Military lingo chalk serial#

Vehicles travel about 100 meters apart at speeds greater than 25mph. The open column formation is the most common.Convoy and police commanders can coordinate with one another to decide how police vehicles should position themselves relative to other vehicles.ĭepending on the environment and the mission, convoys travel in one of a few different formations. Local police are, of course, not in the military chain of command, but when they're present, they become a functional element of the convoy. Whenever possible, convoy commanders should request civilian police escorts through major intersections, densely populated cities, confusing streets and other tactically sensitive areas.He also oversees maintenance and repair operations and collects navigational markers left by preceding elements.

The trail officer is responsible for all of them and for communicating with the convoy commander about any problems that arise. Such vehicles can include ambulances, fuel trucks and wreckers. A convoy's trail is a small group of support vehicles that bring up the rear of the organizational element.

Military lingo chalk serial#

The main body of a column, serial or march unit consists of all the vehicles except for the head and trail vehicles.The pacesetter rides in the head vehicle and is responsible for adjusting the element's speed and route so as to adhere to the schedule and to keep up with the rest of the convoy. The head vehicle is the first vehicle in each column, serial or march unit, referred to as the column head, serial head or unit head, respectively.Each vehicle in the convoy falls into one of four such categories. Functional ElementsĪ convoy's functional elements classify its vehicles and personnel according to their purpose and role in the mission. Each serial is overseen by a serial commander.Ī march column is a group of 2-5 serials and represents a battalion or brigade-sized element. This is an important distinction because large convoys may be composed of several distinct “mini-convoys,” and different parts of the convoy may take different routes or stagger their travel for tactical purposes. The serial consists of all the march units which are moving from the same point of origin to the same destination via the same route at the same time. Each march unit is overseen by a march unit commander.Ī serial is a group of march units, generally no more than five. Exceptionally large convoys may have larger march units.

The smallest organizational element is the march unit, which typically consists of 2-20 vehicles. A convoy commander supervises the convoy as a whole and has operational authority over all personnel in it. All convoys, regardless of size or mission, have the same three organizational elements. The organizational elements of a convoy group vehicles by reference to a clear chain of command so that each element can communicate effectively and coordinate actions quickly. Each consists of several other categories of unit or vehicle types. There are two broad categories of convoy elements: organizational and functional elements. If you've been in the military for at least a few months, then you know (or at least suspect) that a convoy is more logistically complex than it seems to a casual observer. Shop Military Gear Elements of a Military Convoy