Buzzy,
Those SRP's were disliked by all the units in the 4th Inf. Div. Jack Lenninger's book "Time Heals No Wound" documents B/1-12 doing the same thing regarding their SRP's. In the book "Rites Of Passage" about Robert Peterson's tour with C/1-14 in 1966 the book also documents the patrols on occasions not reaching the intended destination. I was surprised to read about this 30+ years after we returned. I think all the units operated pretty much the same and used their discretion on occasion.