A living knowledge base of special operations doctrine, planning cycles, reconnaissance tradecraft, targeting logic, influence methods, and protection TTPs. Built from open US Army/Joint publications and original tradecraft digests where open pubs are thin. Structured for specialists. Graph-linked. Updated continuously.
What this is
Tactics notes is the operational twin of Intelligence notes.
| Garden | Job |
|---|---|
| Intelligence notes | Actors, crises, systems, and strategic concepts |
| Tactics notes (here) | Planning, TTPs, and fieldcraft that turn intent into effects |
Both live in the VMBRARIVM monorepo. This tree is the reference layer: doctrine digests, not full-manual republication, and not platform content.
How to use it
- Enter by problem (plan a mission, develop a target, detect surveillance, frame a civil environment).
- Open the matching section below.
- Follow wikilinks into frameworks, activities, and procedures.
- Trace back to pubs via
sourcefrontmatter and Doctrine Sources.
Every concept note carries: definition, doctrinal framework, mechanics, application, related concepts, and failure modes. Offense and defense are both in scope; open doctrine teaches both.
Knowledge base
The vault documents command philosophy, planning processes, reconnaissance, targeting, special operations activities, influence, intelligence support, protection, civil affairs, sustainment, and field procedures across twelve interlinked sections.
Mission command, troop leading procedures, detachment mission planning, mission variables.
02 Reconnaissance & Surveillance
Urban and non-urban reconnaissance, pattern of life, special reconnaissance tradecraft.
Center of gravity, CARVER, effects selection, and assessment logic.
04 Special Operations Activities
ARSOF core activities: UW, FID, SR, DA, contingency and stability tasks.
Military information support, military deception, and information operations.
Analytic frameworks (PMESII-PT, ASCOPE), IPOE, collection, network analysis.
07 Protection & Counter-Surveillance
Surveillance detection, counter-surveillance, and force protection for small elements.
08 Civil Affairs & Human Terrain
Civil affairs operations, civil knowledge, and civil network engagement.
Special operations sustainment and conventional force–SOF integration.
One-page executable cards cut from stable concept notes.
Doctrinal contributors, theorists, and key works that shape the corpus.
Cited publications, reading order, and the private doctrine archive map.
Start here
| If you want… | Open |
|---|---|
| Command philosophy and decentralized execution | Mission Command |
| Frame any tactical problem | METT-TC |
| Detachment-level planning cycle | Detachment Mission Planning |
| Leader sequence under time pressure | Troop Leading Procedures |
| See in a city without becoming the show | Urban Reconnaissance |
| Pick targets systematically | CARVER Matrix |
| Source of power and vulnerability chain | Center of Gravity |
| Detect hostile observation | Surveillance Detection |
| Map of what SF-type units train to do | Special Forces Core Activities |
| Unconventional warfare vs FID | Unconventional Warfare, Foreign Internal Defense |
| Intelligence preparation cycle | IPOE Process |
| Operational environment variables | PMESII-PT |
| Influence process (MISO) | Military Information Support Operations |
Voice and rules
- Open sources only on this tree (Army/Joint public doctrine, original tradecraft notes, open analytic frameworks).
- Distill manuals into teachable notes. Do not paste entire pubs into the garden.
- Wikilink aggressively. Graph navigation is the product.
- No dual-use “civilian transfer” framing. One knowledge base, operational register.
- No emojis. For note anatomy, see Tactics Notes Conventions.