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15 Comments

  1. Great stuff, thanks!

    It takes a while of working in the field at night for most people to calm down a good bit. Most people aren’t comfortable outside at night. It’s important to start training like this NOW not just assume that later you will magically become one of the “tactical chosen ones” LOL.

    Breathe. Good deep breathing, remain calm and move slow. Take in the WHOLE picture, not just what your seeing through the NOD. What does the ground feel like to your feet, what is your unaided eye seeing, what smells are about, how do things feel? It’s hard to explain this you just have to get out a lot at night to develop the skills.

    1. Very good points about “feeling your way ’round.” Does one no good to have a night vision or thermal imaging doo-dad, if you’ve just fallen into a mire or swamp!

      Use those God-given senses to the max–see, feel, smell, touch, hear.

      Seems like our Native Americans/First Nations used these from the Great Spirit to their great effect–whether it was putting venison on the table, counting coups, or scalps on the pole.

  4. As someone who’s spend his share of time on night ops, I can’t stress enough: SLOW DOWN and FEEL YOUR SURROUNDINGS! There is a different “feel” to combat at night. As your eyesight fails, if you allow yourself to slow down and consciously rely on your other senses, you’ll find you can “feel” the movement of others, smell things that “aren’t right”, and hear not only sounds you’d otherwise miss, but where they are coming from. But if you do not slow down and allow these senses to compensate, you will miss them in the barrage and white noise of your own mind. The consequences of which can be very….unfortunate. Or as a good 1st Sgt once told me “Death is a non-career enhancing event son”.

  5. Jason has it right.
    Even in the civilian world, night shift is different.
    Even at the same address.
    I suggest taking good nap and staying up until dawn.
    City, suburbs, country, even if you do no leave your back yard, you will be amazed at the difference.

  6. Clear glasses are a must on night ops without NODs. Back in the day had several people get the proverbial old stick in the eye while patrolling at night in a wooded environment.

  7. It helps tremendously if you will get out an know your AO, inside and out, long before the SHTF. NODs and Thermal are for you to use. They can enhance your knowledge of your AO, but cannot replace knowing it.

    If you have them, practice with them and practice without them, under varying conditions. Many places look different at night than they do in the day, they also look different on a full moon than they do on a 1st quarter moon.

  9. Several “putt-putt” questions:

    How much does a thermal scope costs and where to buy?

    Does a laser range finder blind people at night (does during day – magnifies when others using binos) and intensify when others are viewing you through NVGs/NODs?

    Dave

    1. ~$400 for bottom end thermal. ~$700+ for thermal scopes/optics/monoculars worth owning.

      Thermal and night vision optics process image inputs internally and then transmit to eye. So unlike magnifying lens based optics, you cannot blind someone w/ lasers while using these devices. Depending on the sophistication of the device, it may “white out” and cause momentary blindness due to transmitting light to eye(s) at highest brigtness level, but only temporary damage to night vision eye adjustment, not permanent sight.

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