Squad Ops Tactics and Training

Lesson Plan v0.1a

Estimated Time: 45 Minutes

Staff: 2

Students: 16

1. INTRODUCTION
a. Squad Ops is a closed-server community event focused on immersion and tactical
gameplay. We aim to bring realistic scenarios into Squad, such as patrols through enemy
territory, compound assaults, rescure missions, and much more.
b. Welcome to Squad Ops Tactics and Training, our in-house program dedicated to
cultivating one standard in the Squad Ops community. Within the scope of this program,
you will be exposed to an overall introduction to Squad Ops, soldiering, movement,
military terminology, and radio procedure. During this lesson we will abide by standard
class ettiquet:
i. no class answers;
ii. if you need to go AFK, let your instructor know;
iii. no talking when instructors are talking;
iv. one warning, next infraction you will be dismissed.
2. THEORY
a. In order to play at the highest possible level of coordination, teamwork, and
effectiveness, there are many things that each player must be familiar with. This entire
guide is an example of those sorts of topics. The key foundational aspects of this are in
the "basic responsibilities" of each fire team member, and by association, every player
in the platoon or company. In order to maintain cohesion and combat effectiveness,
every player in our community is expected to abide by these simple ground rules.
b. Know your squad and fire team. With our structure, squads are numbered and fire
teams lettered. Remember what team and squad you are in, as this allows you to pick
out, confirm, and act upon voice orders relevant to you. Make sure you are familiar with
your fire team leader's voice, as well as that of your buddy team member(s). You can
find out what group/team you are in via the map screen - the left will list your current
Squad.
i. Communicate with your buddies. If it's important, let them know. If you're
moving, say so, so that they can know to cover you. Good communication keeps
everyone working together and aware of each other's status.
ii. Cover your buddies. Cue off of your buddy's movement, sector of observation,
and so forth. If they're watching one way, cover the other. If they're going to
cross a danger area (such as a street), cover them as they move.

iii. Maintain accountability of your buddy. When you change positions, make sure
they come with you - leaving a wounded buddy behind in haste is an unpleasant
realization to have.
c. Listen to your team leader and follow their directions. Fire team and Squad Leaders are
typically the more experienced players. Their role is to try to keep you alive and in the
fight, while accomplishing whatever mission the squad may be tasked with. Listen to
them and stick with your team.
d. Everyone should be familiar with the basic formations, and leaders in particular must
have an understanding of what the strengths and weaknesses of each are. Players
should not get wound up in trying to maintain a 100% textbook-perfect formation
position 100% of the time. Adapt to the situation as needed. Maintain appropriate
interval. Bunching up gets people killed. Keep several meters of distance between
yourself and other players at all times. If not, a grenade, rocket, or machinegun is going
to have a fun time with you and those you have clustered with.
i. The column formation is the simplest formation to establish, as it is merely a
matter of follow-the-leader. It allows for very rapid movement because of this.
This formation is best used during travel when contact is not imminently
expected or speed is a high priority.
ii. The wedge formation is a very versatile one that is easy to establish and control.
It allows for good all-around observation and security, and can be used in the
majority of situations encountered. Fire can be placed in any direction in good
quantity, and a shift in formation upon contact is easy to accomplish to suit
where the contact came from.
iii. The line formation is well-suited for advancing towards a known or suspected
threat with the maximum number of guns brought to bear, and excels at placing
a heavy volume of fire to the formation's front.
e. Be concise on comms. Speak with brevity on voice channels to avoid cluttering them up
when they're most needed. Avoid crossing lines and lanes of fire. If you need to move
past a person, always try to pass behind them. If you ever do need to move in front of
someone in a combat situation, ensure that you call them by name and tell them that
you're about to cross their line of fire. Obviously common sense will dictate when this is
necessary.
i. Copy/Copies - Standard acknowledgment. "Bravo, enemy armor headed your
way from the north" "Bravo copies"
ii. Roger - This is a simple affirmative acknowledgment. If told to watch to the NW
by your fire team leader, you should sound off with a quick "Roger" to let him
know that you heard him and are complying.

