MURPHY'S LAWS OF COMBAT OPERATIONS

• Friendly fire - isn't.
• Recoilless rifles - aren't.
• Suppressive fires - won't.
• If it's stupid but it works, it isn't stupid.
• If it makes sense, it is not the "Military Way"
• Try to look unimportant; the enemy may be low on ammo and not want to waste a bullet on you.
• Never underestimate the ability of the brass to foul things up.
• If at first you don't succeed, call in an air strike.
• ...

MURPHY'S LAWS OF COMBAT OPERATIONS

• Friendly fire - isn't.
• Recoilless rifles - aren't.
• Suppressive fires - won't.
• If it's stupid but it works, it isn't stupid.
• If it makes sense, it is not the "Military Way"
• Try to look unimportant; the enemy may be low on ammo and not want to waste a bullet on you.
• Never underestimate the ability of the brass to foul things up.
• If at first you don't succeed, call in an air strike.
• Never forget that your weapon was made by the lowest bidder.
• If you are forward of your position, your artillery will fall short.
• Never share a foxhole with anyone braver than yourself.
• If your attack is going really well, it's an ambush.
• The enemy diversion you're ignoring is their main attack.
• The enemy invariably attacks on two occasions:
when they're ready.
when you're not.
• There is no such thing as a perfect plan.
• Five second fuses always burn three seconds.
• A retreating enemy is probably just falling back and regrouping.
• The important things are always simple; the simple are always hard.
• The easy way is always mined.
• Teamwork is essential; it gives the enemy other people to shoot at.
• Don't look conspicuous; it draws fire. For this reason, it is not at all uncommon for aircraft carriers to be known as bomb magnets.
• Never draw fire; it irritates everyone around you.
• If you are short of everything but the enemy, you are in the combat zone.
• When you have secured the area, make sure the enemy knows it too.
• Incoming fire has the right of way.
• No combat ready unit has ever passed inspection.
• No inspection ready unit has ever passed combat.
• If the enemy is within range, so are you.
• The only thing more accurate than incoming enemy fire is incoming friendly fire.
• Things which must be shipped together as a set, aren't.
• Things that must work together, can't be carried to the field that way.
• Radios will fail as soon as you need fire support.
• Radar tends to fail at night and in bad weather, and especially during both.
• Anything you do can get you killed, including nothing.
• Make it too tough for the enemy to get in, and you won't be able to get out.
• Tracers work both ways.
• When both sides are convinced they're about to lose, they're both right.
• Professional soldiers are predictable; the world is full of dangerous amateurs.
• Military Intelligence is a contradiction.
• Fortify your front; you'll get your rear shot up.
• Weather isn't neutral.
• Air defense motto: shoot 'em down; sort 'em out on the ground.
• The Cavalry doesn't always come to the rescue.
• Napalm is an area support weapon.
• Mines are equal opportunity weapons.
• B-52s are the ultimate close support weapon.
• Sniper's motto: reach out and touch someone.
• The one item you need is always in short supply.
• Interchangeable parts aren't.
• It's not the one with your name on it; it's the one addressed "to whom it may concern" you've got to think about.
• When in doubt, empty your magazine.
• The side with the simplest uniforms wins.
• If the Platoon Sergeant can see you, so can the enemy.
• Never stand when you can sit, never sit when you can lie down, never stay awake when you can sleep.
• The most dangerous thing in the world is a Second Lieutenant with a map and a compass.
• Exceptions prove the rule, and destroy the battle plan.
• Everything always works in your HQ, everything always fails in the Colonel's HQ.
• The enemy never watches until you make a mistake.
• One enemy soldier is never enough, but two is entirely too many.
• A clean (and dry) set of BDU's is a magnet for mud and rain.
• The worse the weather, the more you are required to be out in it.
• Whenever you have plenty of ammo, you never miss. Whenever you are low on ammo, you can't hit the broad side of a barn.
• The more a weapon costs, the farther you will have to send it away to be repaired.
• The complexity of a weapon is inversely proportional to the IQ of the weapon's operator.
• Field experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.
• No matter which way you have to march, it is always uphill.
• If enough data is collected, a board of inquiry can prove anything.
• For every action, there is an equal and opposite criticism.
• Air strikes always overshoot the target, artillery always falls short.
• When reviewing the radio frequencies that you just wrote down, the most important ones are always illegible.
• The tough part about being an officer is that the troops don't know what they want, but they know for certain what they don't want.
• To steal information from a person is called plagiarism. To steal information from the enemy is called gathering intelligence.
• The perfect officer for the job will transfer in the day after that billet is filled by someone else.
• When you have sufficient supplies & ammo, the enemy takes 2 weeks to attack. When you are low on supplies & ammo the enemy decides to attack that night.
