KEEP IN MEMORY

TLO ACTION: Brief, in detail, information obtained during a mission using only your memory. CONDITIONS: In a classroom or field environment; given 10 to 25 military items and a stressful environment; denied note taking materials. STANDARD: Achieve 70% on practical exercises by giving specifics of a military scenario by providing details of any equipment and personnel in the scenario. Details of equipment must include 3 dimensional size, shape, color, condition and what the item appears to be.

INTRODUCTION Safety Considerations Risk Management Level Environmental Considerations Evaluation

WHY BUILD MEMORY The Secondary mission for a sniper is the collection and reporting of battlefield information. Data books, sketches, cameras and many other ways of recording the data that is collected maybe lost or destroyed. You must train yourself to remember what you saw until such time where you can record that data. KIMs is our method.

KIMs The term KIMs comes from the title character of Rudyard Kipling’s book “Kim” (1901). Kim was the son of an Irish Army Officer stationed in India in the 1800s. After a difficult life, Kim was recruited into the Secret Service and trained in the art and science of spying. His training included the “Jewels Game”; a memory exercise where his ‘master’ placed gems and jewels on a tray, gave Kim time to study it, hid the tray, then asked him questions about the items. At first, Kim did not do well, but with practice, he mastered his memory skills.

KIMs GAME A KIMs game is a systematic way to train soldiers to memorize anything. The current military application was developed by the Canadian Army Snipers during the Second World War as a way to train to memorize all that they did and saw on missions. KIMs is used to train Soldiers for combat, as a memory game for children and a version was even developed by Sir Robert Baden-Powell, the founder of the world-wide scouting movement and friend of Kipling’s, as a Boy Scout game.

TYPES OF KIMS Mental Physical Emotional Combination

TRAINING To be effective, KIMs should be practiced under stress due to the nature of stress Soldiers will encounter on missions. Anything can be used like military items, a scenario, road signs, etc. Use the “crawl, walk, run” method. Details are necessary on briefs. For example, details of items should include: What the item appeared to be. Size (three dimensional). Shape (a drawing of the item). Color. Condition (serviceable or not).

QUESTIONS? What are the four types of KIMS games? Mental, Physical, Emotional, Combination. Who developed the military application of KIMS and when did they first use it? Canadian Army Snipers, WWII. What details are necessary on briefs about items? What the item appeared to be. Size (three dimensional). Shape (a drawing of the item). Color. Condition (serviceable or not).

SUMMARY Kim’s master’s response after Kim questioned why he must learn the “Jewels” game using simple items. ‘By doing it many times over till it is done perfectly – for it is worth doing.’ “Kim”; Rudyard Kipling; 1901

PRACTICAL EXERCISE Now we will check to see how much you have learned about KIMs through a Practical Exercise.