What Does the Term Patrol Mean?

The definition of the term patrol is: The act of moving about an area by an authorized and trained person or group of people for purposes of observation, inspection, or security. This term applies to more than just the military. It can apply to law enforcement, army, navy, air force, marine corps, coast guard, or any other organization that meets the criteria.
A patrol also refers to the individuals who actually perform the action of conducting the patrol. During the patrol the person or persons performing the operation will generally follow a prescribed route any look for signs of activity along that route.
In the military there are two basic types of patrol. They are 1) The Reconnaissance Patrol, and 2) The Combat Patrol. The purpose of both these patrols is to gain information.
During the combat patrol the patrolling unit wants to provoke the eneny in the area to try to kill them. This alerts the commander to the size, location, and types of weapons systems that the enemy has. It will also show him how they plan to use them to fight the battle.
During the reconnaissance patrol the unit will gather as much information as they can about the enemy while seeking to avoid detection. They will look at a specified area for a specified period of time and report whatever they see using a prescribed SALUTE format.
S= The size of the unit which was observed
A= The activity that they were engaged in, eating, sleeping, preparing to fight, etc.
L= Location or exactly where were they. One thing that I realized when I was in the Army was that once you identified a unit and the type of unit that it was you could accurately pinpoint other units in the area. The reason for this is because military units must do things in a prescribed order to eliminate confusion.
U= Unit or what type of unit was it that the patrol spotted. Was it a resupply unit?, a medical unit, fuel transporter etc,.
T= Time that the unit was seen. This is critical because units may or may not be in that area for long. This helps the commander to plan his course of action, whether it be attack or defense.
E= Equipment that the unit has Is it old or new? Is it operational or ragged? What type of equipment is it?
These answers will help to determine how, where, when, and how to fight and defeat the enemy force. This type of intelligence is the major reason for the swift defeat of Saddam's army during Operation Desert Storm. Our planners knew where every unit was located because thet did not change their positions during the entire build up phase of the operation. Templates were used to estimate the distance between units on the ground. When one type of unit was identified we knew exactly where other types of units were located because we knew how the Iraqi Army typically arrayed itself for battle. A custom Operation Desert Storm ring can help to tell other stories of why we were so successful during this conflict.