Understanding & Making Use Of Your CO

[Bommando]

This is an article I started writing in the hope of luring more people to the fun of the CO role and to develop a better understanding for people who are less familiar with the role and the importance of what they do. It's not a tutorial for COs, but rather an explanation to SLs and their squad members of what the job entails and why they (or at least I) make the decisions they do. Hopefully, this will help team members better understand the value of the role and why a good CO can turn the tide of battle your way if you work with them effectively.

It has since blown out to a bit of an overall map strategy guide and I hope to add to it soon. So, it's now a bit of a long read, but it might help put some scattered ideas into the one place. Some of this has been said before, some of it might only be stuff that I do as CO, so feel free to add anything you like to the mix.

Personally, the best feeling I get is when my team as a whole wins a round. Even if I don't excel personally, I take great pride to know that I was part of a well-oiled machine. Hopefully, what follows will help others achieve a similar goal.

BASICS

• When making requests, always state your squad number. You'll get what you want a hell of a lot faster.
• SLs can use the 'V' key for a direct comm channel to the CO via VOIP.
• Anyone can make additional resource requests by holding down the 'T' key much like the 'Q' commo rose. SLs have additional options to squad members.
• Spot like crazy with your commo rose. Using VOIP with your squad might be great for individuals, but placing that tank on the map is a great deal more useful.
• Follow orders to the letter, unless you have a good reason not to. If so, please explain it to the CO and he will usually understand.

THE BIG PICTURE

When the CO scans the battlefield, they have an immediate understanding of troops concentrations and even direction of movement. When they ask you to defend that otherwise quiet-looking CP, it's because they know there are enemies on the way or know that your team can't afford to lose that CP for the vehicles it spawns or other strategic value.

UNDERSTANDING YOUR OBJECTIVE

You and your CO should be aware of the requirements to cause ticket bleed on a particular map. You shouldn't capture more CPs than you need to increase the bleed speed. You will end up spreading your forces too thin and play a frustrating game of whack-a-mole where your CO will be less effective. Better to dig in to your CPs with mines at entrance points and strategically placed C4 packs to halt their advance. You will stand much less chance of TKing friendlies with your mines if you are the ones defending the location and know where they are the whole time. On the placement of mines, you are best to place them just after the crest of an upward or downward slope, since the driver's range of vision will prevent them from seeing them.

The CP defenders usually have the advantage, so you can keep those tickets falling by mowing down attacker after attacker. If your CO indicates a break in the wave, re-mine and C4 your CP and dig in again. Don't forget to spread out and take cover against a possible enemy artillery hit. Never stay in the open at your CP. You are much better off having your CP look unmanned and taking your attackers by surprise. Even to the extent of leaving tanks and vehicles empty while taking cover next to them. The enemy will be so keen to capture these assets, that you will be able to see them coming and jump in to blast them once they are out of puff. Very sneaky.

BEING BOSSY

Nobody likes a know-it-all, but the CO has tools at his disposal that ground troops don't. A good CO will usually have a good reason to issue a particular order, but will also be open to alternatives. It can also get a bit stressful at times, so bear with the ups and downs.

ASK FOR HELP

Remember, your CO will usually be doing 10 things at once, so your squad might not hear from him for a time. If you feel that you are under-utilised, neglected or need to make use of any of his tools, don't be shy about asking.

If you are pinned down, ask for artillery, UAV or a scan / spot. Better to have them when you feel you need them than only when your CO feels it necessary.

OFFENSIVE ARTILLERY

The strength of artillery can turn a hard-to-win CP into a cakewalk, as long as your squad understands how it works. It is imperative that your squad times the use of offensive artillery well to make that CP easier to win. I usually advertise artillery by voice at least 20 seconds before it's dropped. It is up to nearby SLs to relay this to their troops. Inform your squad and then wait for the map icon. You have another 15 seconds after seeing the icon before it hits. The outer ring of the indicator is a conservative safe distance. I find that holding a perimeter on the second ring is the ideal position for a squad readying to launch an assault, since it's a good 10m closer and still safe.

A battery lasts for 10 seconds, so once you count to 8, start moving in at speed. If this is timed right, your enemy will still be reeling / hiding from the barrage and your intact squad can surround the CP and have it neutralised in seconds. This will prevent your weakened enemy from spawning at the CP and make it considerably easier to capture. A good CO will also launch a UAV immediately after a barrage if it's not being used elsewhere, so you can mop up with pinpoint accuracy. Alternatively, you should at least get a manual spot to get an idea of the number of remaining hostiles.

