Yup that's correct, either a vertical column like that, or make sure you get the range upgrade right off the bat. For those that see this in the future, if you do get stuck, hit the prestige button to reset your formation.
Edit: I figured out how to get an upgrade. One has to click on the dollar amount next to the weapon name to be able to choose one of the A/B/C/D/E upgrades. One per weapon upgrade. Not intuitive to me. Probably due to the lack of adequate tooltip text. I had been under the impression that the weapon upgrades would cost money, like they usually do in other games.
I fail to see how to buy Range right away as it costs more then $25. Hitting prestige before getting at least 1 golden ball is the same as hitting Reset so umm doesnt really help if one gets stuck multiple times.