In drill, a column with a front of only one element is called

• A. File
• B. Line
• C. Rank
• D. Column

Answer: (A)

In drill, front describes how many soldiers are across the formation. If the front has only one element, the group is a single-file column—the soldiers are lined up one behind the other. That vertical line of troops is called a file.

So, the best term for a column with a front of one element is a file because a file specifically denotes a single-wide column, i.e., one soldier per rank stacked behind each other. A line or rank describes a different orientation (across more than one person or along a different direction), and a column is the broader formation type, not the name of the single-wide unit within it.