Editing Defensive fighting position (section)

==Modern designs==
[[File:Окоп, укрепленный кирпичной кладкой на военном полигоне.png|thumb|A trench reinforced with brickwork at a military training ground]]
Modern militaries publish and distribute elaborate field manuals for the proper construction of DFPs in stages. Initially, a shallow "shell scrape" is dug, often called a ranger grave, which provides very limited protection. Each stage develops the fighting position, gradually increasing its effectiveness, while always maintaining functionality. In this way, a soldier can improve the position over time, while being able to stop at any time and use the position in a fight.

Typically, a DFP is a pit or trench dug deep enough to stand in, with only the head exposed, and a small step at the bottom, called a fire step, that allows the soldier to crouch on to avoid fire and [[tank]] [[Continuous track|treads]]. The fire step usually slopes down into a deeper narrow slit called a [[grenade]] [[sump]] at the bottom to allow for live grenades to be kicked in to minimize damage from grenade fragments.

When possible, DFPs are revetted with corrugated iron, star pickets and wire or local substitutes. Ideally, the revetting will also be dug in below ground level so as to minimise damage from fire and tank tracks. The revetting helps the DFP resist cave-in from near misses from artillery or mortars and tank tracks.

Time permitting, DFPs can be enlarged to allow a [[machine gun]] crew and [[ammunition]] to be protected, as well as additional overhead cover via timbers.

In training, DFPs are usually dug by hand or in some cases by mechanical trench diggers. On operations, explosives, especially [[Shaped charge|shaped charges ("beehives")]], may be used to increase the speed of development.

Developing and maintaining DFPs is a constant and ongoing task for soldiers deployed in combat areas. For this reason, in some armies, infantry soldiers are referred to as "gravel technicians", as they spend so much time digging.

Because of the large expenditure in effort and materials required to build a DFP, it is important to ensure that the DFP is correctly sited. In order to site the DFP, the officer in charge ("OIC") should view the ground from the same level that the intended user's weapons will be sighted from. Normally, the OIC will need to lie on his belly to obtain the required perspective. This ensures that the position will be able to cover the desired sector.

<gallery mode=packed>
File:3rd Battalion 4th Marines dig in near Iraqi border 2003-03-20.JPEG|US Marines digging 'fighting holes' near the Iraqi border, 2003.
File:US_Navy_030209-N-5319A-005_Seabees_of_Naval_Mobile_Construction_Battalion_Seventy-Four_(NMCB-74)_have_only_ten_minutes_to_dig.jpg|US Navy Seabees digging 'hasty scrapes', 2003.
File:US Navy 030209-N-5319A-006 Construction Electrician 3rd Class Justin Vizcarrondo assigned to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion Seventy-Four (NMCB-74) uses an entrenching tool to dig a hasty scrape.jpg|US Navy Seabees near completed fighting position, 2003.
File:US Navy 101104-N-8816D-008 Chief Steelworker Corey Mead, assigned to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 133, digs a fighting position during training.jpg|US Navy Seabees constructing a defensive machine gun position during training, 2010.
File:US Navy 081104-N-7367K-011 Seabees assigned to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 1 keep guard the protective lines from a fighting position at forward operating base zero.jpg|US Navy Seabees with a completed defensive machine gun position during training, 2008.
File:US Navy 101017-N-4440L-022 Equipment Operator Constructionman Travis Love, assigned to the air detail of Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB).jpg|US Navy Seabees completed defensive machine gun position during training with camouflage netting and timber supports, 2010.
</gallery>