Tactical to Practical – 5 Hand Signals Everyone Should Know, by Jessie Blaine

From Tactical to Practical – Tactical Training Being Put to Use in Everyday Life. This is the second article in a series written to provide real examples of how tactical training was used in everyday life. The articles are extracted from the boring life of one of the Brushbeater students and a proud member of the Mossy Oak Militia.

Incorporating hand signals into your daily life will make it easier to communicate and help eliminate confusion.
Not only are tactical hand signals a great way to communicate with a fire team, but they are also an easy way to communicate with your friends and family when voice methods simply won’t work. Tactical hand signals have been time-tested and proven to work, so there is no reason to leave them on the battlefield.
As you start using hand signals in your everyday life, one important key is discretion. There is no need to run around and waving your hands drawing attention from everyone. You’re not launching a jet from the deck of the USS Enterprise, you’re just trying to relay some simple information.

Photo Credit: Alkis Konstantinidis/Reuters
Another factor to consider is simplicity. The hand signals that you select should be simple and easy to recognize. There is no need to create complicated signs like you see a baseball coach giving to a batter. Just use what works, and simple is what works!
You can pull hand signals from other professions and organizations while you are developing a system that works for you.

One simple way we use hand signals is at church. If one of the little kids need to go to the restroom, they simply show the “toilet” sign and I respond back with the “yes” sign. This lets me know where they are going when they get up and we don’t interrupt the church service with chatter.
Another way we use hand signals is when the kids are at the baseball field. When they are across the field and are playing with their friends, they will periodically give me the “ok” sign and I will respond back with the same. Doing this lets me know they really are ok and it lets them know that I am watching over them.
Recently we were at a lake and the kids were play on a large, inflatable obstacle course floating in the water. The platform was about 20 yards from shore and was super crowded with noisy kids. Throughout the day, I would watch moms and dads walk to the shoreline and yell, whistle, and whoop while trying to talk with their kids. It wasn’t very effective at all and it was easy to see the parents get frustrated.
For us, when it was time to go, I simply got the kids attention and used hand signals. No yelling, no frustrations, and no embarrassment!

Photo Credit: TC 3-21.60 (March 2017)

Here are five hand signals that everyone should know.

Jessie Blaine is a former Marine living in refuge somewhere in the Lone Star State. He is in a perpetual state of learning, which is the second best state to be in, with the Lone Star state being the first.

By NC ScoutPublished On: July 19, 2021Categories: AP Staff, Tactical, Training7 Comments

About the Author: NC Scout

NC Scout is the nom de guerre of a former Infantry Scout and Sergeant in one of the Army’s best Reconnaissance Units. He has combat tours in both Iraq and Afghanistan. He teaches a series of courses focusing on small unit skills rarely if ever taught anywhere else in the prepping and survival field, including his RTO Course which focuses on small unit communications. In his free time he is an avid hunter, bushcrafter, writer, long range shooter, prepper, amateur radio operator and Libertarian activist. He can be contacted at [email protected] or via his blog at brushbeater.wordpress.com .

7 Comments

Anonymous July 19, 2021 at 05:20

4.5
Sanders July 19, 2021 at 14:46

It’s interesting where the mind wanders off to. I couldn’t help but recall some of the other hand signals we used as Infantrymen that are not in any manual. It triggered some rather hilarious memories that give me a chuckle to this day. Thanks.
Anonymous July 19, 2021 at 14:46

5
Tim_2A July 20, 2021 at 06:22

This was a great article, and it contained very good advice.
I have an appreciation, through experience, that non-verbal communication with your (civilian, or not) teammates keeps them,
and you, visually aware of the surroundings.
In training, I was ‘ambushed’ by a dead silent crew, who’d *seen me
(and heard me!) “a long way off,” according to the squad leader. It was a good, tough lesson, and I learned from it.
Also, radios can fail, or become unsecure in some way, so
it’s always good to have a backup, like scopes and/or binos,
along with hand signals.
I like the idea of ASL, with brevity codes, *because others can see it, too.
George True July 21, 2021 at 11:04

Whoops, didn’t cha know you can’t use the universal ‘OK’ signal anymore? It has been determined to be racist and/or White supremacist. Report yourself to the Diversity Commissar immediately for re-education.
SemperFi, 0321 July 21, 2021 at 22:42

This leads into another whole area of silent comms, like teaching people to look and see EVERYTHING around them. WATCH YOUR LEADER, and always look UP and DOWN.
In my day we learned to walk jungle trails and look up into the trees, people are prone to stare at the ground all day and not see overhead surprises, or see signals from other team members.
Use your other senses, if the hair on your neck raises, don’t ignore it. Just stare at a sleeping dog sometime.
Danno July 22, 2021 at 15:29

This is gold.