Sentence:  Twenty-five hundred hands snapped at a slant to the hats. The admiral strolled onto the field, smoking, followed by a <WSD>straggle</WSD> of officers, walking carelessly to symbolize the privileges of rank, but straggling at distances from the admiral strictly regulated by the number of sleeve stripes on each stragger. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  An irregular, spread-out group.