The Australian Guerrilla: The Scout

The scout is the eyes and ears of his army. No matter whether the fighting takes place in city or plain, on mountain or in desert or jungle, on mainland or island, through snow or swamp, every unit commander needs to know what is happening and where. In many cases only a scout can tell him.

The Scout, by unconventional warfare specialist Ion Idriess, remains one of the best field guides ever written on combat scouting. Lively and instructive, and filled with anecdotes from Idriess' extensive combat experience, it covers such topics as finding your way around a combat zone; moving through the bush with stealth and skill; maintaining a sense of direction on a mission; seeing the enemy with your "mind's eye"; operating before and behind enemy lines; scouting at night; bringing back a report; and learning specialized secrets of observation and listening.

Even with the availability of today's sophisticated surveillance gear, modern armies still require the services of skilled human scouts on the ground to make sense of the situation during the chaos of combat. This book is an essential primer on how to do it right.