More recently, I’ve had conversations about how we can learn so much about the way warfare is being fought in Ukraine as opposed to the jungle warfare school, which teaches yesterday’s stuff.

Well, despite the newfound way of using drones to great effect, especially the “home-made” ones, Ukrainian and Russian soldiers are still fighting from trenches much like those in WW1.

As for the jungle fighting being a thing of the past, mainly due to deforestation, then just ask the likes of those still fighting under the canopy today in such places as the Philippines, Indonesia, Colombia and Paraguay…to name but a few.

Under that canopy, jungle warfare in the shape of the LRRPs (Long Range Reconnaissance Patrols) are still very much alive and still very much viable.

Therefore, I urge the UK Jungle Warfare School in Brunei to concentrate on LRRP if they are not doing so today.

I’m all for tech, whether it’s for communication, navigation, or target recce and attack purposes…if it works 100% in all weather conditions, day and night. However, more often than not in recent conflicts in all theatres globally, it’s been down to the Mark 1 eyeball every time.

A good recce of the INSIDE of an enemy camp inside the tropical rain forest can only be done by a human, even today.

To complete that recce and do it right, it may take many hours to days. A hard routine patrol moving close to the target, then only using two members to finally move into the enemy position at night, with the help of weather conditions like heavy rain, could be an example of what can be achieved. The pair then simply move back to the patrol RV, lie up and continue the next night if required, until the job is complete.

Under my small umbrella during a heavy rain storm around 3-4am. Lightning strikes and falling trees as big as houses kept those who we were watching up all night. A quick click of the camera during an exercise just shows what can be done, and what we can get away with. 1980s Malaysia.

Back in the day, some 35-45 years ago, I would move into an enemy camp, or even sometimes as an instructor, inside our own LRRP night LUP, and just sit against the base of a substantial tree (a lesser tree would shake and give me away), small patrol umbrella up to keep the heavy rain from lowering my body temperature, and watch the patrol’s routine, enemy or otherwise.

Just because a last-century soldier is writing this post, does not take away the fact of just how effective this role still is today.

It was undoubtedly soldiering at its best. Coming away with a successful close camp reconnaissance, and all that had been gleaned, was personally rewarding apart from the intelligence gained for the overall effort.

I cannot think of any tech that would do a job as accurately today.

The old saying of “belt and braces” should never ever be forgotten.

Yes, use high tech when it’s plausible, but always be trained up for the unexpected and get back to basics as a belt and braces.

Many an army around the world has forgotten that in the last couple of decades for sure.