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Patrols can be as large or as small as the commander decides they ought to be. There's what the US Army or USMC does now, then there's what an HRSM (hunting rifle and shotgun militia) does in Twilight: 2000. Two good men who know what they are doing and know the area can be more effective than a gaggle of recruits.

Patrolling is a skill. I can't say that I ever reached a level at which I felt proficient, despite some training and some execution in Iraq. You don't have to be a genius, but you have to internalize good procedures. You have to know how you are going to respond to a wide range of situations. Quick reactions in the form of battle drills are the key to survival once the action is joined.

Ideally, all patrols carry radios. This might not be possible for an HRSM in 2000. Still, some provision for signals must be made.

The duration of a patrol and virtually every other aspect depends on its mission. A patrol might be assigned to look for signs of enemy activity in the area beyond observation by the passive defenses. A patrol might be assigned to go to a particular location to conduct reconnaissance or surveillance. A patrol might be assigned to gather information about the enemy's whereabouts. A patrol might be sent to ambush the enemy at location X. The list goes on.

If we assume that the enemy is marauders, then one of the most important items of business will be finding their base of operations. In Thunder Empire, battalion task forces operate in the highlands of southern and eastern Arizona after the snow breaks in 1999. They operate outside the territory claimed by Fort Huachuca for the purpose of providing relief to the municipalities of the region. Marauders and petty warlords menace or have taken over virtually all of the cities and towns. Due to the ongoing threat from Mexican forces, Fort Huachuca cannot afford to keep a large body of troops in the region. Battalion task forces are rotated through the area for the purpose of liberating towns from warlords and locating and destroying marauders at their base camps. The latter requires extensive and aggressive patrolling in the highlands. Attached to each battalion task force is a LRS (Long Range Surveillance) unit that helps design and execute the search-and-destroy scheme.

Patrolling is also constant along the US-Mexico border in Santa Cruz and Cochise Counties. In Thunder Empire, Fort Huachuca controls these counties and Pima County (Tucson). Here, patrolling is of a defensive nature. Light infantry conducts patrols along the border and in the Huachuca Mountains to intercept raiders from Sonora Army. Small unit actions are sporadic but frequent throughout the last part of 1998 and all of 1999. Behind the light infantry screen are LP/OP (listening posts/observation posts) that can direct fire if guns are sufficiently nearby or call a reaction force to intercept Mexican raiders. Further back are cavalry patrols of the Arizona Rangers, who work for Fort Huachuca. Additionally, widely-dispersed observation posts are maintained throughout the three counties. All of this patrolling and observation is intended to push the defense perimeter away from the cities, towns, and transportation infrastructure that the Mexicans wish to damage with their raids. The area to be covered by a relative handful of troops is immense, so great emphasis is laid on observation, ambush, and the use of small bodies of troops to detect the enemy without necessarily engaging the enemy. Once enemy raiders have been located (more or less), a reaction force is dispatched to the area in trucks and perhaps with an AFV or two for fire support, depending on the size of the enemy force. This is a decent example of a reactive defense.

Author’s Note: By the beginning of 2000, Sonora Army pretty much gives up on raiding into SAMAD. The distances involved are considerable, and the nature of the terrain and vegetation favors observation. Those areas where foot mobile Mexican raiders can infiltrate under cover become well-known rather quickly. These places soon become favorite haunts for LP/OP and ambushes. Moving only at night helps protect the raiders from observation but robs them of much of their potential mobility—especially during the summer. Once a raiding party is identified, the outcome is pretty much inevitable. Getting away after a successful raid can be a real challenge, too. The Mexicans are inventive, and their ever-evolving tactics and techniques inspire a cat-and-mouse game NATO and Pact raiders in Europe would recognize for its basic elements. However, the exchange rate greatly favors the American defenders. By the end of 1999, the loss of many of its best light infantry, the mid-year defeat by 111th Brigade, and the escalating need for internal security missions cause Sonora Army to suspend raiding missions inside SAMAD.