INTRO.: The Escort, for the purposes of this training guide, will not be considered a specialized position in a water combat team. Rather, escorting will be considered as a duty of certain team members during specific operations during a water war.

WHAT'S THE POINT?: Escorting usually involves members of a team following and/or guarding another person while the team is on the move. (One cannot really escort a stationary person/object) The role of the escort is to keep an eye out of nearby hostiles and keep them away or at bay while the person/item being escorted continues unimpeded to its destination. As such, escorts must be sufficiently trained and armed to deal with potential hostiles the group may encounter while they travel.

THE MECHANICS: See Formations for some basic ideas on how to protect a group. However, unlike a group of grunts making an attack, the Escort's duty is not to engage the enemy unless the person/item they are escorting is under fire. As such, the Escort should never be too far away to engaged in any other duty while escorting. Due to the nature of an Escort's duty, the Escort must be someone also willing to sacrifice his/her own dryness to protect who is being escorted.

WHO DESERVES AN ESCORT?: Since having an Escort means using an otherwise free water fighter as a mobile guard, Escorts should not be used if unnecessary. Personel typically in need of an Escort would be a team leader, HWO or a water transporter (One who is carrying a lot of water bottles to set up a temporary base away from the main refilling station.) These individuals are usually guarded due to either their importance or the fact that they cannot adequately return fire or escape is found by a hostile force.

TIPS:

• should be armed with a weapon which has a good strength water blaster for engaging hostiles (i.e. XP 110, XP 150, CPS 1000, CPS 1500)
• must stay close to the one being escorted
• should keep an eye out for motion and ear out for noises in case of an ambush
• should be willing to sacrifice personal dryness for the safety of the group

SUGGESTED WEAPONRY: A good medium weapon would be recommended along with a good back-up weapon. Water balloons also recommended as a last resort weapon.

SUGGESTED NON-STANDARD EQUIPMENT:

• filled 500mL bottles for refilling on the field (amount of water carried depends on the person and their strength)
• filled water balloons