During the course of the Vietnam War, the Marine Corps varied the number and composition of members on the team. The most common, however, was the 7-man team composed of a point man, patrol leader, radio operator, Corpsman, secondary radioman, assistant patrol leader, and tail man. These positions are listed in the normal order of march. The team walked single file, with each member staying about 10 yards apart from the person in front and the person in back of him. This was necessary to minimize the damage enemy land mines or “booby traps” might cause if a team member accidentally set one off. The distance would reduce the likelihood that a second team member would be seriously injured or killed. Nevertheless, each team member, kept the man in front of and behind him in view. This was important because a team member would not want to get separated from the rest of the team. In addition, team members communicated with each other with hand signals so they would not give away their position by talking. An officer or a noncommissioned officer served as a team leader. The team leader typically had a lot of experience from past patrols. The point man always went first. The team leader didn’t walk point, because the point man would be the one most likely to encounter the enemy first and had the greatest risk of being shot. It was important that the team leader be able to direct the team if contact was made with the enemy. The team leader walked in the second position. This put him in view of the point position and close to his primary radioman. The functions of the Corpsman and primary radioman were discussed above. The assistant team leader and secondary radioman served as back-ups to the primary positions and as additional riflemen if the team encountered trouble. The most important function performed by the man in the rear was to look for signs of being followed. A really good rear guard could almost walk backwards the whole patrol.
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