A rank is a line of
military personnel
Military personnel are members of the state's armed forces. Their roles, pay, and obligations differ according to their military branch (army, navy, marines, air force, space force, and coast guard), rank (officer, non-commissioned officer, or e ...
, drawn up in line abreast (i.e. standing side by side).
Usage
Commonly, you start out with a height line. Shortest person in front, all the way to the tallest person in the rear. Subsequently, when
troop/ sailors are called to 'By the right, fall in!' do so by forming in line abreast, shortest person "falling in" on the far most right of the company commander. Each person in line then follows suit, lining up to the person next to them on their right shoulder until the rank is formed, then a new column begins to the rear of the first person in column one. This is repeated until all members are in the formation. Determining their initial
position
Position often refers to:
* Position (geometry), the spatial location (rather than orientation) of an entity
* Position, a job or occupation
Position may also refer to:
Games and recreation
* Position (poker), location relative to the dealer
* ...
in relation to a marker. This may be a position on the ground or a single person placed previously to the movement. Often troops determine their spacing on the rank by extending their right arm to touch the left shoulder of the marker, or the person on that marked position, and, then starting from the right, align themselves visually to form a straight row. The alignment may then be checked by a
non-commissioned officer
A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is a military officer who has not pursued a commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted ranks. (Non-officers, which includes most or all enli ...
making observations and calling orders from the end of the rank. (The order may be given to fall in by the left as well).
[McNab, p. 55.][Schwartz, p. 9.][United States Army, p. 9.]
See also
*
File (formation)
A file is a military term for a number of troops drawn up in line ahead, i.e. one behind the other in a column. The number of files is the measure of the width of a column of troops in several ranks one behind the other.McNab, p. 55.Schwartz, p. ...
References
Bibliography
* Duparcq, Edouard Le Barre (1863). ''Elements of Military Art and History: Comprising the History and Tactics of the Separate Arms; the Combination of the Arms; and the Minor Operations of War''. D. Vand Nostrand.
* Holbrook, John (1826). ''Military Tactics: Adapted to the Different Corps in the United States, According to the Latest Improvements''. E. A. Clark.
* McNab, Chris (2007). ''Combat Techniques: An Elite Forces Guide to Modern Infantry Tactics''. Macmillan.
* Schwartz, Richard B. (2008). ''Tactical Emergency Medicine''. Williams & Wilkins.
Web sources
* {{cite web , url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/policy/army/fm/5-10/appa.pdf , title=Basic Formations, Movement Techniques, and Hand-and-Arm Signals , publisher=global.security.org , date=2001 , accessdate=15 June 2015 , author=United States Army , format=PDF
Tactical formations