Anyone who has ever done any sort of small-unit tactics training can remember “covering” a buddy while they move. This is good to learn, but there can be a bit of misunderstanding as to what actually constitutes “covering fire” or “suppression”. Just because you are putting rounds downrange does not necessarily mean that you have “covering fire,” and assessing the effects of fires is a very important skill for any rifleman, but especially team leaders.
Defining Some Terms
Before I explain how this is done, it is first necessary for me to define some terminology to avoid confusion going forward.
Fire: The act of putting rounds or ordnance downrange in order to create a desired effect. Can be pluralized (e.g. “fires”) when referring to the actions of a unit firing several weapons at once.
Effective fire: Fire that is accurate enough and heavy enough to have an effect on the element being fired upon (forcing them to take cover, stop/slow movement, or take casualties).
Suppression: The result of effective fires on an element that prevents them from moving, shooting back, or otherwise doing their jobs for fear of getting hit/killed.
Okay, now that we’ve squared away the jargon, let’s discuss the effects of fires.
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