The Four-Man Stack — Roles and Responsibilities
A four-man stack isn't four guys in a line. It's four specific jobs, four specific calls, and four specific corners of a room — and when one job is missing, the whole entry is broken.
1-Man — entry & threat
First through. Owns the strong-side corner. Engages immediate threats. Calls 'set' when his sector is owned.
2-Man — cross-entry
Second through, opposite direction of 1-man. Owns the weak-side corner. Catches threats 1-man can't see. 'Two set.'
3 & 4-Man — depth & rear
3-man fills the middle of the room and addresses any depth threats. 4-man stays oriented on the rear / next door. Without 4-man's discipline, you get back-shot.
Why four (and not three)
Three works in a pinch but leaves gaps: nobody is watching your back, and the third man has to do double duty as depth-cover *and* rear security. Four is the smallest stack where every responsibility has a dedicated person. SWAT, SF, and competitive sim teams all converge on four for a reason.
The most common stack mistakes
1) Bunching at the door — if a grenade comes out, you all die. Keep an arm's length minimum. 2) 2-man going the same direction as 1-man — both end up on the same corner, the opposite corner is unowned, you get shot from the dark. 3) Nobody calls 'set' — the team has no idea when to push to the next room. 4) 4-man turning inward — you've now got zero rear security.
Calls that keep the stack alive
'Stack right' (which side of the door). 'Center-fed / corner-fed' (door type). 'On you' (1-man tells the stack he's about to move). 'Set' (each man, in order). 'Moving' (signaling the next bound). 'Hold short' (next room, not entering). 'Coming out' (re-entering friendly stack). Six calls. Memorize them.
Drilling stack discipline
TGH's Ready or Not and Ground Branch nights specifically rotate stack positions so every member has reps as 1-, 2-, 3-, and 4-man. You don't actually understand 4-man's job until you've been the one who got back-shot because nobody held it.
Common questions
What if we only have three players?
Compress: 1-man + 2-man do the entry, 3-man takes both depth and rear (his head is on a swivel). Slower, less safe, but workable. Always prefer four if available.
Does 1-man always go strong-side?
Default yes — strong-side is wherever 1-man's weapon naturally points without crossing his body. But door geometry can override (e.g., 1-man goes weak-side if the strong-side corner is the obvious threat).
Where can I rotate through every position?
TGH's CQB drill nights — stack positions rotate every clear, so everyone learns every job.