Infantry Drills

B-30: Orienting Forces



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B-30. A standard means of orienting friendly forces is to assign a principal direction of fire (PDF), using a TRP, to orient each element on a probable enemy position or likely avenue of approach. To provide all-around security, the SOP can supplement the PDF with sectors using a friendly-based quadrant. The following example SOP elements illustrate the use of these techniques:

  • The center (front) squad’s PDF is TRP 2 (center) until otherwise specified; the squad is responsible for the front two quadrants.
  • The left flank squad’s PDF is TRP 1 (left) until otherwise specified; the squad is responsible for the left two friendly quadrants (overlapping with the center squad).
  • The right flank squad’s PDF is TRP 3 (right) until otherwise specified; the squad is responsible for the right two friendly quadrants (overlapping with the center squad).

Next: B-31: Avoiding Fratricide and Friendly Fire

Go Back To: U.S. Army FM 3-21.8: The Infantry Rifle Platoon and Squad