Controls unexpected panic at start of skirmish (8)
I believe the answer is:
captains
'controls' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both people as well as being plural nouns.
Perhaps they are linked in a way I don't understand?
'unexpected panic at start of skirmish' is the wordplay.
'unexpected' is an anagram indicator.
'start of' suggests taking the first letters.
The first letter of 'skirmish' is 's'.
'panic'+'at'='panicat'
'panicat' is an anagram of 'captain'.
'captain'+'s'='CAPTAINS'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for captains that I've seen before include "Leading men" , "Officers, in command of ships say (8)" , "''The tumult and the shouting dies / The ... and the Kings depart'' (Kipling)" , "Leads (a team)" , "Officers below major" .)