In close quarter combat, silence is necessary. In order to remain silent during operations, military hand signals have been formed by combat forces to communicate with their squad without being detected. Here is a brief explanation of some of the military hand signals used by some of the top forces in the world. If you’re interested in the military or just want to understand military hand signals when you see them, here is a description of what each signal means and the movements involved.
One – similar to how one is represented universally, simply make your hand into a fist and raise your index finger.
Two – Also similar to how the number is visually represented in everyday life, the hand is once again made into a fist and the index and middle finger are raised.
Three – A little different from the previous representations of the numbers using digits, three is signified by making your hand into a fist and raising your index finger, middle finger, and sticking your thumb out.
Four – Four returns back to the universal representation of the number and is formed by raising all of one’s fingers and keeping the thumb pressed against the palm.
Five – All fingers are raised as well as the thumb, similar to how it is represented all around the world, five is similar to giving another person a high five.
Six – Once the numbers start to get larger, the military hand signals get a little more confusing. Six in military sign language is represented by the more commonly used sign for three. Raise your index, middle, and ring fingers and touch your thumb and pinky together.
Seven – Raise your pinky, middle finger, and index finger and touch your ring finger and thumb together so they are not sticking up.
Eight – The same idea as seven, but instead of touching your ring finger and pinky together, touch your middle finger and pinky together.
Nine – Touch your index finger and thumb together so they are not sticking up and signal using your middle finger, ring finger, and pinky.
Ten – Keep all of your fingers down and lay your thumb over them so your hand makes a ‘0’.