Murphy's Laws for Combat

[James A. Landau]

    Murphy's Laws of Combat

1.  You are not a superman.
2.  If it's stupid but works, it isn't stupid.
3.  Don't look conspicuous—it draws fire.
4.  When in doubt, empty your magazine.
5.  Never share a foxhole with anyone braver than you are.
6.  Never forget that your weapon was made by the lowest bidder.
7.  If your attack is going really well, it's an ambush.
8.  No plans survives the first contact intact.
9.  All five-second grenade fuses will burn down in three seconds.
10. Try to look unimportant becasue the bad guys may be low on ammo.
11. If you are forward of your position, the artillery will fall short.
12. The enemy diversion you are ignoring is the main attack.
13. The important things are always simple.
14. The simple things are always hard.
15. The easy way is always mined.
16. If you are short of everything except enemy, you are in combat.
17. When you have secured an area, don't forget to tell the enemy.
18. Incoming fire has the right of way.
19. Friendly fire—isn't.
20. If the enemy is in range, "SO ARE YOU!!!"
21. No combat ready unit has ever passed inspection.
22. Beer math is: two beers times 37 men = 49 cases.
23. Body count math is: two guerillas plus one portable plus two pigs = 37
enemy killed in action.
24. Things that must be together to work, usually can't be shipped together.
25. Radios will fail as soon as you need fire support desperately.
26. Anything you do can get you shot—including doing nothing.
27. Tracers work both ways.
28. The only thing more accurate than incoming enemy fire is incoming
friendly fire.
29. Make it tough for the enemy to get in and you can't get out.
30. If you take more than your fair share of objectives, you will have more
than your fair share of objectives to take.
31. When both sides are convinced that they are about to lose, they are both
right.
32. Professional soldiers are predictable, but the world is full of amateurs.
33. Murphy was a grunt.

      Source unknown.  Found posted in the Ventnor, New Jersey Veteran's
Center.

Numbers 13 and 14 are from Clausewitz.  Fencers have a variation of numer 32:
"The best swordsman in the world has nothing to fear from the second-best
swordsman, but everything to fear from the world's worst swordsman [becuase he
makes unpredictable dumb moves]"

One very useful military cliche not on the above list: "There's always five
percent who don't get the word."