H. John Poole is an American military author and Marine

United States Marine Corps

The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...

 combat veteran of Vietnam

Vietnam War

The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...

, specializing in small unit and individual tactics

Military tactics

Military tactics, the science and art of organizing an army or an air force, are the techniques for using weapons or military units in combination for engaging and defeating an enemy in battle. Changes in philosophy and technology over time have been reflected in changes to military tactics. In...

. His books focus on the role, training, and skills of the individual infantry

Infantry

Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...

 soldier

Soldier

A soldier is a member of the land component of national armed forces; whereas a soldier hired for service in a foreign army would be termed a mercenary...

 and Marine, and on those of the combat NCOs (non-commissioned officers)

Non-commissioned officer

A non-commissioned officer , called a sub-officer in some countries, is a military officer who has not been given a commission...

. Poole has focused on terrorist

Terrorism

Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...

 and insurgent

Insurgency

An insurgency is an armed rebellion against a constituted authority when those taking part in the rebellion are not recognized as belligerents...

 tactics

Military tactics

Military tactics, the science and art of organizing an army or an air force, are the techniques for using weapons or military units in combination for engaging and defeating an enemy in battle. Changes in philosophy and technology over time have been reflected in changes to military tactics. In...

, as well as the counter-insurgent

Counter insurgency

A counter-insurgency or counterinsurgency involves actions taken by the recognized government of a nation to contain or quell an insurgency taken up against it...

 tactics to defeat them.

Influential works

His first work, The Last Hundred Yards, focusing on small unit infantry tactics, was widely read by USMC NCOs. In Terrorist Trail, Poole argued that the current 4th Generation Warfare (4GW) challenge facing the United States military required a similar 4GW solutions. Poole was described as "well-renowned" by United States Military Academy

United States Military Academy

The United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. The academy sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River, north of New York City...

Cadet Christopher Rogan, who repeated on Poole's observation in Tequila Junction that the United States did not have a true light infantry force.

Career

After almost 28 years as a commissioned or non-commissioned infantry officer, Poole retired from the United States Marine Corps in 1993. On active duty, he studied small-unit tactics for ten years and served for eight months as a rifle company commander in Vietnam (1968–69). After Vietnam, he developed, taught, and refined courses of instruction on maneuver warfare, land navigation, fire support coordination, call for fire, adjust fire, close air support, M203 grenade launcher, movement to contact, daylight attack, night attack, infiltration, defense, offensive Military Operations in Urban Terrain (MOUT), defensive MOUT, NBC defense, and leadership.

Since retirement, Poole has researched the small-unit tactics of other nations, traveled behind enemy lines, and written 11 tactics-and-intelligence-manual supplements. He has also conducted multi-day training sessions for 40 battalions, eight schools, and five Special Operations units on how to conduct 4th Generation Warfare at the small-unit level.

Books by H. John Poole

• The Last Hundred Yards: The NCO's Contribution to Warfare (1997), ISBN 978-0963869524
• One More Bridge to Cross: Lowering the Cost of War (1999), ISBN 978-0963869531
• Phantom Soldier: The Enemy's Answer to U.S. Firepower (2001), ISBN 978-0963869555
• The Tiger's Way: A U.S. Private's Best Chance for Survival (2003), ISBN 978-0963869562
• Tactics of the Crescent Moon: Militant Muslim Combat Methods (2004), ISBN 978-0963869579
• Militant Tricks: Battlefield Ruses of the Islamic Insurgent (2005), ISBN 978-0963869586
• Terrorist Trail: Backtracking the Foreign Fighter (2006), ISBN 978-0963869593
• Dragon Days: Time for “Unconventional” Tactics (2007), ISBN 978-0963869548
• Tequila Junction: 4th-Generation Counterinsurgency (2008), ISBN 978-0963869517
• Homeland Siege: Tactics For Police and Military (2009), ISBN 978-0981865911
• Expeditionary Eagles: Outmaneuvering the Taliban (2010), ISBN 978-0981865928
• Global Warrior: Averting WWIII (2011), ISBN 978-0981865935

External links

• Posterity Press