So, you ask, just what is a “Patrol Base” (PB)? A fair question if you’ve never had the opportunity to learn patrolling in the military. A patrol base is basically just a position that your party will occupy when you cannot move or need to stop for an extended period of time that is not protected by friends or “soldiers of the same side”. Moving through an unknown area is not an easy thing to do, especially with family or friends in tow that might not be in the best physical shape possible. So, it stands to reason that you may have to find a place to “hole up” for a bit to rest and recuperate without discovery. (You can get this same information from most military FM’s. If you’re the academic type, look up FM 7-7. It has about the best information available in the modern military library.)

    Now that you have a general understanding of what a PB is, let’s get into some specifics: The first thing you should understand is that you should plan to have one or more patrol bases as an integral part of your “Get Out Of Dodge” (GOOD) strategy. The time a patrol base may be occupied depends on the need for secrecy. It should not, however, be occupied for more than 24 hours except in an emergency. Remember, a patrol base is occupied only as long as necessary for its purpose. Here’s something else: Do not, under any circumstances, use the same patrol base more than once. Doing so is only asking for trouble!

Here are a few examples of when you might establish a PB when engaged in GOOD:

If you have a need to:

          1. stop all movement to avoid detection
          2. hide your group so that a during a long, detailed reconnaissance your objective area
              can be made
          3. eat, clean weapons and equipment, and rest
          4. plan to overcome unanticipated or surprise encounters and issue instructions on how
              to do it
          5. reorganize after you’ve moved through an unfriendly area
          6. to have a base from which to conduct several consecutive or concurrent operations

    So, now that we’ve gone over what a PB is used for, how do we select one? Well, quite simply, a PB site is usually picked from a map or aerial reconnaissance photo (if available to you) during GOOD planning. Remember though, any patrol base site you picked by map or aerial photo is tentative. You have to confirm its suitability, and then, once you arrive, you must secure it before you occupy it. That means real-world reconnaissance when you get within close proximity of your selected site. After all, how will you know someone else hasn’t picked the same spot and arrived before you, and if so, is going to be willing to share the PB, or is “friendly” at all?

    Because of these reasons, your plans to establish a patrol base must include selection of an alternate PB site. You’ll use the alternate site is used if the initial site is unsuitable, occupied by others, or if your group is required unexpectedly to evacuate your initial PB. If you can, it’s usually best to reconnoiter the alternate site and keep it under watch until occupied or until you move on and no longer need it. There’s also another advantage of having an alternate site: If you run into trouble and have to break contact, you can’t go back to your previously occupied PB because you may have been followed and a nasty surprise could be waiting for you. However, you can go to your alternate site, especially if you’ve reconnoitered and know it’s unoccupied.

    Here’s a few other considerations for you to think about: First, you must locate your PB so that it allows you to meet your overall objective of moving your group out of the “hot zone” and into a friendly area you can recover from whatever upheaval you’ve chosen to leave.

Things to Do:

         1. Choose terrain that looks to be of little value tactically or strategically to a potential
              adversary.
         2. Choose difficult terrain which would impede foot movement
         3. Choose an area of dense vegetation, preferably bushes and trees that spread close to               the ground
         4. If at all possible, choose an area near a source of water
         5. Look for close-by positions that you can put someone on OP (Observation Post) duty
              to give warning when anyone approaches.
         6. Make sure you can communicate with the OP either visually (hand signals or radios)
         7. If for some reason, someone discovers you and they have ill-intent, meaning they
              attack you, that you can defend the site.
         8. Make sure there’s a “back way” out of the PB so you can disengage under pressure
              without discovery.
         9. Hopefully, your PB will alow the conduct your necessary activities with minimum
              movement and noise.
       10. Make sure you avoid known or suspected concentrations of “unfriendly” positions like
              built-up areas, ridges and hilltops, except as necessary for maintaining
              communications, roads, trails, wet areas, steep slopes; and small valleys.

    Ok, now we’re ready to occupy our PB! Remember, before moving into a PB, the area is reconnoitered and secured (that means someone is covering the area approaches by field of fire (capability, not actual shooting!). Once secured, move your group to the selected site, deploy into it quietly and quickly establishing a perimeter defense (suggest using the clock system).

Here’s the “text book” example of how to occupy a PB:

The Initial Approach: Stop around 200 meters of the tentative PB site. Security is posted (hopefully, you’re not the only one armed in your group). You and at least one other person move forward to reconnoiter the site.

    Remember, you don’t leave anything to chance! You must designate withdrawal routes and a rally point outside the PB (could be your alternate PB site) for use in case your group is forced to move unexpectedly. When you put your OP’s out, make sure you establish some sort of communications between you and they! The communications link between you and them will provide them a measure of comfort as well as give you a few minutes warning should you get hit with a not-so-nice surprise.

