Communications and VOIP Guide by Darkpowder

[Darkpowder]

Dslyecxi's Tactics Techniques and Procedures Guide - Communications Section

Dslyecxi's excellent tactical guide, this is the communication excerpt from the work he did.

Digest, and use as you see fit.

[Darkpowder]

Simple briefing and pre-mission order giving guide.

Aim:
To expand players desire to control units larger than one squad, a greater understanding of the commander role is needed - even if you aren't taking the in-game commander role.

So for Mumble, TS, or anytime you are briefing more than one squad - or when your one squad has some very specific plans you need to explain, this is a useful guide. (Std. British Army varient) - For US players this is the equivalent of a five-paragraph order).

In "Gamer" and simple PR terms how can i use this?
You haven't forgotten something so you would later have to remind a squad about.
They don't get any surprises later about the mission expectations or dispositions.
Simple PR-related uses for each in italics

GSMEAC.

G: Ground - the terrain over which the operation is to happen (may be considered to be part of the Situation heading).
i.e. Remind players on the key points of the map, and inaccessible locations

S: Situation
Chat to the other SL's in the FOB/Base via mumble etc and build up that picture for your squad before heading out

M: Mission - a simple mission, normally delivered in a single sentence which is then repeated
Give the squad a simple and achievable mission, which will give you an idea on the skill of the other team and your squads potential

E: Execution - Details of how the mission is to be carried out, including:
Commander's intent - what the unit is to do
Explain the basis why the mission you have chosen is important and why

Scheme of maneouvre - how the unit is to do it
Routes, equipment to be used, transport, whether fortifications are required etc.

Main Effort (optional) - where it is to be done
Try to describe the main area to attack/defend and create a mental map for the squad prior to getting to the objective

Mission statements for any sub-units
i.e. special kit selections - i.e. no use of heavy AT kits on anything other than Armour

Timings
Any coordination with other squads planned, or how cautious they should be in arriving, or leaving, or how long the enemy might take to start their attack

Actions upon certain circumstances
Reminder about -APPROPRIATE- drills to the mission - i.e. don't go over building clearance drills if the mission is to ambush vehicles on a road.

A summary of the execution plan
K.I.S.S.

A: Administration and logistics
i.e. The expenditure of ammo would be different from an AT unit if you are expecting extensive supplies to be present in your area of operations

C: Command and signal
Any personal do's and don't i.e. don't use red smoke without orders, reminder on fire-control orders (see my earlier guide(s)

(Or any questions).

[dtacs]

Out of curiosity, have you ever actually given a SMEAC to players in game from a command position, and had them not question its relevance?

I've been given SMEAC's by Army personnel and admired their effectiveness as a briefing tool, however that is solely in real life. In a video game such as PR where spontaneity and raw randomness define the outcome of a game - such as cars being used to run people over, or AA vehicles used for anti-infantry purposes - the rigid logic of a SMEAC is thrown out the door.

And considering you have three minutes to prepare this before the start of the game, how is this achievable especially in AAS when the opposing team would have already been rolling out?

Have you had a better result instead of a simple sentence about where the team is going, and what they are going to do?

You said it yourself, KISS. Full briefings for a game of PR (public or otherwise) is over complicating things and adding an unnecessary layer of inflexibility to the team.

[Cavazos]

Only read this if your interested in the commander level aspects of this format, not squad leader.

This is actually a really good format for a in-game commander, but is a terrible one for a squad leader. As for the challenges of actually implementing effectively in-game, you'd have to brainstorm solutions. DTACS issue is a good one, but just tell the squads to move immediately to a designated point and what vehicles they take, then use this briefing while on the move.

If you do have an in-game commander and squads will listen, I think the benefit of coordination from the in-game commander will help out the team a lot and some sort of format is needed to use.

There are some issues here though and I need to make them aware so not just anybody applies all the checklist points here as they are just not effective (source). If you disagree though, i'd love for you to tell me why and we can share what we know.

Get rid of these three

Mission statements for any sub-units
i.e. special kit selections - i.e. no use of heavy AT kits on anything other than Armour

Timings
Any coordination with other squads planned, or how cautious they should be in arriving, or leaving, or how long the enemy might take to start their attack

Actions upon certain circumstances
Reminder about -APPROPRIATE- drills to the mission - i.e. don't go over building clearance drills if the mission is to ambush vehicles on a road.

1.) Mission statements for sub-units

You can't micromanage units underneath the squad leader, that's the squad leader's job. As for the AT doesn't engage anything but Armor with their AT kit, this is redundant orders. This is like saying "Use your field dressing when bleeding".

2.) Timings

Timings is too complicated of a matter to implement in a public game match where squads have not trained together, and even for tournament play where training is usually focused on skirmishes. I however, have not participated in Project Reality tournaments but have no reason to assume it is any different.

3.) Actions upon certain circumstances

Micromanagement. Can't do this. As for appropriate drills to mission, that is saying this format is only applicable to clans or tournament play who even do drills. Either way, this section needs to go.

A summary of the execution plan

This is a good point to note, have your squad leaders repeat what they will do to ensure clarity but with how fast time can fly from a squad leader's and commander's point of view relating to tactics and the changing situation, it will be damn hard to find a way to effectively do this I believe.

However, there are never in-game commanders for public matches so time would be better spent focusing on squad orders without a commander present. So this whole format is really only good for commanders, but it doesn't get used much because we don't use commanders. This can find a place in tournament play, but I assume the commanders have a good system there already.

Get rid of these two

A: Administration and logistics
i.e. The expenditure of ammo would be different from an AT unit if you are expecting extensive supplies to be present in your area of operations

C: Command and signal
Any personal do's and don't i.e. don't use red smoke without orders, reminder on fire-control orders (see my earlier guide(s)

Excessive and should be taken out. I don't see ammo distribution being hard to get where it is needed, as long as you have the ammo system setup so that it can go out when needed. C&S can easily be done effectively through VoIP. A nuclear bomb won't go off if someone pops red smoke and if fire control is messed up, squad leaders just remind their members the fire control measures if needed.

[ytman]

I think its all useful and spot on. Of course there is some translation at hand but everything he's mentioned has its place. More over this is bound to be more useful in the PR Arma II edition.

[Cavazos]

I see what your saying, but I prefer a more in-depth discussion point by point and why each works or not so we can find the best or good solutions for each.

[Mikemonster]

Whilst it's good to have written ways of doing things, as a SL I think we all do that sort of briefing already - You get it with experience.

Basically that's just briefing your guys on what kits to take, what your aim is, which car to jump in, which route to take ['stay left of the embankment'], what enemy you're expecting to face, and what to do when you reach your destination.

And on the way ask the other SL's if theres anything bad in-between your start and end point of the journey.

K.I.S.S.


This sort of thread is a good demonstration that being a Squad Leader is mostly admin tasks mixed with tactical positioning, and not so much a case of 'follow me guys, RAMBOOOOOOOOO'. And I like discussing the admin side - the more easy you can make it, the more fun you can have as SL.

[AtlantisThief]

Thank you for your guides, i really like to see this and to learn a bit more about better communication. Now i simply have to hope that on public gaming, some of the sm will be able to apply this .... Often really hard to have the awesome desrcibtion "Enemy behind you" (And everyone is looking behind himself and not in the general squad moving direction)