iii. Wilco - Short for "will comply". Typically used in conjunction with roger, so that
it ends up as "Roger, wilco" which translates into "Understood, and I will comply
with the order". For the sake of brevity, only very important commands should
be answered with a "Roger, Wilco". "Roger" by itself suffices for most things.
(Note: Technically, "Roger, Wilco" is redundant, but for the purposes of gaming,
it's not a big deal)
iv. Stand by - This acts as either a wait request or a preparatory command. When
used as a preparatory command, it is a warning to anyone listening that an
important event is about to happen, typically one which other players will need
to participate in. For instance, a squad leader might tell his fire teams to hold
their fire while an enemy patrol approaches unaware. He would then say "stand
by" to indicate that they are about to initiate the ambush (alternatively, he
could say "stand by to open fire"). Upon hearing "stand by", all squad members
would prepare to engage the enemy. The squad leader would then announce
"Open fire!", at which point the squad would ambush the enemy patrol.
v. Radio Silence / Break, Break, Break - Typically used by a Squad Leader or Platoon
Commander to tell everyone in their channel to be quiet while command chat
occurs. Also can be used to get everyone to shut up so that faint sounds, such as
distant vehicles, can more clearly be heard.
vi. Be advised - Used to indicate important information during a radio
communication, typically to another leadership element. "Command, be
advised, Bravo squad took heavy casualties and is down to one reinforced fire
team"
vii. Say again - The prior message was not understood - say it again. "Alpha, say
again your last?"
f.

How an individual moves around the battlefield is the most important aspect of not
being shot. Proper movement will keep you alive, whereas sloppy movement tends to
result in a lot of unnecessary pain and suffering once the enemy has a chance to contest
it.
i. Maintain good interval. Bunching up gets people killed. Try to keep at least five
meters between yourself and any other players whenever possible. Ten meters
is even better.
ii. Take a knee at halts. Kneeling or crouching lowers your exposure, which makes
it harder for someone to hit you from a distance.
iii. Conserve your stamina. If the situation isn't urgent, avoid sprinting.
iv. Know where to go when contact is made. If you stay aware of your
environment, you should be able to instantly move towards cover or
concealment if your team encounters unexpected contact.

v. I'm up, they see me, I'm down. The basic "individual rush" consists of jumping
up, sprinting forward a bit, and then diving prone. When doing a proper
individual rush, the enemy will only have a few moments to see you, sight in on
you, and attempt to shoot you. The "diving prone" at the end of each rush can
also help to confuse the enemy as to whether he shot you or not.
i. Move from cover to cover, or concealment to concealment. If you're under fire,
do so in short rushes.
ii. Don't skyline yourself. Skylining is silhouetting yourself against the sky. This can
happen when walking on the top of a piece of terrain that is higher in elevation
than the enemy.
g. There are a variety of movement techniques that are applicable to Squads
environment. Utilizing the best one for a situation will do a great deal to protect a team
and provide security as well as flexibility, and it's important that all players are familiar
with the differences between the various types.
i. Traveling is simply movement from point A to point B without anything fancy.
The spacing between elements is typically small to maintain good control over
the unit.
ii. Bounding is the basic principle that one element is always stationary and
covering the movement of the other element(s). The size of each bound should
be based on the terrain, visibility, proximity of enemy threat, etc. Bounds should
be signaled by each team leader with the words MOVING or COVERING.
h. Cover your sector. 360 security is needed at all times. This means that with a fire team
of four, every person should be observing or covering a different area. Good security
means that your team is that much less likely to be surprised by the enemy, and thus is
going to survive longer in combat.
i. When halted, ensure that somebody is paying attention to rear security as well.
ii. When you're halted, take a knee, find cover if possible, and continue to scan.
iii. If nobody else is, take it upon yourself to do so - your team will thank you later.
iv. Cover whatever areas you have been assigned to, or cover whatever area seems
to need coverage. Adapt to the situation as needed, and be able to pick out
areas that may be more dangerous, and warrant more observation, than others.
i.

Maintain situational awareness, avoid tunnel vision, and know where friendly forces are.
This all helps to prevent being surprised by enemy contacts, prevents friendly-fire
incidents, and gives you an idea of what areas may need more observation based upon
how the squad or platoon is oriented.

j.

Scan for, spot, and call out enemy contacts. Do it concisely via voice so that everyone
can hear you. When giving the direction of contacts, relative directions (front, left, rear,
right) can be used when friendly forces are moving in a known direction and front, rear,
right, left are known to everyone. Otherwise, compass directions and degree bearings
should be used.
i. Alert. Typically the word 'Contact!'. This should be the first thing out of your
mouth when you spot the enemy. Saying this gives everyone a heads-up that
something important is about to be passed over the radio, and that they need
to start scanning the area for more enemy as well as think about where they can
move for cover and concealment.
ii. Orient. This immediately follows your alert. "Orient" is simply a few words to
get people looking in the general direction of the enemy.
iii. Describe. What did you see? Was it an enemy patrol, tank, or a little old lady out
for a stroll? Say it in as few words as possible while being very clear.
iv. Expound. If the target range was not given in the 'Orient' step, it must be given
here. Target range is essential and allows players to react appropriately to the
threat's proximity. The range can be given at whatever level of detail time
allows for, from "Close!" to "523 meters" and everything in between. Range is
the most important thing to expound on, and must always be given.

k. Know your target. Don't wildly shoot at everything that moves, as that tends to cause
friendly fire casualties. If in doubt, don't shoot. Ask someone else in your fire team to
check out the questionable contact. Check the map to see if friendly forces are where
you're looking. If you're still unsure, ask the element leader and he can take it up the
chain of command if necessary. Once you pull the trigger, there's nothing you can do to
bring that round back. Don't be the one to shoot a friendly through carelessness!
l.

