_The Director_: “You will note that the situation indicates that the advance guard is assumed to have been marching for two hours. This would make the distance we have marched a little more than 5 miles. As a matter of fact, we have only come a few hundred yards from our starting point. You will have to draw on your imagination in this matter, disregard all things behind you, and consider only those to the front. It would consume too much time to actually go the distance assumed and it is not necessary to do so, for we are now on new terrain, which serves our purpose equally as well as if we were the full distance of 5 miles farther to the front.”
_The Director_: “What are the several elements of the advance guard, Lieutenant Williams?”
_Lieutenant Williams_: “First, we have the point, which is the small body of men farthest to the front; next, we have a connecting file between the point and the advance party; next comes the advance party, then the connecting files between the advance party and the support, and finally the support, which is right here on the road.”
_The Director_: “Captain Hastings, what is the strength and disposition of these several elements of the advance guard?”
_Captain Hastings_: “The point is composed of one complete squad commanded by a sergeant. It is in patrol formation, marching on the road with a distance of about 20 to 25 yards between each pair of men. The point precedes the advance party by a distance of about 150 to 200 yards. The connecting file between that point and advance party marches so that he can keep both of these bodies in sight. He has no fixed place where he is to march—”
_Lieutenant Wallace_ (_interrupting_): “Right there is a point that I want to bring up. I can conceive of a situation where the connecting file could not keep both bodies in sight all the time—for example, on a winding road or in hilly country. What does he do in that case?”
_The Director_: “Under those circumstances the commander of the advance party would have to send out a sufficient number of men for this duty, so as to insure communication being kept up at all times. It is simply a problem to be solved by the advance party commander. Captain Hastings, proceed with your discussion.”