CAS Squad Leader

[MADsqirrel]

Hey!
Recently i tryed out to be CAS Squad Leader on differnt maps.
It started on a round on silent eagle as a german. The jets allready spawned and i asked if someone wants to take them. I got no response so i thought to myself "hey why not!" and made a cas sq. I am not an expert jet pilot so i thougt i leave the squad open and get some people before flying.
After 5 min i had 3 Squad Members and decided that i will stay on the ground, laze targets, watch for AA and communicate with the other squads. It went out pretty well and i tryed it that way on multiple maps with great success.

BUT

Everytime i see a CAS Squad their SQL is in a jet or helicopter and if I try to talk to them I rarely get a response or update (because they busy with flying I guess)

So my Question is what is your style of CAS leading?
You stay on the ground or in the air?
What pros and cons are there staying on the ground/ in the air?

My pros and cons of staying on the ground:

PRO:
-easy to lead
-can laze myself
-can communicate with other sqs without problems
-can place markers without problems to mark threats or targets
-I see the effect of the attacks by myself

CON:
-lazes from other squads cant be engaged as fast as if i would fly myself

pls tell me what you guys think about it.

[SShadowFox]

I like being a JTAC as SL, I can stay on the ground and receive CAS requests from Mumble (hard to receive) then I can pass the request to the aircraft I think would do the job better and faster, this avoids 2 jets going to a laser and spending their bombs uselessly, I can basically coordinate the attacks so I only send the amount of aircraft that are needed.

[L4gi]

Im a boss JTAC. Anyone who has flown in my squad can agree that when I do it, shit gets bombed and enemy team is mad!

[chrisweb89]

90% percent of the time I would say SL should be spotting, the only rare time I as a pilot I want SL is if I don't have a spotter, or a spotter that is competant enough to communicate to the team and back to me.

[_Fizzco_]

If no Spotter and in attack helis, gunner=SL

[chrisweb89]

But then you can't Q spot enemy choppers!

[SShadowFox]

The jet can still use the Q to spot enemy aircraft even though it's not the SL, everyone in a vehicle can AFAIK.

[Professorson]

i like to be SL when im gunner normally that way i can listen to SL chat to find out where and whats happening , that way my heli whores the kills

tho in jets the SL should always be on the ground

[viirusiiseli]

i like to be SL when im gunner normally that way i can listen to SL chat to find out where and whats happening , that way my heli whores the kills

tho in jets the SL should always be on the ground

Works errytime

[MADsqirrel]

i like to be SL when im gunner normally that way i can listen to SL chat to find out where and whats happening , that way my heli whores the kills

You keep a spotter (sniper) on the ground or let the other SQL laze?

[Stemplus]

As someone else said, when it's a map with jets then the spotter should be SL, if it's a map with attack helis then the gunner because he can just mark the target and check the map so he will instantly know if it's enemy or friendly.

[mockingbird0901]

As someone else said, when it's a map with jets then the spotter should be SL, if it's a map with attack helis then the gunner because he can just mark the target and check the map so he will instantly know if it's enemy or friendly.

Pretty much this for me as well. If it's a map like Kokan or Ramiel, with only the Kiowa as CAS, then the co-pilot should be the SL in my mind. If it's a Cobra, Havoc, stuff like that, I don't mind the gunner being SL, but often having a guy on the ground as SL works just as well, or at least a guy with a SL kit, so that he can laze. With jets the SL should always be on the ground.

[Murphy]

The issue with having the CAS Chopper SL as gunner is that you have to rely on the info from the SLs on the ground and a lot of time they will say there is no AA presence in the area, but then when you're diving on the target suddenly AA missile to the teeth.

I think having an SL on the ground is always a better choice for CAS, sometimes you can get lucky and have an INF SL who knows how to coordinate but mostly you're stuck in your own bubble of intel.

[Spuz36]

Agree to having a fellow on the ground spotting.

You have eyes and ears on the battlefield, not to mention less on your mind to communicate/coordinate with nearby soldiers. You can focus on tracking and prioritizing targets, and your dynamic duo in the air can focus on reducing your target to ashes.

I LOVE spotting for CAS because I know they will get that warm/fuzzy feeling in the cockpit when a hellfire explosion envelops that target.

-Mastery of the GLTD is required! When your pilots requests a laser mark, be sure to send ONE CLICK AT A TIME. The GLTD is not a laser cannon, it is more a laser sniper It takes time to travel to target, so practice with moving targets in COOP to lead armor, or wait for the vehicle to stop. The box will snap to the target and you have about 30 seconds leeway before it will disappear. Most LG missiles should track to target fine, however some boxes bug up and the missile angle could cause it to overshoot the target. This is a few versions old, but still may be true:



-Keep your eyes on the horizon and keep moving. Kashan's sandy hills are lovely spots for seeing both side of the map, but getting tunnel vision in your binocs can lead to a quick death. If you receive fire, relocate to not be on the end of enemy CAS.

-Keep a running clock of friendly/enemy vehicle spawn times. If your assets are down, make an effort to still contribute to the team. Man a logy truck and drop some crates, shovel some dirt, eat some dirt, be a spotter for the TEAM.

-Feel the flow of battle. Grab a sense of where enemy movements will be and when. Sometimes you can slip behind lines and be lasing/spotting from a spot unexpected. A lot of this comes with playing the same map over...and over. Know some nooks and crannies to spot from, but don't take the most obvious over watch. Bombs have a way of landing there.

-Communication! After my hiatus, I'm still routing some Mumble hotkeys to talk to SLs, but the flow of communication has never been better. Let the team know CAS is getting ready, and to send target coords. You should keep track of this as your pilots will be busy checking targets and keeping an eye on the map. It gets hairy up there!

If any of you CAS happy people see me on, will gladly offer a pair of eyes