Customer Reviews

Combat Leader's Field Guide: 12th Edition

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The power this guide offers to those of us in uniform is a summary of a whole lot of infantry know-how. If you are a new lieutenant or recently promoted corporal or sergeant --this is your new fieldcraft and small-unit-leader tactical guide. If you are returning to a line unit from recruiter or drill sergeant duty, this will assist your smooth transition back into the woods. If you are a company commander, there is a good possibility that the seasoned first shirt that revised this premiere Stackpole guide--can teach you a thing or two.

If you are a non-infantry military member or a civilian with an interest, this guide will cover the basics of fighting as a small infantry unit.

I read The Combat Leaders Field Guide. This book had great tactical and movement strageties, it tells how to accomplish goals for both leaders and the infantry. It also goes in depth on formations, and combat in diffrent terrains from urban combat to tropical rainforest. Basically this book tells you how to stay alive in an army field battle.

Combat Leader's Field Guide is a great compact reference on platoon and squad level operations. It basicly summarizes information contained in US Army field manuals FM 7-8 and FM 21-75. This book achieves it's stated goal of being a pocket reference that you can take to the field with you to jog your memory. It fits in a BDU pocket, though the top end does stick out. National Guard and Reserve personel will probably find it useful though most active duty combat arms personel should know this stuff by heart already.

I used the 10th & 11th editions of this book during my career in the Army. It always went to the field with me and to career development schools. It is a very good overview of all the necessary field manuals to help a soldier survive on the battlefield. This should be standard issue to all soldiers in the Army no matter what your MOS is, officer or enlisted.

Summary: Very well suited for junior officer pipeline.

I got my copy of 13th edition last year, to prepare for OCS. I still use it as a doctrine and tactical reference.
Key points are: it is very concise and easy to understand, uses graphics effectively, has accurate data.

It digests a number of field manuals (FMs) and technical manuals (TMs) to give a reference aimed at platoon/squad leader.

This book is about the size of FM 7-8 Infantry Rifle Platoon and Squad, a very popular and mass produced army manual.

For those of you that are in the Army, I would call it supplemental reading. If you have a good rapport with your supply Sgt, or readiness NCO, I would check there first.

Anyone looking for the old pocket sized "Combat Leader's Field Guide" should walk away from this edition.

I purchased the 13th edition of the Combat Leader's Field Guide for my Nephew who has recently deployed to the Sandbox as a brand new member of the U.S. Army. I had found the 9th edition to be quite valuable in my Army career because it could be easily carried in my equipment case or in a pocket and was chock full of valuable information. The purchase of the 13th edition was based completely upon total satisfaction with the 9th edition (which, by the way, I still own after 21 years).

The 13th edition is the size of a hardcover book. That's right, it's huge. It's ungainly! IT WILL NOT FIT IN ANY POCKET I KNOW OF ON ANY UNIFORM I've ever seen.

It no longer in any way lives up to its name of "Field" Guide. Desk Guide would be a better name, I expect. In fact, that's what I'm going to use it for instead of sending it to my nephew. Well, let's be honest, part of the reason for keeping it is because Amazon's return policy would deduct so much for postage that I would probably pay more for postage than I paid for the book to begin with.

So, Stackpole: Just what were you thinking?

Who took the Field out of "Field Guide"?

Useful information on infantry tactics. Good for learning as much as one can from a book. If you want to learn military infantry tactics than this is a good start for sure. I have learned more from reading the book. Helps me even though I am not infantry in the Army.