• The newest and least experienced soldier will usually win the Medal of Honor.
• A Purple Heart just proves that were you smart enough to think of a plan, stupid enough to try it, and lucky enough to survive.
• Murphy was a grunt.
• Beer Math: 2 beers times 37 men equals 49 cases.
• Body count Math: 3 guerrillas plus 1 probable plus 2 pigs equals 37 enemies killed in action.
• The bursting radius of a hand grenade is always one foot greater than your jumping range.
• All-weather close air support doesn't work in bad weather.
• The combat worth of a unit is inversely proportional to the smartness of its outfit and appearance.
• The crucial round is a dud.
• Every command which can be misunderstood, will be.
• There is no such place as a convenient foxhole.
• Don't ever be the first, don't ever be the last and don't ever volunteer to do anything.
• If your positions are firmly set and you are prepared to take the enemy assault on, he will bypass you.
• If your ambush is properly set, the enemy won't walk into it.
• If your flank march is going well, the enemy expects you to outflank him.
• Density of fire increases proportionally to the curiousness of the target.
• Odd objects attract fire - never lurk behind one.
• The more stupid the leader is, the more important missions he is ordered to carry out.
• The self-importance of a superior is inversely proportional to his position in the hierarchy.
• There is always a way, and it usually doesn't work.
• Success occurs when no one is looking, failure occurs when the General is watching.
• The enemy never monitors your radio frequency until you broadcast on an unsecured channel.
• Whenever you drop your equipment in a fire-fight, your ammo and grenades always fall the farthest away, and your canteen always lands at your feet.
• As soon as you are served hot chow in the field, it rains.
• Never tell the Platoon Sergeant you have nothing to do.
• The seriousness of a wound (in a fire-fight) is inversely proportional to the distance to any form of cover.
• Walking point = sniper bait.
• Your bivouac for the night is the spot where you got tired of marching that day.
• If only one solution can be found for a field problem, then it is usually a stupid solution.
• No battle plan ever survives contact with the enemy.
• The most dangerous thing in the combat zone is an officer with a map.
• The problem with taking the easy way out is that the enemy has already mined it.
• The buddy system is essential to your survival; it gives the enemy somebody else to shoot at.
• If your advance is going well, you are walking into an ambush.
• The quartermaster has only two sizes, too large and too small.
• If you really need an officer in a hurry, take a nap.
• The only time suppressive fire works is when it is used on abandoned positions.
• There is nothing more satisfying that having someone take a shot at you, and miss.
• Don't be conspicuous. In the combat zone, it draws fire. Out of the combat zone, it draws sergeants.
• Avoid loud noises, there are few silent killers in a combat zone.
• Never screw over a buddy; you'll never know when he could save your life.
• Never expect any rations; the only rations that will be on time and won't be short is the ration of s#it.
• When in a fire fight, kill as many as you can, the one you miss may not miss tomorrow.
• It is a physical impossibility to carry too much ammo.
• If you can see the flashes from the enemies' guns in battle, he can see yours too.
• Flashlights, lighters and matches don't just illuminate the surrounding area; they illuminate you too.
• Just because you have nearly impenetrable body armor and a badazz Kevlar helmet, doesn't mean you don't have exposed areas.
• You're only better than your enemy if you kill him first.
• Complain about the rations all you want, but just remember; they could very well be your last meal.
• You have two mortal enemies in combat; the opposing side and your own rear services.
• You think the enemy has better artillery support and the enemy thinks yours is better; you're both right.
• Three things you will never see in combat; hot chow, hot showers, and an uninterrupted night's sleep.
• "Live" and "Hero" are mutually exclusive terms.
• Once you are in the fight it is way too late to wonder if this is a good idea.
• Never get into a fight without more ammunition than the other guy.
• Cover your Buddy, so he can be around to cover for you.
• Decisions made by someone over your head will seldom be in your best interest.
• Sometimes, being good and lucky still is not enough.
• If the rear echelon troops are really happy, the front line troops probably do not have what they need.
• If you are wearing body armor they will probably miss that part.
• Happiness is a belt fed weapon.
• Having all your body parts intact and functioning at the end of the day beats the alternative...
• If you are allergic to lead it is best to avoid a war zone.
• Hot garrison chow is better than hot C-rations which, in turn, are better than cold C-rations, which are better than no food at all.
• A free fire zone has nothing to do with economics.
• Medals are OK, but having your body and all your friends in one piece at the end of the day is better.
• Being shot hurts.
• Thousands of Veterans earned medals for bravery every day. A few were even awarded.
• There is only one rule in war: When you win, you get to make up the rules.
