United States Army Reconnaissance and Surveillance Leaders Course
Encyclopedia
United States Army
Reconnaissance and Surveillance Leaders Course (formerly Long Range Surveillance Leaders Course, or LRSLC) is an elite five week school offered by 4th Ranger Training Battalion
to soldiers, Marines
, sailors
and airmen
to train them to expert levels in reconnaissance
, surveillance
, target acquisition
, battle damage assessment, foreign vehicle identification, and other skills. The school was originally created to serve leaders from Long Range Surveillance
units (LRSU's), but is commonly attended by soldiers from U.S. Army Special Forces, Ranger Reconnaissance Detachment
, Navy SEALs
, Marine Recon
, RSTA, and Cavalry Scout
s.
personnel. The course will continue to adapt its POI to accommodate the needs of the Army and individual reconnaissance units.
conducted by Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol
(LRRP) Units that the LRSUs find their lineage.
In July 2002, the Long Range Surveillance Leaders Course was renamed the Reconnaissance and Surveillance Leader Course. Today, its mission is to further develop the combat arms related functional skills of officer and non-commissioned officer
volunteers eligible for assignments to those units whose primary mission is to conduct reconnaissance and surveillance, target acquisition and combat assessment operations.
The cadre is currently playing a very important role in the development of the future Airborne
, Air Assault
, Light, and Special Reconnaissance
Force. The course continues to evolve in order meet the Force’s ever-changing reconnaissance and collection requirements.
This is accomplished by focusing on basic skills that include: reporting procedures, high frequency radio communications, acquiring a target, discrimination of vehicle, weapons, and equipment identification features, and small unit infiltration and exfiltration. The course also teaches operational techniques, tactics and procedures that enhance team battle drills, hide and surveillance site selection and construction, urban reconnaissance, tactical survival, evasion & recovery, detailed mission planning, airborne operations, and FRIES
and SPIES
methods of insertion and extraction.
The Reconnaissance and Surveillance Leader Course produces leaders who are skilled, adaptive, and competent. They are able to train and lead their units, enhancing their unit capabilities and ultimately developing a force multiplier on the battlefield. Upon successful completion of the RSLC course, graduates are authorized the SIX BRAVO (6B) additional skill identifier.
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
Reconnaissance and Surveillance Leaders Course (formerly Long Range Surveillance Leaders Course, or LRSLC) is an elite five week school offered by 4th Ranger Training Battalion
Ranger School
The United States Army Ranger School is an intense 61-day combat leadership course oriented towards small-unit tactics. It has been called the "toughest combat course in the world" and "is the most physically and mentally demanding leadership school the Army has to offer". The course is conducted...
to soldiers, Marines
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
, sailors
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
and airmen
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
to train them to expert levels in reconnaissance
Reconnaissance
Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....
, surveillance
Surveillance
Surveillance is the monitoring of the behavior, activities, or other changing information, usually of people. It is sometimes done in a surreptitious manner...
, target acquisition
Target Acquisition
In the military, target acquisition denotes any process that provides detailed information about enemy forces and locates them with sufficient accuracy to permit continued monitoring or attacking it....
, battle damage assessment, foreign vehicle identification, and other skills. The school was originally created to serve leaders from Long Range Surveillance
Long Range Surveillance
Long Range Surveillance units are specially trained elite Surveillance units of the United States Army that are employed by Military Intelligence Units for gathering information from deep within hostile territories....
units (LRSU's), but is commonly attended by soldiers from U.S. Army Special Forces, Ranger Reconnaissance Detachment
75th Ranger Regiment (United States)
The 75th Ranger Regiment , also known as Rangers, is a Special Operations light infantry unit of the United States Army. The Regiment is headquartered in Fort Benning, Georgia with battalions in Fort Benning, Hunter Army Airfield and Joint Base Lewis-McChord...
, Navy SEALs
United States Navy SEALs
The United States Navy's Sea, Air and Land Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs, are the U.S. Navy's principal special operations force and a part of the Naval Special Warfare Command as well as the maritime component of the United States Special Operations Command.The acronym is derived from their...
, Marine Recon
United States Marine Air-Ground Task Force Reconnaissance
The United States Marine Corps have many reconnaissance elements that are valuable to a Marine Air-Ground Task Force by providing the force and component commanders [i.e. Marine Expeditionary Force or Landing Force commanders] with maneuver space and reaction time, and prevent enemy forces and...
, RSTA, and Cavalry Scout
Cavalry Scout
The Cavalry Scout is a job title and a reconnaissance specialist in the United States Army. Cavalry Scouts work to obtain, distribute and share vital combat and battlefield information on the enemy and on combat circumstances and environmental conditions. The role originated with the United States...
s.
