Editing Patrolling (section)

{{Short description|Military tactic}}
{{other uses|Patrol (disambiguation)}}
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[[File:Irish Army Ranger Wing Ford Special Recon Vehicle in Chad (4109830420).jpg|right|thumb|Irish [[Army Ranger Wing]] operators during patrol in [[Chad]], May 2008.]]
'''Patrolling''' is a [[military tactic]]. Small groups or individual units are deployed from a larger formation to achieve a specific objective and then return.  The tactic of patrolling may be applied to ground troops, armored units, naval units, and combat [[aircraft]]. The duration of a patrol will vary from a few hours to several weeks depending on the nature of the objective and the type of units involved.

There are several different types of patrol each with a different objective. The most common is to collect information by carrying out a [[reconnaissance]] patrol. Such a patrol may try to remain clandestine and observe an enemy without themselves being detected.  Other reconnaissance patrols are overt, especially those that interact with the civilian population.