Training - Convoys: Formations

Convoy formations organize vehicles (2-6 vehicles, 4-12 members in a guerrilla context) to maintain security, communication, and mobility in high-risk environments.

They prioritize speed, mutual support, and evasion, tailored to the limitations of civilian vehicles and small teams. Common formations include column, staggered, and diamond, each designed to balance visibility, firepower, and maneuverability.

Comparison to Dismounted Patrol Formations

Similarities

Both convoy and dismounted patrol formations aim to maximize security, maintain command and control, and adapt to threats. For example, both use formations like the column (single file for narrow paths) or wedge (diamond-like for all-around security). Both prioritize spacing to avoid clustered targets and ensure flexibility in responding to ambushes or obstacles.

Differences

• Mobility: Convoy formations rely on vehicles, emphasizing speed and road-bound movement, while dismounted patrols are slower but can navigate varied terrain (e.g., forests, urban alleys) more freely.
• Scale: Convoy formations involve fewer units (vehicles vs. individual soldiers), requiring simpler structures to coordinate limited manpower. Dismounted patrols often have more personnel, allowing complex formations like the V or echelon.
• Threat Response: Convoys focus on evasion or rapid transit through danger zones due to limited firepower, while dismounted patrols may engage directly, using cover and maneuver tactics.
• Communication: Convoys use radios, hand signals, or vehicle-based signals (e.g., lights), while dismounted patrols rely heavily on hand signals or verbal commands due to closer proximity.

Suitable Formations

• Column: Vehicles in a single file, ideal for narrow roads or trails. It simplifies navigation but offers limited security, suitable for low-threat or confined areas.
  
  Easy to control with 2-6 vehicles, supports stealth in guerrilla contexts, but vulnerable to ambushes due to linear arrangement.
• Staggered: Vehicles offset alternately left and right in a loose column, balancing security and road usage. Good for open roads with moderate threat levels.
  
  Enhances visibility and firing angles for small teams, allowing quick response to threats while maintaining a low profile.
• Diamond: Vehicles form a diamond shape (lead, rear, two flanks), providing 360-degree security. Best for open terrain or high-threat areas.
  
  Maximizes mutual support for small convoys, aligns with guerrilla needs for all-around observation and rapid dispersal (as explained previously).

Unsuitable Formations

• Wedge/V-Formation: Common in dismounted patrols for forward-facing firepower, but impractical for convoys due to road constraints and limited vehicles (2-6). It’s hard to maintain on narrow paths and exposes flanks.
  
  Requires more vehicles or wider terrain than a guerrilla convoy can manage, reducing stealth and cohesion.
• Echelon (Left/Right): Used in dismounted patrols to orient firepower to one flank, but unsuitable for convoys as it misaligns vehicles on roads and limits all-around security.
  
  Small convoys can’t afford to prioritize one direction, and echelon disrupts civilian-like appearance, drawing attention.
• Box: A tight, square formation for dismounted patrols to protect a central element, but infeasible for convoys due to road width and vehicle maneuverability.
  
  Impractical for 2-6 vehicles, increases vulnerability to area attacks (e.g., IEDs), and hinders rapid movement.

Dispersion

Maintaining 50-100 meters between vehicles in a guerrilla convoy balances safety and coordination:

• Reduces Target Clustering: Spacing prevents multiple vehicles from being hit by a single attack (e.g., RPG, IED), critical for small teams with limited replacements.
• Enhances Maneuverability: Allows vehicles to evade, bypass, or scatter during ambushes (e.g., “react to ambush” drill), especially in dense terrain where obstacles are common.
• Maintains Communication: Keeps vehicles within visual or radio range (e.g., for hand signals or short-range radios), ensuring the convoy stays cohesive despite limited manpower.
• Guerrilla Context: Unlike military convoys with tighter spacing (20-50 meters for armored vehicles), guerrillas use wider dispersion to exploit terrain for concealment and reduce detection, aligning with the low-profile principle.

Adapting to Terrain

Adapting convoy formations to terrain is critical for guerrilla operations, as terrain shapes visibility, mobility, and threat exposure. The course recommends tight formations in open areas and dispersed formations in dense environments.

Open Areas (e.g. plains, highways)

• Formation: Tight column or diamond (20-50 meters spacing).
• Reasoning: Open terrain exposes the convoy to long-range threats (e.g., snipers, drones). Tight formations ensure quick communication (e.g., via hand signals), rapid transit through danger zones, and mutual support for limited firepower. For example, a diamond formation allows flank vehicles to cover all directions while moving quickly to escape observation.
• Guerrilla Twist: Tight spacing helps the convoy blend as a civilian group (e.g., a cluster of local vehicles), reducing suspicion while enabling rapid response to threats like pursuits.

Dense Environments (e.g. urban, forested, mountainous)

• Formation: Dispersed staggered or diamond (50-100 meters or more, terrain permitting).
• Reasoning: Dense terrain offers concealment but increases risks of close-range ambushes or roadblocks. Wider dispersion reduces the chance of multiple vehicles being trapped (e.g., by a single explosive) and allows individual vehicles to navigate obstacles or take cover (e.g., behind buildings). It supports guerrilla tactics like scattering to rally points during an ambush.
• Guerrilla Twist: Dispersion leverages terrain for stealth, allowing vehicles to blend with civilian traffic or hide in foliage, aligning with the course’s emphasis on evasion and low profile.

Terrain Analysis Integration

Before selecting a formation, analyze terrain for chokepoints (e.g., narrow streets), cover (e.g., tree lines), and escape routes. For example, in a city, a staggered formation with 75-meter spacing allows vehicles to use alleys for bypasses, while in open fields, a tight diamond minimizes exposure time.

This approach ensures convoy formations are practical for small guerrilla teams, leveraging terrain to enhance survival and mobility while avoiding complex formations unsuitable for limited vehicles and resources.