Patrolling is an integral part to military tactics. It is the downfall of many armies, and this guide shall look at the process of patrolling in quite some depth.

OVERVIEW

Patrolling was a crucial part of the warfare in most wars from World War II onwards. The Long Range Desert Group (LRDG) was a predecessor to the patrolling done by the Special Air Service (SAS), Delta Force, and SEALs as part of the 'scud-busters' of Desert Shield. All of which employed good patrolling skills to infiltrate and act on enemy soil.

"Patrolling is the basis of success. It not only gives the eyes to the side that excels at and blinds its opponents, but through it the soldier learns to move confidently in the element in which he works."
-Field Marshal Lord Slim, Defeat into Victory

AIMS

Although the specifics and layout of the patrol has changed and can change dramatically, they always act under a specific aim. More often that not that aim will fall into one of three categories:

1. Reconnaissance (Recon) (Terrain, enemy, weather, etc)
2. To dominate or maintain territory
3. To destroy or disrupt the enemy

Case Study:

SAS in the Gulf

'To create diversions ahead of the main attack, destroying Iraqi communications facilities and tracking down the mobile Scud missile launchers'

This falls largely into the third category, with a heavy influence of the first.

TYPES

Although there are many types of patrols, as each is customised to the job at hand, they can be categorised into the following four groups:

Fighting - The most heavily armed and usually the largest of the four groups, using 16 men, including a command element. Largely used to carry out raids and capture prisoners; prevent enemy recon and the increase of enemy dominance through ambushing and aggressiveness; disruption of enemy work parties; anti-personnel and anti-armour ambushes

Escort - The most rare kind of patrolling used to infiltrate specialists to perform a task that a normal unit couldn't. The patrol set-up is reliant on the tactical situation and is rarely the same.

Recce - Usually a 4-man patrol is heavily reliant on stealth and good, well-practised drills to gather intelligence on the enemy. They consist of a very good communications element for the rapid transmission of intelligence. They travel light, allowing for more silent movement, less fatigue and additional alertness. The weapons carried must be small and light yet extremely effective allowing for greater than proportional firepower. Usually tasked with locating the enemy and detailing their surroundings, equipment and defences.

Standing - Quite often the smallest patrol, ranging from 2 to 8 men, 4 being the average choice. They tend to be tasked with manning observation posts. They are heavily armed; yet work on a stealth basis; utilising force multipliers like the M18A1 Claymore anti-personnel mine and the M203 40mm grenade launcher. Their communications element is very well equipped and can supply forward fire control.

PLANNING

"War is a competition of incompetence - the least incompetent usually win."
- General Tiger - After losing Bangladesh

The SAS use an acronym that goes as follows, the 7 Ps. "Proper Planning and Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance." This is a way of life for many people, military and civilian alike, and they usually end up better off than their disorganised colleagues.

Patrols will never go off without a hitch, but they can be made smoother through extensive planning and practise. 'Actions on' details must be issued to the patrol members so that they know exactly what will happen and what to do in the reaction to a certain event, say a contact from the right flank. To ensure this knowledge is concreted into the mind of the soldier, the commander should regularly engage the patrol, then the individual, by posing questions, expecting answers, not allowing faults to occur.

The other job a commander will have to consider is every eventuality, every possible snag, and one that is usually overlooked, what the patrol should get when they return, namely sleep, dry clothes, hot drinks and food. This final item is a morale-raiser, and will lead to greater efficiency on later patrols.

Patrols should consist of healthy men, if possible, weed out those men with coughs, colds and other physical reliability is subject to debate. It is important, seems you shall be working in a small team, in close proximity to the enemy, that you are not compromised by a cough, or one of your members causes the patrol to slow down during a 'hot extraction'.

The armament and equipment the patrol carries will always depend on the task it will follow, but commanders and soldiers alike must resist the urge to pack less for the least weight. Patrolling can lead to many scenarios where an extended lay-up is needed. Fighting patrols need a selection of automatic weaponry to lay down fire thick and fast. Gone are the days when you needed to carry a heavy 7.62mm General Purpose Machine Gun (GMPG - 'gimpy'), the current trend leans towards light support weapons, such as the 5.56mm L86A2 (SA80A2 Light Support Weapon) allowing the patrol to carry more ammunition, leading to a greater ability to sustain a fire fight. 7.62 mm and greater calibres are more suited to open terrain, offering a longer range than their 5.56mm counter-parts, so the terrain may balance out the need for extra weight, a very good reason to get the lay of the land sussed before leaving. The following list shows items that you may or may not be issued with but are useful for patrolling:

· Telescopic sights/Individual weapon sights, or similar;
· Compass with luminous dial;
· Watch with concealable, luminous face;
· Binoculars;
· Shaded torch;
· Medical kit;
· Light nylon rope plus toggle ropes;
· Wire cutters;
· Masking tape;
· Thick writing paper and a soft black pencil or white plastic tablet and chinagraph pencil;
· Image intensifier or any other night-fighting kit available.

