The long range Patrol that Sam was on had been split into three single units.
HQ sees it as a better option to cover more ground.
Whenever they come across anything of interest they report in,
Command control will then respond by either sending a force, extraction team or withdrawing the unit (hardly ever).
Sending out single units is the better option in preserving numbers. Rather than having a large group encounter something that will result in the loss of all of them, they can just lose a single unit.