The point man is the soldier, special operator, or marine who leads his element during a patrol operation or a movement to contact. He is the first to make contact with the enemy and has the most dangerous job in his element. He will normally be killed if contact is made with the enemy.

This is a position which should be rotated between team members because of its stressful nature. In case of enemy contact the point man will almost certainly have to be rescued or evacuated because he is the first one in. In many cases a smart enemy will allow the point man to pass by them so that they will have a better chance of dealing with the follow on soldiers.

Since the point man will be the first to make contact with the enemy all eyes are on him as he moves forward. The point man will communicate with the rest of his unit with hand signals although they can tell by his body language when there is trouble ahead. My Infantry and special operations ring customers will be most familiar with this term.