Need
Given the increased demand for trained, skilled, and proven reconnaissance professionals the U.S. military, the RSLC has significantly enhanced its program of instruction, class capacity, and class frequency to meet the needs of an Army at war. Course curriculum is primarily designed to train leaders in Long Range Surveillance Units, Infantry BCT Reconnaissance Battalions, Infantry Battalion Reconnaissance Platoons, Stryker BCT RSTA Battalions, and SOFSpecial forces
Special forces, or special operations forces are terms used to describe elite military tactical teams trained to perform high-risk dangerous missions that conventional units cannot perform...
personnel. The course will continue to adapt its POI to accommodate the needs of the Army and individual reconnaissance units.
Priority
RSLC MTT priority will be given to those units requesting training for deployments in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. Units standing up IBCT Reconnaissance Battalion and SBCT RSTAs will fall second in priority.Course intent
To produce reconnaissance and surveillance leaders by instructing them in reconnaissance and surveillance technical and operational skills; Enable and empower all leaders to train their subordinates, lead them in conflict, and contribute to the overall success of US forces in theaters worldwide.Course mission
Conduct the 26 day Reconnaissance and Surveillance Leaders Course (RSLC) to further develop the combat arms related functional skills of officer and non-commissioned officer volunteers eligible for assignments to those units whose primary mission is to conduct reconnaissance and surveillance, target acquisition and combat assessment operations.Course history
The Long Range Surveillance Leaders Course was developed in 1986 to fill a void that existed in Ranger training when Long-Range Surveillance Units (LRSUs) were reactivated that same year. To fulfill this requirement, the course was initially designed to emphasize the mission essential tasks drawn from lessons learned from previous long range reconnaissance patrol operations in the jungles of Southeast AsiaSoutheast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
conducted by Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol
Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol
Long Range Reconnaissance Patrols, or LRRPs , were special small four to six-man teams in the Vietnam War on highly dangerous special reconnaissance missions deep into enemy territory....
(LRRP) Units that the LRSUs find their lineage.
In July 2002, the Long Range Surveillance Leaders Course was renamed the Reconnaissance and Surveillance Leader Course. Today, its mission is to further develop the combat arms related functional skills of officer and non-commissioned officer
Non-commissioned officer
A non-commissioned officer , called a sub-officer in some countries, is a military officer who has not been given a commission...
volunteers eligible for assignments to those units whose primary mission is to conduct reconnaissance and surveillance, target acquisition and combat assessment operations.
The cadre is currently playing a very important role in the development of the future Airborne
Airborne forces
Airborne forces are military units, usually light infantry, set up to be moved by aircraft and 'dropped' into battle. Thus they can be placed behind enemy lines, and have an ability to deploy almost anywhere with little warning...
, Air Assault
Air assault
Air assault is the movement of ground-based military forces by vertical take-off and landing aircraft—such as the helicopter—to seize and hold key terrain which has not been fully secured, and to directly engage enemy forces...
, Light, and Special Reconnaissance
Special reconnaissance
Special reconnaissance is conducted by small units of highly trained military personnel, usually from special forces units or military intelligence organisations, who operate behind enemy lines, avoiding direct combat and detection by the enemy. As a role, SR is distinct from commando operations,...
Force. The course continues to evolve in order meet the Force’s ever-changing reconnaissance and collection requirements.
This is accomplished by focusing on basic skills that include: reporting procedures, high frequency radio communications, acquiring a target, discrimination of vehicle, weapons, and equipment identification features, and small unit infiltration and exfiltration. The course also teaches operational techniques, tactics and procedures that enhance team battle drills, hide and surveillance site selection and construction, urban reconnaissance, tactical survival, evasion & recovery, detailed mission planning, airborne operations, and FRIES
Fast-roping
Fast-roping, sometimes known as Fast Rope Insertion Extraction System , is a technique for descending a thick rope. It is useful for deploying troops from a helicopter in places where the helicopter itself cannot touch down. First developed by the British with UK rope manufacturer Marlow Ropes,...
and SPIES
Special Patrol Insertion/Extraction
The Special Patrol Insertion/Extraction system was developed as a means to rapidly insert and/or extract a reconnaissance patrol from an area that does not permit a helicopter to land. SPIE has application for rough terrain as well as water inserts/extracts...
methods of insertion and extraction.
The Reconnaissance and Surveillance Leader Course produces leaders who are skilled, adaptive, and competent. They are able to train and lead their units, enhancing their unit capabilities and ultimately developing a force multiplier on the battlefield. Upon successful completion of the RSLC course, graduates are authorized the SIX BRAVO (6B) additional skill identifier.