    Let’s move on to things you need to do in your PB. The first thing is to set up PB security. It is your first priority! Only one point of entry and exit is used. This point is camouflaged and guarded/covered at all times! Only necessary movement should be permitted, both inside and outside the patrol base. Any noisy work, such as cutting branches, is done only at set times. Such work is done as soon as possible after occupation but never at night or in the quiet periods of early morning and late evening. Noisy work should be done when other noise (sounds of aircraft, train whistles, heavy vehicle traffic, etc) will cover it.

    Twice a day, for as long as you’re in your PB, a “stand-to” (nobody is asleep and everyone has their weapon ready and watches outside the perimeter, listening for movement or other indicators that you’ve been compromised) is held to insure that every person adjusts to the changing light and noise conditions, and is dressed, equipped, and ready for action, because if you do have a problem, chances are you won’t have very much time at all to prepare! Remember, a good “stand to” starts before first light in the morning and continue until after light. It should start before dark in the evening and last until dark. Vary your starting and ending times to prevent establishing a pattern, but the stand-to must last long enough to accomplish its purpose. You can start the “stand to” with a hand signal, a whisper to the person next to you; anything that is quiet, but gets the attention of your group. One at a time is fine, too, as long as the word goes around in a reasonably short period of time.

Defense: So what happens if you have to defend your PB? Well, you do want to do some planning, but remember that a PB is usually only defended when evacuation is not possible. Complete fighting positions are not built. Hasty ones are improvised. Look at the micro-terrain in selection. Depressions in the ground supplemented by dead-fall will work, etc. Camouflage and concealment are not only encouraged, but the best passive-defense measure you can employ!

You should have a rudimentary fire plan – that is, and assignment of fields of fire for those who have weapons. You can also deploy early warning devices such as a trip-wire tied to a small can with some pebbles in it. Use your imagination, just make sure the devices you come up with are easily set up and taken down, provide some sort of audible alert, and cover obvious avenues of approach. Something else: when you get to your PB and have occupied, analyze where you are and what’s around you. If you think there’s a good chance your PB can be discovered and the discoverer’s might want to do you harm, it’s best to go reconnoiter your alternate PB and, if it’s better, abandon the current PB and move to the second. Remember, this is your life and your groups lives were talking about here!

If, for some reason, you’re forced to leave your PB, have your group leave in the smallest element possible: by one’s or two’s; three’s at the absolute most! The smaller the element, the harder it is to detect! Then, you should have given everyone information on how to get to either a Rally Point Enroute (RPE) or your alternate PB. Everyone needs to know where to go to!

Communications: Well, there’s an old military axiom on communications: “If you ain’t got comm….you ain’t got jaaaaackkkk!” It’s pretty much true. Today, FRS/GMRS radios are in everyone’s financial reach, and you should have at least one for each adult member of your group along with a throat mic. There’s no getting around the fact that radios are a good means of communication, but they must be closely controlled because the vulnerability of having your transmissions not only monitored, but your location pin-pointed through “Radio Direction Finding” (DF’d for short). You can use tug or pull lines for signaling within the PB. They are quiet and reduce radio traffic. Just make sure you develop some sort of protocol for what the tugs mean!

Other PB activities:

         1. Weapons maintenance: If you are in nasty weather, or have been, and your weapons
              need cleaning or other maintenance, do not do it all at the same time! Only one
              weapon down at a time, please, and no detailed disassembly! Wipe it down, patch the
              barrel, check your mags, and be done with it!
         2. Sanitation and Personal Hygiene: In daylight, catholes outside the perimeter are used.
              The user must be guarded. That means two people move super quiet every time
              someone has to void or eliminate. At night, catholes must be inside the perimeter.
              Everyone should wash and brush their teeth on a regular basis. Trash is buried in a
              concealed site or is carried with the patrol—it is never burned!
         3. Eating: Take turns eating. No more than half of the group should eat at a time so that
              the other half are alert and ready to fight if needs be.
         4. Water: If someone is sent to get water, someone must also be sent to protect them.
              No more than two trips to the source should be made in a 24-hour period at the
              absolute most, and make sure all signs of being at the source are removed!
         5. Rest: Rest and sleep are permitted in special periods only after all work has been
              done. As in eating, take turns resting. Security must be maintained.
         6. Planning: You, as the leader, should use the time spent in your PB to continue to plan
              and prepare for the continued movement to your destination. Remember, leave
              nothing to chance!

Abandoning the PB: Before you leave the PB, the most important thing you can do is to make sure all signs of your group’s presence are removed or concealed so that your group’s presence remains secret for as long as possible and prevents pursuit until such time as it no longer is feasible to gain contact with your group.

    And that’s about it. I’m not going to kid you, I know it sounds like a lot of things to do, but it will be worth every second you spend in planning and practicing (yes, you should have your group practice this) when you get from your humble abode (that you’ve had to abandon because “the day” arrived) to your “safe area” or a friend’s house out of the affected area or wherever it is you’re going.

See you in the field.