Reconnaissance should be conducted with separate routes in and out of the target area. The journey should be broken down into 'legs' of kilometres, at which point, the magnetic bearing and exact distance should be given to the next 'leg'. All these distances should be converted back into paces; after all, you will not be able to give an accurate measure when on the ground. It is quite important that while patrolling, one man counts the paces, the other double-checking that number, these should ideally go to the two people directly behind the navigator. Every leg show end with a visible feature that will be identifiable at night, avoiding the obvious ones that make easy targets to a switched-on enemy. Each leg should also have an Emergency Rendezvous (ERV).

A route card can be made by noting the distance and bearing of each leg onto a piece of transparent plastic with a chinagraph pencil, this can then be tied around you neck, then during a patrol break, you can check it with a very dull light source (beta light) from underneath. To stop the compromise from captured, add or subtract a fixed number from your distances or grid references, making certain that this is known by all the patrol members. Also, ensure the compass has been exposed to daylight for as long as possible, this will 'charge' the luminous dials. The compass can also be valuable for intelligence, you must ensure that the bearing dial is not on your current direction when captured; otherwise a collation of all data may compromise an ERV.

Although the pressure can be great when out on patrol, commanders must resist all urges to give away a false grid reference so that they appear to be ahead. If you need support later on, you will be left in the deep end, the support fire landing kilometres away. Patrolling is hard work and cutting corners will only be detrimental in the long term.

Rehearsals are paramount before patrolling, an if possible, should be performed as a whole patrol over similar terrain to where you will be operating. Rehearsals will be the time to find out what equipment doesn't work or is missing, rather than in proximity to the enemy. It is ideal for a night patrol to be rehearsed both by night and day. All the following should be practised during the rehearsal:

· Order of march and individual positions in all formations to be used;
· Crossing obstacles;
· Action on entering a minefield;
· Action on a triggered booby-trap or trip-flare;
· Action on enemy contact, during infiltration and extraction;
· Action on target;
· Action at all halts and RVs including the final RV;
· Signals to be used;
· Dealing with casualties;
· Dealing with prisoners;
· Blue-on-blue (friendly fire) prevention.

If, however, you cannot get the time nor space to practise the whole patrol then it is most important to practise your actions on the objective. When giving your orders to the patrol, allow each and every member to ask any questions they wish, and throw some their way too, keep them on their toes. It is vitally important that everyone knows exactly what their role is and how to react to incidents, this is the most workable part of a patrol, without it you are nothing more than a tourist.

FINAL INSPECTIONS

There are numerous things to check before heading out on patrol, using the pneumonic WNGSCRM-K (wingscram-kay):

W = Weapon… Ensure it has been test-fired, zeroed, and that you have the right ammunition, in sufficient quantity;
N = Noise… Ensure you don't rattle or rustle while moving;
G = Grenades… Ensure you have both white phosphorous and high explosive grenades;
S = Sterile… Ensure no one is carrying material, such as papers, which could be used for intelligence if captured;
C = Camouflage… Ensure both your hands and face are properly camouflaged;
R = Radio… Ensure it has fresh batteries, is on the net, and works;
M = Medical… Ensure you are carrying field dressings and morphine, they should be located in the same pocket on every man, so they are easy to find while you are unconscious;
K = Kit… Ensure any special items of kit are working and not just taking up extra weight.

It is essential that all your items of kit, however seemingly insignificant, are easy to get to without tangling or causing too much hassle. If not it is just extra weight that could hold something more useful.

The next vital stage is to get the patrol together and ask the men what they are carrying. This is good on three-levels: it is a refresher and encourages the carrier to think about what he has; it shows the others what they may have missed or who has what; it gives you a final chance to question the choice, make sure you aren't missing something. Even the commander's kit should be checked. Everyone should ask questions to the man in the hot seat, as the commander cannot think of everything.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Combat Online

McAleese's Fighting Manual - Peter McAleese & John Avery - ISBN: 0-75280-063-9

The Complete Encyclopedia of the SAS - Barry Davies - ISBN: 1-85227-707-6