Here is the Execution Protocol of the State of Utah: (Utah is the only state that authorizes the use of the firing squad as a method of execution.)
E. Utah's Protocol on Execution by Firing Squad
Utah authorized execution by firing squad before it became a state.29 In recent history, it has executed two offenders by firing squad. In 1977, Utah executed Gary Gilmore, the first offender to be executed in the United States after the reinstatement of the death penalty. In 1996, John Albert Taylor was executed by firing squad. Taylor elected this method of execution instead of execution by lethal injection, another method of execution available to Utah's condemned offenders. Utah's protocol on lethal injection is patterned after Texas' protocol. The following is a partial description of Utah's protocol on execution by firing squad.
Prior to any execution, executioners, "Death Watch" teams, tie- down teams, and escorts are selected and trained and rehearsals are conducted.
The firing squad is composed of six members. One of these members is the squad leader. The Utah Department of Corrections has no set policy on how firing squad members are selected. However, the members of the firing squad are certified police officers selected from a list supplied by a law enforcement agency and are selected by the executive director of the department or his designee. Service on the firing squad is voluntary. The executive director and the warden are ultimately responsible for the execution team. The firing squad is compensated at the discretion of the executive director, though Criminal Justice Committee staff has been informed that the firing squad involved in the Taylor execution received compensation.
At the appropriate time, the condemned offender is led to the execution area or chamber, which is used for both lethal injection and firing squad executions. The offender is placed in a specially designed chair which has a pan beneath it to catch and conceal blood and other fluids. Restraints are applied to the offender's arms, legs, chest and head. A head restraint is applied loosely around the offender's neck to hold his neck and head in an upright position. The offender is dressed in a dark blue outfit with a white cloth circle attached by Velcro to the area over the offender's heart. Behind the offender are sandbags to absorb the volley and prevent ricochets. Dark sheets are draped over the sandbags.
Approximately 20 feet directly in front of the offender is a wall. This wall has firing ports for each member of the firing squad. Each squad member can sight and fire out of the firing port. There is a platform rest attached to the wall and below the firing ports on which each weapon rests. The weapons used are 30-30 caliber rifles. No special ammunition is used. The weapons are owned by the law enforcement agency where the squad member is employed and are serviced and maintained by that agency.
On one side of the execution area is a room for the government's witnesses. On the other side of the execution area are two witness rooms: one room for witnesses selected by the offender; one room for media witnesses. The execution area is well lit with the lighting directed toward the condemned offender.
When the offender is restrained, the warden asks the offender if he has any last statement to make. Following the offender's statement, a hood is placed over the offender's head. The warden leaves the room.
The firing squad members stand in the firing position. They support their rifles on the platform rests. With their rifle barrels in the firing ports, the team members sight through open sights on the white cloth circle on the offender's chest. On the command to fire, the squad fires simultaneously. One squad member has a blank charge in his weapon but no member knows which member is designated to receive this blank charge. Shortly after the shots are fired, death is determined. A physician and medical personnel from the Utah Department of Corrections stand right outside the execution area while the execution is taking place.
The estimated average length of time that elapses from the time that the offender is restrained to the time that death is determined is eight to ten minutes.
Execution team members and all staff participating in an execution participate in a briefing and counseling prior to an execution and a debriefing and counseling are available following an execution.
Individuals authorized to attend an execution by firing squad include witnesses selected by the offender, the victim's family, government witnesses, and administrative staff (as determined by the executive director).
Utah has a written protocol on executions by firing squads which was developed to comply with state statutes and ensure consistency.
This was taken from
http://www.fcc.state.fl.us/fcc/reports/monitor/methmon.html
I would imagine that a lot of it was taken from the US Army protocol for wartime executions.
Dean.