The Value of Stealth
Posted: Fri Jun 25, 2010 5:02 am
When night ops first came into being, the concept was that you were never seen and you never left a trace. This was done primarily for the challenge, remaining completely unseen being the most difficult part of the entire operation in many areas. Today, both experience and common sense suggests this to be the ideal approach. Why? It's simple. If you are never seen, you are never chased, questioned, or attacked. As long as you remain unseen this is always going to be true. You can read any story on this forum, any website, my guide or anywhere else and see the obviousness of it. When you are seen somewhere you are not supposed to be, you are suspicious regardless of what you are wearing. If you are never seen, chances are you just had a smooth, flawless operation.
Stealth cannot be denied. It is greater than any other facet of the operation. You can't pick a lock you can't approach without being seen. You can't take a picture from the roof of a building if you can't get up there unnoticed first. It can arguably replace every other skill if one is good enough at it. Someone who is a fat and out of shape but impossible to see in the night is a better operative than someone who is fit but not stealthy.
It's obvious, so much so that we often overlook it. Remember that this is night ops. Stealth is always the highest priority. Do not let yourself be seen by person, camera, or sensor.
Stealth is everything. Anything else is just a fail-safe precaution. Think about it. You wear a mask in case your stealth proves weak and you are seen. You wear gloves in the advent you lack sufficient stealth and someone thinks to take prints the area. Brute force is just a compensation for stealthy methods. Stealthy methods are technically a compensation because we lack the natural stealth required to overcome barriers and security naturally. You stay in shape and think of escape plans because you'll need them if your stealth fails you.
Stealth. Stealth. Stealth.
Does your operation center around stealth? Think about that next time. You're saving yourself a big headache by observing it and lessening any chance for being caught.
I've been hearing more and more stories, mostly on MSN, of operatives being sighted and not taking the most basic of precautions to observe stealth. Don't be the next victim.
Stealth cannot be denied. It is greater than any other facet of the operation. You can't pick a lock you can't approach without being seen. You can't take a picture from the roof of a building if you can't get up there unnoticed first. It can arguably replace every other skill if one is good enough at it. Someone who is a fat and out of shape but impossible to see in the night is a better operative than someone who is fit but not stealthy.
It's obvious, so much so that we often overlook it. Remember that this is night ops. Stealth is always the highest priority. Do not let yourself be seen by person, camera, or sensor.
Stealth is everything. Anything else is just a fail-safe precaution. Think about it. You wear a mask in case your stealth proves weak and you are seen. You wear gloves in the advent you lack sufficient stealth and someone thinks to take prints the area. Brute force is just a compensation for stealthy methods. Stealthy methods are technically a compensation because we lack the natural stealth required to overcome barriers and security naturally. You stay in shape and think of escape plans because you'll need them if your stealth fails you.
Stealth. Stealth. Stealth.
Does your operation center around stealth? Think about that next time. You're saving yourself a big headache by observing it and lessening any chance for being caught.
I've been hearing more and more stories, mostly on MSN, of operatives being sighted and not taking the most basic of precautions to observe stealth. Don't be the next victim.