H. John Poole is an American military author and Marine combat veteran of

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

, specializing in small unit and individual tactics. His books focus on the role, training, and skills of the individual

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, or an officer. Etymology The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word , from Old French ...

and Marine, and on those of the combat NCOs (non-commissioned officers). Poole has focused on

terrorist Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

and insurgent

tactics Tactic(s) or Tactical may refer to: * Tactic (method), a conceptual action implemented as one or more specific tasks ** Military tactics, the disposition and maneuver of units on a particular sea or battlefield ** Chess tactics ** Political tact ...

, as well as the counter-insurgent 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.Hord, J. Mark. "Stratiotes' Military History Book Reviews", ''Unconventional Warfare Review'', 31 January 2007
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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 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), * ''One More Bridge to Cross: Lowering the Cost of War'' (1999), * ''Phantom Soldier: The Enemy's Answer to U.S. Firepower'' (2001), * ''The Tiger's Way: A U.S. Private's Best Chance for Survival'' (2003), * ''Tactics of the Crescent Moon: Militant Muslim Combat Methods'' (2004), * ''Militant Tricks: Battlefield Ruses of the Islamic Insurgent'' (2005), * ''Terrorist Trail: Backtracking the Foreign Fighter'' (2006), * ''Dragon Days: Time for "Unconventional" Tactics'' (2007), * ''Tequila Junction: 4th-Generation Counterinsurgency'' (2008), * ''Homeland Siege: Tactics For Police and Military'' (2009), * ''Expeditionary Eagles: Outmaneuvering the Taliban'' (2010), * ''Global Warrior: Averting WWIII'' (2011), * ‘’ North Korea’s Hidden Assets’’ (2018),

References

External links

Posterity Press
{{DEFAULTSORT:Poole, H. John Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American military writers United States Marine Corps officers United States Marine Corps personnel of the Vietnam War Counterinsurgency theorists Counterterrorism theorists Guerrilla warfare theorists Place of birth missing (living people)