Understanding METT-TC

It really is the answer...

Dec 12, 2024

The following is a brief excerpt concerning METT-TC and how to use it for planning considerations and gear choices from CM-8 The Modern Minuteman with The Professional Citizen Project.

Why METT-TC

A few years ago I heard the acronym, METT-TC, for the first time and like everything else it was being dismissed as an answer by the folks answering peoples questions when asking what the best loadout is, or what’s the best rifle, or what is the best camouflage. Folks would then respond by saying that METT-TC was the answer but then others thought that this was a cop out to answering the question, but is it? So I dove into just what METT-TC actually meant and the reasoning behind its use and discovered that for most cases, it really is the answer. Problem is that no one wants to do the work of breaking it down to really use it to answer their questions in the first place. So let’s go ahead and break it down.

METT-TC

· M-MISSION

· E-Enemy

· T-Terrain/Weather

· T-Troops

· T-Time

· C-Civilian Considerations

Let us break each part of it down and go over how it applies to the Modern Minuteman.

Your Mission is your overall objective. Why are you going out on this specific patrol? What is the purpose of this outing or exercise? It is really pretty straight forward when you stop and think about it. It should be simple to answer when planning any outing.

Let’s say you and your merry band of Minutemen are presented with the task of setting up an OP/LP to monitor and report and suspicious activity at a local power station that has been rumored to be on a suspected list of installations that a small domestic terrorist group has been probing. Your mission is right there for you.

· Observe and report activities at the local power station without being detected. Report any activity to the local Sheriff’s Department.

Knowing your mission profile then sets you up for the rest of METT-TC.

Now who is the purported Enemy that is reported to be probing this local power plant? The orders state a small domestic terrorist group.

· American Soyboy Socialists (A.S.S.)

If you’ve been doing area studies, you should have a good idea as to who the players may be in your area. Is there a local college campus? Think about the number of protest groups causing trouble that originates on that campus.

Now onto Terrain/Weather to breakdown. Where is this power plant located? What are the access points like? Roads, waterways, vegetation, swamps, cliffs, etc. What is the weather forecast for the mission period? Cold, hot, rainy, snow, storms, or any combination thereof?

· Appalachian woodlands, thick undergrowth, rocky cliffs, river valley, elevation changes of +/- 1,000’, marshlands, power line cuts, and old foot trails

· The weather is forecasted to be partly sunny and humid with highs in the low 80’s and lows in the mid 50’s with a 75% chance of thunderstorms.

This information was easily obtained from looking at maps and photos of the area and by paying attention to the local weather forecast and can be easily monitored by listening to the NOAA stations on your radio (yes, your radio is for more than talking to each other).

Troops are going to be who you have available to you for this mission. How many guys do you have for the mission itself? What is your support element for the infiltration, extraction, any quick reaction force (QRF) incase things go sideways, who are you calling in information to, and so on and so forth.

· We have 4 guys available for the patrol with 2 guys available for a QRF that will also be dropping us off at our infiltration point and picking us up at the extraction point.

So, you can see in this example we are simply listing the guys we have available. So, in any mission planning this number is important to be able to make sure that you have appropriate personnel in place. This specific mission could be done with less but having 2 buddy pairs is nice for patrolling and setting up and manning an overnight OP/LP.

What is your Time Frame for completing the mission? This is important for planning, arranging support elements, knowing the amount of daylight and darkness to work with, how long will it take to go from your drop point to your planned OP/LP, and a whole lot more.

· Time on the ground is 36 hours. Drop off time is 0800 hrs and your pickup time is 2000 hrs the next day. This time frame allows time for foot travel, minimizes exposure during drop off/pick up, keeps the route area in the shade (shadows) giving better concealment while working towards the OP/LP and keeps us out of the heat of the day.

Time planning is hard. It takes analyzing the terrain you’re going to be in, traffic of the area, knowing sun movements, being realistic with travel times, allowing for extra time in case of contingencies, deciding how much time you want to spend in the target area, and more. Travel times take experience in knowing how far you can travel in an hour on flat ground, rocky terrain, heavily vegetated areas, with and without weight, and so on and so forth. Then multiply that by 2.

And then we have Civilian Considerations to plan around. This is another place where having proper area studies done is important.

· Local Land Conservancy area frequented by bird watchers, teens, and families along with scattered rural housing in the area. Large oil refinery 4 miles to the north with several rail lines. Township fire and police department within 2 miles of operation area.

Doing homework on the area we would be working in helped with knowing what kinds of civilian foot traffic we might expect, what type of infrastructure existed, where residential dwellings were at, types of commercial traffic, and more. This helped a lot with route selections, deciding where OP/LP’s could be located, where to put over watches at, best times to travel, and so on and so forth.

Now that you have filled in the blanks of METT-TC, you can now start deciding what type of gear is needed to give you the best chance of success. Hopefully you already have your base kit figured out and are well practiced with it (see Base Kit in Chapter 3). So, what mission specific gear should be taken on this mission?

Do you need radios? Yes, part of your mission profile is reporting anything you may see in the target area. So radios, spare batteries, possibly a jungle antenna in case you can’t transmit out of the area.

How about optics like night vision, thermals, binoculars? You are tasked with setting up an OP/LP and monitoring a fixed target. Any visual aids will help with completing your mission. You will also be overnight in the area so being able to utilize NVG’s and thermals will be a force multiplier.

Since creating an OP/LP is required, you’re probably going to be staying overnight in it. So, OP/LP building materials like a tarp, and maybe camo netting. You may consider bringing an e-tool as well to facilitate prepping the area.

What about security for the OP/LP and overnight area? You may think about area denial items like perimeter alarms (audible or visual) to give you a heads up if someone gets too close to your area.

You may think about your personal gear like sleep systems, footwear, clothing, and such. What camouflage patterns/combos may work best in this area for this time of year? Can you get away with just a poncho liner to stay warm enough overnight? How many pairs of socks make sense for being in and out of a wet environment?

Even things like water can be determined from METT-TC. It may be a water rich environment but are you able to safely procure water from those sources? So, is erroring on the side of bringing more water the right move here? Does 5 liters give you a buffer from having to collect water during the day versus only having 2 liters and being forced to find/collect water? Also, the terrain/weather report part of the above METT-TC does say it is going to be warm and humid with difficult terrain, so your water intake is going to be increased. So, it is probably a good idea to go heavy on the water then to mitigate heat injuries and to keep from having to go find water.

For more on Fieldcraft Skills such as understanding and dealing with obstacles, check out CM-8 The Modern Minuteman from The Professional Citizen Project.

The Professional Citizen Project manuals include:

CM-1 Individual Tactical Skills
CM-2 Reconnaissance
CM-3 AR Pattern Rifle and Carbine
CM-4 Land Navigation
CM-5 Teenage Prepper
CM-8 The Modern Minuteman
CM-9 Adverse Conditions and Environments (ACE)

The Modern Minuteman