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
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 which it can scan the country and at night it seeks a position from which the sky line can be observed.
ENCOUNTERING THE ENEMY
If a small hostile patrol is encountered it is generally better to remain in concealment and let it pass than to attack. The noise of a fight may be heard by the enemy, the presence of the patrol therefore indicated, and the enemy will take further precautions to oppose its operations. If the patrol is suddenly attacked or surprised by a superior force, the patrol should at once scatter in all directions and the members make their way back to the last place designated as a meeting place and then after reuniting continue the reconnaissance. When a patrol fights it does so resolutely. Courage and coolness may bring about success when adverse conditions are encountered.