What do you do?
Solution
The Director: “Lieutenant Ralston, how do you size up the situation?”
Lieutenant Ralston: “I estimate that the man is carrying a message from his patrol leader to the commander of the Red forces. My mission is to capture him and prevent the message going back. If practicable the capture must be effected without resorting to firing. If we have to fire it will give warning to the enemy’s patrol operating toward our outpost and the patrol commander would assume that his messenger is in trouble and would send another message by another route. Furthermore, firing at this time would give the alarm to the patrols operating from the hostile outpost, and they would rush to the rescue of their comrades.”
The Director: “Tell us just how you would go about the capture of the messenger?”
Lieutenant Ralston: “I would form an ambuscade here with Davis and myself on one side of the road and Carlin on the other side about 25 yards in rear of us. When the messenger arrives at about 10 yards from us, Davis and myself will jump out into the road and order him to surrender. We will endeavor to surprise him and take him without firing a shot. If by any chance he should get by us, Carlin would be in position to intercept him.”
The Director: “Just what would you say when you order him to surrender?”
Lieutenant Ralston: “I would jump out on the side of the road, level my rifle at him and yell at him as loud as I could, ‘Drop your rifle—throw up your hands.’ If he did as ordered I would explain to him that he is now a prisoner of war and that resistance is useless. If he did not do as I told him on the instant or if he made any attempt to escape or move to fire on me I would open fire on him at once. I would take no chances with him.”
The Director: “That seems to be a reasonable solution. This is a very simple proposition and presents little difficulty. It is brought before you at this time merely to show you the procedure that makes for reasonable chances for success. The capture of several scouts or a patrol is a much more difficult undertaking.
“It is a general rule in the attempt to capture members of a patrol that the situation we desire to produce when we meet them is that they should be marching and that we should be halted. By adopting this method, we form an ambuscade.”