The corporal places himself in front of the squad, if not already there. Moving at a run, the men place themselves abreast of the corporal at half-pace intervals. Nos. 1 and 2 on his right, Nos. 3 and 4 on his left, rear-rank men on the right of their file leaders, extra men on the left of No. 4; all then conform to the corporal's gait.
There is a rule of thumb that must be remembered. The rear-rank man is always on the right of his file leader.
A common error is for beginners to execute the movement at a slow trot which a run is required.
When the squad is acting alone, skirmish line is similarly formed on No. 2 of the front rank, who stands fast or continues the march, as the case may be; the corporal places himself in front of the squad when advancing and in rear when halted.
When deployed as skirmishers, the men march at ease, pieces at the trail unless otherwise ordered.
The corporal is the guide when in the line; otherwise No. 2 front rank is the guide. The guide is center.
The normal interval between skirmishers is one-half pace, resulting practically in one man per yard of front. The front of a squad thus deployed as skirmishers is about 10 paces.
SQUAD DEPLOYED ON CORPORAL
THIS IS THE WAY IT IS DONE" />
SQUAD DEPLOYED ON CORPORAL