The American Western Phalanx

I always find it interesting how over time, some things simply remain as effective today as they were thousands of years ago. Today's example is a formation the Greeks used to protect themselves from archers during the initial approach to confrontaion. If I recall correctly, it is called the Tortoise or Turtle:

Thousands of years, and it still serves to protect soldiers from the effects of incoming non-explosive projectiles very effectively. Personally, I think that there are much more effective, albeit violent, ways to deal with the troublemakers, but it's not my call. At least our men are finding effective ways to protect themselves against the threats facing them.

However, if this actually would work like advertised, I'd much rather see it used instead.

UPDATE: Name changed after Andrew pointed out in the comments that the soldiers probably aren't Americans. I honestly don't know, hence the change in the name of the post. I still think that it's interesting anyways.