By nomad — 25 Aug 2025

Training - Convoy Diamond Formation

The recommendation to include the diamond formation in the convoy training course for a civilian guerrilla context with 2-6 vehicles is based on its tactical advantages, adaptability to small teams, and alignment with guerrilla principles of flexibility and survival. Below is the reasoning for suggesting the diamond formation.

Tactical Advantage for Small Convoys

All-Around Security: The diamond formation positions vehicles to cover all directions (front, rear, left, right), which is critical for a small team of 4-12 members with limited manpower to monitor threats. For example, with 4 vehicles, one leads, one trails, and two take flank positions, ensuring 360-degree observation and response capability.
Compact Yet Flexible: For 2-6 vehicles, the diamond is compact enough to maintain communication and cohesion (vital in open terrain, as noted earlier) but allows enough spacing to avoid clustering, reducing vulnerability to area attacks like IEDs or ambushes.
Adaptability: The diamond can transition to other formations (e.g., column or staggered) based on terrain or threat, making it versatile for a guerrilla force navigating varied environments (e.g., open plains to dense urban areas).

Suitability for Guerilla Context

Limited Resources: Unlike military convoys with dedicated gun trucks or air support, a guerrilla convoy relies on civilian vehicles with minimal armament. The diamond formation maximizes the use of limited firepower by positioning vehicles to support each other, such as using passenger weapons (e.g., rifles, improvised explosives) to cover multiple angles.
Evasion and Maneuverability: Guerrilla operations prioritize avoiding prolonged engagements. The diamond allows vehicles to scatter or maneuver independently if ambushed, supporting the “disperse in dense environments” principle while maintaining a loose structure for quick regrouping.
Low Profile: The diamond can blend into civilian traffic patterns better than rigid military formations (e.g., strict column), helping the convoy avoid drawing attention as a military target.

Practicality for 2-6 Vehicles

Scalability: The diamond works with as few as 3-4 vehicles (one lead, one rear, one or two flanks) and can scale to 6 by adding additional flank or support vehicles. For 2 vehicles, it’s less applicable, but the principle of mutual support still informs positioning (e.g., lead and trail with offset angles).
Terrain Adaptation: In open areas, the diamond maintains tight spacing (20-50 meters) for cohesion and rapid response, as recommended earlier. In dense terrain, it allows wider dispersal (50-100 meters) to exploit cover while keeping a structured formation.
Role Distribution: With 4-12 members, roles like commander, driver, and shooter can be distributed across vehicles in a diamond, ensuring no single vehicle is a critical point of failure. For example, the lead vehicle navigates, flanks provide security, and the rear covers retreat routes.

Alignment with Military Doctrine, Adapted

Military Basis: The diamond formation is used in military convoy operations (e.g., U.S. Army FM 4-01, “Army Transportation Operations”) for its balance of security and flexibility, especially in high-threat environments. It’s effective against ambushes, a key concern for guerrilla convoys.
Guerrilla Modification: Military diamond formations often assume armored vehicles or heavy weapons, which guerrillas lack. The recommendation adapts this by emphasizing speed, concealment, and improvised tactics (e.g., using terrain or civilian guise) over firepower. For instance, a guerrilla diamond might use a pickup truck with a shooter in the bed as a “flank” vehicle instead of a military gun truck.

Threat Response Efficiency

Ambush Response: In a near ambush (as outlined in the battle drills), the diamond allows the lead vehicle to push through, flanks to suppress or flank enemies, and the rear to cover retreat, maximizing the small team’s ability to react without heavy weapons.
Roadblock Navigation: The diamond’s spread-out nature helps detect roadblocks early (lead vehicle scouts) and allows flank vehicles to bypass or engage, supporting the “react to roadblock” drill.
Breakdown Scenarios: If a vehicle is disabled (per the breakdown drill), the diamond’s structure ensures other vehicles can form a protective perimeter around it, critical for a small force with no external support.

Historical and Practical Precedent

Guerrilla and irregular forces (e.g., WWII resistance groups, modern insurgencies) often use loose, flexible formations like the diamond to maintain mobility and mutual support while avoiding detection. The diamond’s simplicity makes it teachable to minimally trained civilians, a key consideration for the course.

In summary, the diamond formation is suggested because it balances security, flexibility, and adaptability for a small guerrilla convoy, aligning with the course’s focus on survival, evasion, and resource constraints. It leverages military tactics but adjusts for civilian vehicles, limited manpower, and the need to blend into non-military contexts.