• C-4 explosives can make a dull day fun.
• There is no such thing as a fair fight -- only ones where you win or lose.
• Nobody cares what you did yesterday or what you are going to do tomorrow. What is important is what you are doing -- NOW -- to solve our problem.
• Always make sure someone has a can opener.
• Prayer may not help . . . but it can't hurt.
• Flying is better than walking. Walking is better than running. Running is better than crawling. All of these, however, are better than extraction by a Med-Evac even if it is, technically, a form of flying.
• If everyone does not come home none of the rest of us can ever fully come home either.
• Carrying any weapon that you weren't issued (e.g, an AK) in combat is Not A Good Idea! A combat vet will know the sound of an unfamiliar weapon in an instant and will point and shoot. Not only that, AKs use green tracers which mean "shoot 'em all and let God sort them out".
• Military Intelligence is not a contradiction in terms, "Light Infantry" is!
• Proximity factor: The need for relief is directly related to the distance of the relief station.
• Always keep one bullet in the chamber when changing your magazine.
• In peacetime people say, "War is He!!". In combat, under fire from artillery, airplanes, or whatever, a soldier thinks, "War is really really really LOUD as He!!."
• If you can think clearly, know exactly what's happening, and have total control of a situation in combat, then you're not in combat.
• When you get the coveted 1,000 yard stare, don't forget about the enemy who is 30 yards away and about to pop you.
• Stay away from officers in combat, they're clever decoys for noncoms.
• If you think you don't need something for your combat load for an OP PLAN, you'll probably wish you had it after the s#it hits the fan in combat.
• Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.
• Failure of plan A will directly affect your ability to carry out plan B.
• If you drop a soldier in the middle of a desert with a rock, a hammer, and an anvil, tell him not to touch any of it, and come back two hours later, the anvil will be broken. "Because soldiers gotta f--k with s#it.".
• War does not determine who is right, war determines who is left.
• Never be first.
• Never be last.
• Never volunteer for anything
• An escaping soldier can be used again.
• If you think you'll die, don't worry you won't.
• It is better to be lucky than good in the battlefield.
• If it's worth fighting for...it's worth fighting dirty for.
• If the military wanted boots to be comfortable they would have designed them like running shoes.
• If you survive the extraordinary things, it will often be the little things that will kill you.
• Give an order, then change the order, will get you disorder.
• You never have fire support in heavy firefight but you always have it on a silent recon mission
• The only thing more dangerous to you than the enemy, is your allies
• Night vision - isn't
• When you need Apaches, they'll be busy escorting the generals bird around
• Whatever you have, you won't need; whatever you need, you won't have.
• If it was risky, it worked and no one got hurt: you were brilliant. If it was risky, it worked and someone got hurt; you were courageous. If it was risky, it didn't work and no one got hurt; you were lucky. If it was risky, it didn't work and someone got killed; you were stupid.
• The best sniper position is always the hardest to reach
• When you need to use the bathroom - the enemy is watching your position
• Loud, sudden noises in an airplane or helicopter WILL get your undivided attention.
• The further you fly into the mountains, the louder the strange engine noises become.
• For pilots, "Pucker Factor" is the formal name of the equation that states the more hairy the situation is, the more of the seat cushion will be sucked up your behind.
• Helicopters have been described as nothing more than 50,000 parts flying in close formation. It is the mechanics responsibility to keep that formation as tight as possible.
• It is mathematically impossible for either hummingbirds, or helicopters to fly. Fortunately, neither are aware of this.
• Tanks draw fire. A lot of it. It does not behoove the infantryman to hide behind one.
• If you're close enough to actually hear an M1 series tank running, while in combat, and not part of the crew, you're too close.
• The enemy always has the advantage.
• Heat-seeking missiles don't know the difference between friend and foe.
• 'Armor' is a fantasy invented by your C.O. to make you feel better.
• Air Brakes don't.
• Your cannon will jam in combat, and then when you get back to base there will be nothing wrong with it.
• When getting spare parts for your aircraft, you can get them CHEAP - FAST - IN GOOD CONDITION, pick two. (This applies to everything)
• Your radar will not pick up the enemy behind you or the one in the sun.
• Supply Shipments at night stick out like a sore thumb.
• Tanks should never leave the established roads
• Established roads are always mined
• The effectiveness of a soldier in desert combat is inversely proportional to how heavy his equipment is
• Have plenty of water on hand
• Always shoot the guy walking down the road in the middle of the night carrying a gas can and a shovel. If they can't place the IED's, they can't blow you up!
• Never attribute to an Officer that which is adequately explained by a Private.
• If at first you don't succeed, blame it on the new private!

Read More About BUDDYSMYFRIEND (Updated May 15)