User:13tez/sandbox/SOSRA

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SOSRA is an acronym describing the doctrine on how to perform breaching operations in use in the US Armed Forces, NATO, and allies. SOSRA stands for: Suppress; obscure; secure; reduce; and assault. It is one of the breaching tenets, set out in 18-22 in FM 3-90 Tactics. It is described in ATP 3-90.4 and MCTP 3-34A.

Definition

A study that trialled training soldiers in Hungarian Defence Forces using Virtual Reality (VR) included training in SOSRA techniques. The study found there were numerous areas where VR training could be applied and that a great amount of resources involved in training could be saved by using VR-based training.^[1]

Process

Suppress

 

United States Army soldiers provide suppressing fire during an exercise in 2023.

Obscure

 

US soldiers use smoke grenades to provide obscuration while breaching a perimeter during an exercise in 2015.

Secure

Reduce

 

A bulldozer breaks down a berm during a United States Marine Corps breaching exercise in 2015.

Assault

Usage

War against the Islamic State

Main article: War against the Islamic State

During the Fall of Ramadi, in May 2015, Daesh used SVBIEDs alongside infantry using the traditional SOSRA approach to breach Iraqi Army defences.^[2] Later, during the Battle of Mosul, the Iraqi Armed Forces effectively employed SOSRA tactics to breach Daesh defensive lines, contributing to the collapse of the Daesh defences and the retaking of the city.^[3][4]

October 7 attacks

Main article: October 7 attacks

During the October 7 attacks, Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups breached Israel's barrier along its border with Gaza before carrying out attacks in the Gaza envelope in southern Israel.^[5][6] The militant groups involved utilised SOSRA tactics to carry out these breaches of the barrier.^[7]

References

1. Marlok, Tamás; Takács, Márk György (23 September 2024). "VR Training Opportunities in the Hungarian Defence Forces". Academic and Applied Research in Military and Public Management Science. 23 (2): 34, 36. doi:10.32565/aarms.2024.2.2.
2. Ashour, Omar (15 February 2021). "2. Implodes but Expands: How the 'Islamic State' Fights in Iraq". How ISIS Fights. Edinburgh University Press. pp. 62–63. ISBN 978-1-4744-3823-0. Some of these SVBIEDs were used to breach the Iraqi defenses, along with the conventional infantry breaching sequence of suppress, obscure, secure, reduce and assault (SOSRA).
3. "Immediate Lessons from the Battle of Mosul". Australian Army Research Centre. 25 June 2017. Archived from the original on 10 July 2025. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
4. "Oral evidence - Global Islamist Terrorism - 2 Apr 2019". House of Commons. 2 April 2019. Archived from the original on 11 July 2025. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
5. Granados, Samuel; Mellen, Ruby; Tierney, Lauren; Galocha, Artur; Brown, Cate; Steckelberg, Aaron; Sacks, Brianna; Natanson, Hannah; Coletta, Amanda; Vinall, Frances; Hudson, John; Allison, Natalie; Tumulty, Karen (10 October 2023). "How Hamas breached Israel's 'Iron Wall'". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 19 Apr 2024. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
6. "Questions for IDF over fall of Israel border post Nahal Oz by Hamas on 7 October". BBC News. 4 October 2024. Archived from the original on 11 Jul 2025. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
7. Ashour, Omar (12 June 2024). "Ukraine and the Gaza-Related Wars: Military Observations for Preliminary Lessons". International Centre for Defence and Security. Archived from the original on 11 Jul 2025. Retrieved 11 July 2025.

Works cited

• "Field Manual 3-90: Tactics" (PDF). Washington, D.C.: Department of the Army. 1 May 2023. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 Feb 2025.
• "Field Manual 3-34.2: Combined-Arms Breaching Operations" (PDF). Washington, DC: Department of the Army. 11 October 2002. Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 January 2025. Retrieved 5 July 2025.
• "Field Manual 3-21.8: The Infantry Rifle Platoon and Squad" (PDF). Washington, DC: Department of the Army. 8 March 2007. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 June 2025. Retrieved 5 July 2025.
• "Field Manual 3-09: Fire Support and Field Artillery Operations" (PDF). Washington, DC: Department of the Army. 30 April 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 July 2025. Retrieved 5 July 2025.
• ATP 3-90.4: Combined Arms Mobility. Washington, DC: Department of the Army. 8 March 2016.