Practice fire discipline and know the Rules Of Engagement. Do not be the one to give
away a stealthy approach by accidentally firing your rifle or firing at a target without
having been given clearance. Once things heat up, and the element of surprise is lost,
you're usually free to shoot at anything that poses a threat. Until then, maintain good
fire discipline, in accordance with the instructions of your element leader.
i. Weapons Hold. When in "Weapons Hold" mode only engage if there is an
imminent threat to you or a fellow team member, but only continue engaging if
necessary.
ii. Weapons Tight. Only engage positively identified enemy targets and get
clearance from your team leader before firing the initial shots of a contact.
iii. Weapons Free. "Weapons Free" means that you are free to engage anything
that you have reasonable certainty is a hostile target.

iv. Cease Fire. Used to cause a temporary lull in the shooting. Cease Fire is used
when all enemy are seemingly dead and no further shooting is necessary.
Individual players can continue firing at living enemy soldiers at their own
discretion, under the assumption that the person giving the order did not see
that there were still living enemies.
v. Check Fire. A "Check Fire" command is given when it's suspected that a friendly
unit is being fired upon by friendlies. Cease Fire can be used in that situation as
well, as long as the person giving the command makes it clear that friendly units
are possibly being engaged by friendly forces, but "Check Fire" specifically is
meant as a way to cut off potential friendly fire.
vi. Hold Fire. Distinctly different from "Cease fire", this command is used to
maintain stealth. When under a "hold fire" order, players do not engage the
enemy until the fire team or squad leader specifically give the go-ahead, or the
enemy spots a friendly and appears to be ready to fire on them.
vii. Open Fire. Open Fire mean you are free to engage a specific target. This
command is usually given after a hold fire or weapons hold order. It is used
to synchronize fire in order to maximize the effect of a fire element.
m. Reporting lets your team know your status before and after an attack or other event.
Here are the three most common types of reports you may be ordered to give:
i. The situation report, or SITREP, is a quick way for a leader to get information on
his troops. It is intended to be a very concise and quick way for an entire
element to report their status to their leader. It can be answered with responses
such as: READY, WAITING, STAND BY etc.
ii. In an ACE report, a quick Ammo, Casualty and Equipment status given to the
next-higher element leader. Include any ammo you may be low on, how many
team members are up and wounded, as well as if you have lost or used any
important equipment.
iii. The casualty report, or CASREP, is a quick and focused report that is designed so
that a leader can quickly find out how many casualties have been taken. Let him
know if your buddy is down, and how many members are left in your fire team.
3.

PRACTICAL
a. It is important that we use what we have learned today to conduct an attack on a
simulated enemy force.
b. The evaluation will stop should there be a casualty, or a trainee fails to complete an
action in a reasonable amount of time.
c. You are encouraged to support your fire team buddy should he have a temporary gap in
knowledge as long as any corrections to not interfere with the lesson.

d. I will now guide you through a live fire engagment, which will act as your confirmation
of knowledge.

Squad awareness (Designation, IC, 2 IC, buddy)

Element formation (Column, wedge, line)
Radio terminology (Roger, copy, say again, wilco, stand by)
Actions on the halt (Interval, cover, sectors)
Types of movement (Traveling, bounding, rushes)
Actions on the move (Stamina, awareness, skyline)
Contact reporting (Alert, orient, describe, expound)
Fire discipline (Hold, tight, free, cease, check, open)
Status reporting (SITREP, ACE, CASREP)

4. CONCLUSION
a. You have now completed the Squad Ops Tactics and Training course. Within this course,
you have gone over the basics of communication, movement, and soldering as they
apply to Squad Ops.
b. Congratulations, from this point on you will be held to a higher standard in the
community, as well as be able to join us during closed events as a rifleman.
c. If you have any questions or have a lack of understanding, please contact me or another
instructor. I addition, training aids are available on the Squad Ops forum.
d. You may now exit the server or proceed to practise what you have learned with the
other trainees. I will also be available for the next few minutes if you would like
clarification on anything we learned today.