Military Rules of Combat

  • If the enemy is in range, so are you.
  • Incoming fire has the right of way.
  • Don't look conspicuous: it draws fire.
  • There is always a way.
  • The easy way is always mined.
  • Try to look unimportant, they may be low on ammo.
  • Professionals are predictable, it's the amateurs that are dangerous.
  • The enemy invariably attacks on one of two occasions: When you're ready for them and when you're not ready for them.
  • Teamwork is essential; it gives the enemy someone else to shoot at.
  • If you can't remember, the claymore is pointed at you.
  • If your attack is going well, you have walked into an ambush.
  • Don't draw fire, it irritates the people around you.
  • The only thing more accurate than incoming enemy fire is incoming friendly fire.
  • When the pin is pulled, Mr. Grenade is not our friend.
  • When in doubt empty the magazine.
  • Never share a fox hole with anyone braver than you.
  • Anything you do can get you shot. Including doing nothing.
  • Make it too tough for the enemy to get in and you can't get out.
  • Mines are equal opportunity weapons.
  • A Purple Heart just proves that you were smart enough to think of a plan, stupid enough to try it, and lucky enough to survive.
  • Don't ever be the first, don't ever be the last and don't ever volunteer to do anything.
  • The quartermaster has only two sizes: too large and too small.
  • Five second fuses only last three seconds.
  • It is generally inadvisable to eject directly over the area you just bombed.
  • The enemy diversion you have been ignoring will be the main attack.
  • A "sucking chest wound" is nature's way of telling you to slow down.
  • If you're short of everything but the enemy, you're in a combat zone.
  • When you have secured an area, don't forget to tell the enemy.
  • Never forget that your weapon is made by the lowest bidder.
  • If it's stupid but works, it isn't stupid.