What are the three principles of clearing a room?

• A. Patience, Precision, Planning
• B. Speed, Surprise, Aggressive Action
• C. Cover, Concealment, Communication
• D. Stealth, Speed, Safety

Answer: (B)

The main idea here is the tempo and intent used when entering and clearing a room: move fast, strike with surprise, and press the threat with decisive, aggressive action. Moving quickly minimizes how long the threat has to react and reduces exposure for your team. Creating surprise disrupts the adversary’s situational awareness, making it harder for them to mount resistance and giving you the advantage as you enter. And applying aggressive action—proactively engaging, closing with the threat, and maintaining momentum—dominates the encounter, prevents stalemate, and helps protect teammates and bystanders by securing the space quickly.

Other options miss this established triad. Patience, precision, and planning emphasize a slower, methodical approach that can waste valuable time in dynamic entries. Cover, concealment, and communication are important tactics and support tools, but they describe elements of movement and information flow rather than the essential tempo. Stealth, speed, and safety blend concepts, but stealth is not the core approach in a forceful room clearing scenario where rapid, decisive action is aimed at overwhelming opposition.