“The military text-books usually tell you that a visiting patrol consists of a non-commissioned officer and two or three men that make the rounds along the outpost line of observation at night. That is about all. It is assumed that the subject is so simple that you just naturally know it and there is nothing further to be explained. Such is not the case and before we have completed this exercise we will demonstrate it to you. Another good test of the proposition is this: Take your non-commissioned officers out on a Terrain Exercise and give them the situations that we will have today. See how many of them get away with it. I am sure you will be surprised at the results, especially with the men who have had no previous preparation for the exercise.”
Solution
The Director: “Lieutenant Williams, what is a visiting patrol?”
Lieutenant Williams: “It is a patrol consisting of a non-commissioned officer and two or three men. It is sent out from the support at intervals during the night to keep up communication between the elements of the outpost.”
The Director: “Captain Hastings, tell us just how the visiting patrol makes its rounds.”
Captain Hastings: “Let us say that the patrol is to start out from our support No. 2, which is located at this point. The patrol will go out to the right and touch upon the left outguard of Support No. 1; then pass along our own line of observation to the right outguard of Support No. 3 and then come back here.”
The Director: “Yes, that is the general procedure. The details of how the patrol is to do all of this is what we are interested in and that is what will be brought out in this Terrain Exercise. Lieutenant Wallace, what do you understand to be the specific duties of a visiting patrol?”
Lieutenant Wallace: “Included in the duties of visiting patrols may be enumerated:
“1. They bring back information of incidents that may occur along the line of observation and form a medium of exchange of information between the various elements of the outpost.
“2. In a measure, they prevent the unobserved approach of the enemy between sentinel posts. When the enemy is very active there is constant patrolling between the observation posts.