Picket (military)

Picket (military)

In military terminology, a picket (archaically, picquet, not to be confused with the punishment picquet) refers to soldiers or troops placed on a line forward of a position to warn against an enemy advance. It can also refer to any unit (for example, an aircraft or ship) performing a similar function. The term is from the British, dating from before 1735 and probably much earlier. [Gittins, "A Compleat System of Military Discipline", p. 165: "The Picket Guard is a Body of Men always to be ready, lying with their Arms in their Hands, to turn out in case of an Alarm; but are not commanded by the next Officer on Detail, but such as are appointed by the Picket; but must march either faster or slower, to sustain Out-posts, Foraging, Escourts, or any other Service; and it shall be allowed them in their Tour of Duty."]

In modern military terms it refers to a soldier or small group of soldiers maintaining a watch. This may mean a watch for the enemy, [ [http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/picket?view=uk Compact Oxford English Dictionary] Picket, noun] or other types of watch i.e. "fire picquet".

A staggered picquet consists of for example two soldiers where one soldier is relieved at a time. This is so that on any given picquet one soldier is fresh, having just started the picquet, while the other is ready to be relieved. Although each soldier is required to maintain watch for the full duration of a shift, halfway through each shift a new soldier is put on watch. Staggered picquets are consequently more difficult to plan than standard picquets.

ee also

*Radar picket
*Skirmishers
*Screw picket

References

* [http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=picket&searchmode=none Etymology OnLine]

Bibliography

*Gittins, John. "A Compleat System of Military Discipline, As it is now Used in the British Foot". London: J. Humfreys (1735).
*Matthews, Bander (ed.); N.C. Wyeth (illus.) "Poems of American Patriotism". New York: Charles Scribner's Sons (1922).


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