[RERomine]

I'll start with the easy part. Scouts and scout/recon vehicles have no special ability that allows them to see enemy units any better or faster than any other similar type unit. The names given to them are more associated with their roles than anything special, i.e., jeep and scout jeep are the same thing and spot the same way.

Now on to how to use them or more specifically, how I use them. Others might do things differently. If the battle is long enough, you can send out infantry scouts in advance of your forces. Since they are size 0 and infantry squads are size 1, they will more often than not spot the enemy before getting spotted. You can't move the scouts up too fast, however. Move at least one hex less than their maximum speed. Anything moving fast gets spotted easier.

If the battle is relatively short, 20 turns or less, I use my infantry scouts to cover flanks or areas where I don't have many units. I use a typically use a 100x100 map so 20 turns is short for that size, IMHO. Should you see the enemy moving where you don't have troops, you can shift in reserves, gunships, what have you or just let them go past. Depends on what might be in your rear area you don't want them to get to.

With scout/recon vehicles, mine get popped, too. They are just a quick way to find out if the path is clear before more important stuff gets there. Being smaller in size than a tank, they might just survive and you just retreat them out. They did what they were supposed to do, find the enemy.

In campaigns, I usually take scouts out of support points since they do get clobbered a lot. If you do have them in your core and they get more experience, they will spot better, but that applies to any unit.