line, which consisted of 64 men. If such a number of men is not available, he proposes that the wedge be formed by 304 cataphracts and 80 horse archers, or a total of 384 men, the first line comprising 10 men. In his next chapter (Ordinance on Cavalry Deployment), he ordains that the wedge must be accompanied by two cavalry units, which will guard its flanks. A wedge whose ranks are not complete in the middle is shaped as an Λ instead of a Δ and is called a hollow wedge, or in Greek κοιλέμβολον, koilembolon. Modern warfare The wedge is still used in modern armies, especially by tanks and other armored units. An example of this is the Panzerkeil or "armored wedge" used by the German Wehrmacht in World War II. The hollow wedge formation remains one of the basic infantry formations at the squad and section level, especially when crossing open ground. However unlike in ancient and medieval times, the formation is used not to maximise effectiveness in melee combat, but to maximise the situational awareness and firepower of a unit. The intervals between soldiers is designed to give mutually supporting lines of sight that do not obscure one another forward and to the sides, and this also corresponds to mutually supporting overlapping arcs of fire. The squad automatic weapon will usually anchor one of the flanks of a fireteam wedge. In a platoon wedge the command group and platoon machine guns are placed in the hollow of the wedge. Exactly the same principles of mutually supporting lines of sight and fire, apply to an armored vehicles deployed in a wedge formation. There are many advantages to using this formation. It provides more overwatch as a result of the area it spans. Bounding overwatch can also be transitioned fast and efficiently. The regiment can change formation with ease and the front of it has a significant amount of strength from its crossfire. Drill formation The wedge formation is used ceremonially by cadets at the United States Air Force Academy during the annual graduation parade, when the soon-to-be commissioned first-class cadets (seniors) leave the Cadet Wing. This is the reverse of the acceptance parade, held each fall, when the new fourth-class cadets (freshmen) join the Cadet Wing in the inverted wedge formation. Civilian applications Policing Police and law enforcement riot squads sometimes charge in flying wedge formations, to break