Talk:Final protective fire

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I believe this is not a real-world military term, but rather one invented for the boardgame Advanced Squad Leader. It is "final" because it is the last fire allowed in a turn by the firing unit (although, oddly enough, a unit can "final" fire multiple times).

No no no, final protective fire IS a real world military term, ask any infantryman or gunner. When 'request final protective fire, at grid xxxxxxxxxx, fire for effect' comes over the net, you know the excretement is really going to hit the fan. Pretty much the last action one can do before one is overrun with hoards of enemy. If FPF fails to slay the enemy, then hand to hand combat ensues, usually with some messy results. (Rgbriggsy112 18:32, 1 January 2007 (UTC))


 * I was introduced to the term "Final Protective Fire" while enrolled in USMC Infantry Training School at Camp Geiger back in 1985. At the platoon level, it was described to us as the final defensive action before being overrun, when everything from pistols on up was pointed in one direction and fired without regard for coordination, conservation, or consequences. I'm trying not to sound melodramatic, but it was *described* to us as a last-ditch effort against overwhelming odds. TreacherousWays (talk) 22:02, 4 July 2014 (UTC)

The term is also used in the UK. When I trained as a gunner in the 1970's it was the  custom, when not in action, to lay  the guns of the  battery   on  the location of the foward observer (OP). In the event of an imminent threat of being  overrun, the OP  was  then able  to dive into his foxhole, call the battery, and order  "FPF Fire." (In the UK artillery the OP controls his guns directly and so orders fire. In the US the fire is co-ordinated through higher authority and the OP requests fire.)  Mike Stone (talk)  —Preceding undated comment added 12:45, 4 October 2017 (UTC)