Your Pro Citizen Newsletter 45 - Wedge Formation; Weekly Discount Code

In partnership with

Standard formations are a good starting point for learning and developing applicable SOPs for your team. The non-standard force will not be a direct lift from these as you and your unit may move and operate in a different manner. However, there are many fundamentals and principles from these that can be applied to your training. The advantages attributed to one of these formations may be disadvantages to another.

Knowing the advantages and applications of formations and techniques of movement is required to adjust for terrain and enemy situation (METT-TC applies as always). Each formation results in unique advantages and disadvantages. Do not be rigid in the application of these; variations and modifications should be experimented with and proven out during your training. Keep your tactics grounded in fundamental concepts and rehearse so everyone understands what they are doing - and more importantly why they are doing it. Apply some common tactical sense; it does not matter if a formation or tactic doesn’t exactly match the accepted doctrine. Ideas that are not tactically sound are not acceptable. Fire teams, squads, and platoons use several formations. Formations give the leader control, based on a METT-TC analysis. Leaders position themselves where they can best command and direct the formations, which are shown in the figure below. Typical formations are the line, vee, echelon, diamond, wedge, and file.

“The recurring theme for The Professional Citizen Project is do what works for you and your group; don’t train from a place of fear that a particular method will not be legitimate because it does not look exactly like doctrine. Remember you must still have a foundational understanding of doctrine in order to violate it in a tactically sound manner”. - Jack Morris

The Wedge or Fire Team Wedge

The interval between individuals in the wedge formation is approximately 10 meters but the wedge expands and contracts depending on the terrain and the movement technique at any given time. This fundamental practice applies to all the formations a patrol uses. Patrols modify the formation when rough terrain, poor visibility, or other factors make control difficult. The normal interval is reduced so all team members still can see their team leader and all team leaders still can see their squad or patrol leader. For example, the sides of the wedge can contract to the point where the wedge resembles a single file as you move through dense vegetation. Team members expand or resume their original positions when moving in less rugged terrain where control is easier.

In the wedge formation the fire team leader is in the lead position with his team members echeloned to the right and left behind him. The positions for all but the leader may vary. You may have MSW, designated marksman, machine gunners (things may develop to make belt feds a possibility), unmanned aerial and ground controllers (the USO), and snipers inside our non-standard formations. Placing these assets inside of formations is the responsibility of the leader, he will adjust location of enablers based on METT-TC.

All formations still permit the fire team leader to lead by example; his standing order to his team is always “Follow me and do as I do.” When he moves to the left, his team should move to the left. When he fires, his team fires. When using the lead-by-example technique, it is essential for all individuals to maintain visual contact with their leader and cue off his actions.

Combinations across echelons is used to keep things manageable on the terrain. For example, you would have fire teams in a wedge while the squad would be in column (just an example). This allows the squad leader / patrol leader to best command and control his element. Combining these with the technique of movement (more on this another time) the patrol leader maximizes his ability to maneuver his patrol.

The basics of the wedge formation are easy to practice, even without weapons and equipment. Use the “crawl, walk, run” methodology we talk about in CM-1 to learn formations. Start on a sunny day in a parking lot or open field and get used to walking while maintaining relative positions (in mounted formations this is called “station keeping”). Move the practice to open wooded areas and finally dense woods and then add in nighttime. It becomes readily apparent when your unit “gets it”. Dudes will open and close up as they adjust to the terrain and vegetation. A squad or team that has been working together a long time will flow through the woods like water without a lot of individual direction from the leadership. This takes time and a lot of practice under the varying conditions we described. Don’t get discouraged if you only have a couple of personnel, even three of you can still practice the reduced fire team wedge and get good results.

Classifieds

For Those Who Seek Unbiased News.

Be informed with 1440! Join 3.5 million readers who enjoy our daily, factual news updates. We compile insights from over 100 sources, offering a comprehensive look at politics, global events, business, and culture in just 5 minutes. Free from bias and political spin, get your news straight.

Join for free today!

Today’s Discount Code (only good ‘til midnight)

^{Use of any DoD photos does not indicate endorsement}