officer sending out a patrol should give it instructions on the
following points:

1. Information of the enemy and of friendly supporting troops.

2. The mission of the patrol. This will include the general direction in
which it is to go.

3. How long the patrol is to remain out.

4. Where messages are to be sent.

PREPARATION

Before going out the patrol commander will make a careful inspection of
the members of his patrol in order to see:

1. That the members are in a suitable condition for the duty to be
performed. (Not drunk, sick, lame, having a bad cough, etc.)

2. That each man is properly armed and has the requisite amount of
ammunition.

3. That the accoutrement is so arranged that it will not rattle or
glisten in the sunlight.

4. That no man has anything about him that will afford the enemy
valuable information in the event of capture.

At the conclusion of this inspection he will, in the presence of the
officer sending out the patrol, go over his orders, giving his men all
the information that he has of the enemy and his own troops; state the
duty (mission) of the patrol so that all may know what they are going to
accomplish, and he will follow this with a statement of his general plan
for carrying it out. He will designate an assembly point should the
patrol be dispersed. He will designate a second in command should he be
disabled.

FORMATION

[Illustration: SUGGESTED FORMATIONS FOR PATROLS]

It is impossible to lay down any hard-and-fast rule governing the
formation and conduct of the operations of a patrol. Each situation will
have to be worked out by itself. The patrol should assume the general
formation of a column of troops on the march; that is, it will have an
advance guard, a main body, flankers and a rear guard. These several
elements may each be represented by only one man.

CONDUCT OF THE PATROL

In communicating with each other for ordinary purposes the members of
the patrol use signals agreed upon before the start. For this purpose
each man must constantly keep within sight and hearing distance of the
leader. A patrol moves cautiously, taking advantage of all available
cover, seeking in every way to see without being seen. It halts
frequently to listen and make careful observations of its surroundings.
Except at night a patrol should not move on roads. Villages and
inhabited places should not as a rule be entered. During the daytime it
seeks high ground from