Convoy!

Convoying is really not all that hard. It just requires thinking ahead, taking your time, and communicating early and often. It is a different mindset to drive as part of a team as opposed to driving individually. You must change your mindset. You must communicate with the rest of the convoy and with the other cars around you.

1. The lead car has to take his time. Don't race off at +5 over the speed limit. The rest of us have to catch you. Don't worry about being slow. You're driving for however many cars are in your convoy. The caboose will tell you when it's time to put on more steam.
2. The lead car has to KNOW where he's going and every turn to get there. If you don't know the way, don't lead. Period.
3. The lead car must be in communication with the tail.
4. Every lane change and turn needs to be communicated by turn signal (that's the stalk on the left hand side of the steering column) and by radio or signal to the tail end vehicle. If you're in the end vehicle and hear of the lane change, then do it when it's called. Don't wait until the car in front of you does it. Do it and do not overtake the convoy. Hold the lane for the rest of the convoy to get over. Flash the lights if necessary. Oh, and convoy, when the lead car gets over, you need to get over. When the tail car changes lanes, he is literally blocking traffic which is illegal. If you all get over, then it's clear to all that you are traveling as one. You must watch behind you as well as in front of you.
5. Those in the convoy must maintain speed and following distance. Keep it tight. Not tailgating tight, but close enough so as to prevent any breaks the convoy and so that you can see what the vehicle ahead of you is doing. Uh. . .hello. What is the purpose of a convoy if not to stick together? In order to keep it tight though, you must have the nerves to trust the others in the convoy. You must be able to trust that the car in front of you is not going to set you up for failure with a short stop due to short sighted thinking.
6. Being a part of a convoy requires a different kind of thinking. You're job is to follow the vehicle ahead of you. Period. It's not to check the scenery or to think about the way there. It is to concentrate on what the next vehicle ahead in the convoy is doing and mimicking that in real time. All but the lead car and caboose need to focus almost exclusively on the speed, position, distance and spacing of the other vehicles in the convoy. This is counterintuitive to the way that we are taught to drive as individuals. But you're not driving as an individual in a convoy. You're a part of a team.
7. As a convoy, you should constantly cover the brake pedal. You'll be following tight for one thing. For another, not everyone on the road realizes that you're a convoy. They may try to break in and that could cause problems.
8. Allow other vehicles to break the convoy only when it's absolutely necessary. Playing a little bit of "track position" can go a long way towards preventing breaks in the convoy.
9. All of the convoy needs to watch the vehicle in front of them for subtle cues on speed and condition. Pay particular attention to two vehicles. Lead and tail. Understand that those two are in communication and know what the other is doing. They are synchronizing their moves at times and you need to do likewise between them. If you are in the middle of the convoy and see the car behind you change lanes and hold position, then you need to do likewise.
10. Do not swap positions or pass/overtake each other within the convoy.
11. When the convoy becomes separated, the tail must communicate to the head where he is and who's in front of him. The lead car must slow down further so that once the tail section is moving again they can gain ground and again make the convoy intact. And those who made it through the split must remain with the lead car. Do not dawdle waiting for the other group to catch up. Stay with the leader.
12. If you find yourself as the lead of the second section of a convoy, your one and only mission is to safely lead the remaining vehicles to rejoin the convoy and make it whole again. Period. Rules for the lead vehicle apply even if you don't have radio communication with the head or tail. It is not necessary for every vehicle in the convoy to have a radio. To do it right though, the head and tail must have voice communication between each other-preferably by FRS/GMRS or CB radios.
13. Separation of the convoy in and of itself is not a cause for panic. However, when the back section is moving again you must move with urgency and efficiency to get to the head. That means all cars in the second segment of the convoy must be ready to hit the gas hard and stick with the new leader. The same rules for lead car apply with one caveat: find the front of the convoy and reconnect.
14. Tail end car must communicate to the original head when the convoy is rejoined and made intact. This is usually necessary going through intersections or getting onto the interstate or obviously after a split. This communication gives the leader the green light to resume normal speed.
15. As the lead car, drive one speed. Do not hunt up and down for speed except over grade. If traffic is slowing the convoy, then go slower so that you can maintain steady, smooth progress-rather than brake dancing as if you were in rush hour.
16. The lead car must approach intersections with the knowledge that the convoy may be broken. You must clear the intersection with authority, but not go to blazing speed once you're clear. If there's a chance to stop at the light and keep the group together, then do it. If not, then communicate to the tail. By the same token, cars in the middle of the convoy must likewise move through the intersection with due speed so as to maximize the chance of keeping the convoy intact.
17. Cars in the middle must be ready to become the lead car. If a red light is going to break the convoy, then hit the brakes early. This communicates to the succeeding cars that you are stopping and the group will not run the red light. It also reduces the chance of the convoy rear-ending each other in an embarrassing accordion moment that could cause delay, dollars, and failure of the mission. Remember, communicate early and often. Safety is key. Don't run the red lights, but if there's a chance for the tail end car to make it through on a yellow, then do it.
18. Tail end car must also know the route and be prepared to "guard" the lane. If possible, the tail end car should be changing lanes before the rest of the convoy. This seems counterintuitive, but it's not. On the interstate or multi-lane roads, the convoy can often be broken by a simple lane change done wrong. Ideally, the tail should change lanes first and then "hold" that position to block the lane. This allows the rest of the convoy forward to change lanes as one and remain intact. Another subtle part of this is the image that it presents to other cars on the road. It's easy to pick out a dozen camouflaged trucks drivinv together as a convoy. If you're driving along though and you all the sudden see 7 totally different cars driving along, nothing tells you they are a convoy. When you see the entire group make a lane change though, your brain says, "they're together". When drivers around you make that connection, then they will generally also respect your convoy and stay clear understanding that they need to pass all of you, not just one.
19. Lead and tail vehicles should both be high. Think SUV or pickup. This gives them an advantage in visibility to see the whole convoy from time to time. If you've got smaller vehicles, put them into the center. Put your biggest vehicles in the back. Put your most visible towards the front.
20. The scope freeze for the convoy needs to take place before the convoy starts moving. Avoid adding new vehicles if possible. Avoid any changes to the mission parameters if at all possible. Once the convoy is moving, there should be no stopping or deviations until you reach the next appointed location unless at very great need.
21. Convoys need to start from a fairly large area such as a big store parking lot where all vehicles and personnel are assembled together. This supports staging in the correct order for initial roll, it supports the pre-roll briefing. It supports aligning the team and communicating the goals. Corner gas stations are not the place to do this-even if you need to stop and get gas. Stage out of the big honkin' parking lot, sortie to the gas station individually, return to the group and your position in the line.

Bear in mind that these are mostly my observations about how to do it when you're in peace time conditions with a civilian group. I'm sure the military has their own manual about how to run a convoy that applies when conditions are more hostile-but this should suffice to get the ball rolling. I'll pare this down and organize it a little better later on. 

Still working the disaster stuff and will have some more to share in a day or two.