DEFENSIVE ARTILLERY

Suppressing artillery can be just as effective to slow an enemy advance. If your CO announces that hostiles are incoming, he will likely slow their charge with a barrage, then give you a UAV to show you where the rest are coming from. Use this opportunity to spread your squad out in overwatch and preferably under cover, since if your opposing CO is worth his salt, then he will likely be using an offensive barrage on you some time real soon.

Laying mines and C4 at key entrance points designated by your CO is an invaluable second line of defence. If you need to leave a base, then your CO should warn approaching friendlies of their existence or you chould disable them with your engineer if you are afraid of possible TKs (you all know that a wrench can disable a mine, yes?).

REPAIRS!

Probably the most important aspect of supporting your CO is making sure his assets are online all of the time. Without them, he might as well be sitting in a bunker having a doughnut. Sure, he can use supply crates to repair them himself, but a good demolition squad won't give him this opportunity. If your CO calls for repairs at home base, respond ASAP by spawning at a backward point as an engineer while your CO spots the hostiles causing the nuisance.

Tanks and APCs are also important to keep repaired. Start making better use of engineers and remember that you have supply drops at your disposal too. Sure, vehicles spawn again, but why go all the way back for another, when you can fix the one you have in a matter of seconds.

CHOKE POINTS

Blowing bridges before an enemy attacks is great, but blowing them while they attack is better. You should prep a bridge with C4 as soon as your CO identifies it as strategic, but don't place your packs in the middle of the bridge. Place the C4 so it is less visible at the edges and wait until a convoy is split across the bridge before you blow it. You should be able to blow at least one vehicle and possibly separate the others.

Sometimes the best point of defence is not necessarily the CP itself, but a valley or crossing further out. Mine the CP in case a fast-moving buggy gets through, but place your troops on either side of an outside valley to give your attackers a warm welcome. Not only are you closer to an enemy CP should you need to capture it, but you are also spread out to make a harder target for an opposing artillery strike.

SUMMARY

To avoid turning this into an unwieldy read, I'll sum it up here by saying that the key to a team victory is to want it in the first place. Strange thing to say, but if you just want to kill a bunch of enemies or practice your flying, then most of the above will likely not apply to you. If you thrive on a well-fought tight team game, then it might just be helpful in achieving that goal.

I hope you all find this useful and post any additions. I will look at editing and compiling it again if there is enough interest.

Cheers,

Bodog (Bommando).

[Telorn]

I haven't been a SL much and only CO once, but I've heard that if a squad leader talks to a CO that the other SLs cannot hear that SL, but only the CO.

If this is the case, I have an idea to help out the CO from behing bombarded by multiple SLs talking at the same time.

Whenever a SL wants to communicate with the CO, he should say, "Squad #/Name to CO, over" The SL will continue to say this every 15 seconds or so until the CO replies with "Squad #/Name go ahead, over."

This way SLs don't just start chatting what they need and prevent the CO from being able to hear what another SL is already saying to him.

[Bommando]

Damn, I just realised I intended to post this is the Tactics section. if a mod runs across it, feel free to move it.

[AzrealDarkmoon]

Another point, as a CO a fustrating thing is to give an order to a squad and then 4 minutes later realize the squad is spread out. Often I just look for where the big number is and assume the squad is within distance of the leader. Please keep the squad somewhat coherent and focused.

Az

[|TG| B]

I was gonna post something similar. Nice post. It is good to let them undestand the CO s.

[Kedge]

Great post Bommando- thanks for taking the time to write it up.

[BigTony]

I think this needs to be added more of advice from an occasional SL.

First off ..hats off to anyone who is CO. I don't like it so I typically won't do it. I like SL but sometimes get a little frustrated.

Here is something I think happens often and granted this is not critisism...just something to think about when giving orders.

More often than not after defending a flag I'll be given orders to attack a flag halfway across the map only to go part of the way and see the flag turn on the base we just left OR get ordered back in a hurry. Somethimes this goes on and on. CO needs to keep in mind that most of the time we are on foot and a long haul is painful especially when forced to turn around.

I know there are several factors like Heli's taking flags...no real defense to this or way to see it coming.

I think its more wise to move squads like chess pieces. I would rather tell my squad..We're moving to the east base to relieve squad 4 so they can advance on the next flag, rather than leap frogging squad 4 and losing our base and or both...Also, I don't mind defend orders. Especially if CO can say defend here lots of pressure to your north and we need your base to fall back on.

Trust me SL's like a bossy (asseritve?) CO as long as the orders are consistent and informative. (Ok I like it..maybe not everyone)

Anyways ..just some advice or perspective from the grunts. It's important as CO to realize terrain and how difficult it is to move on foot to location. I think us foot soldiers would rather move cautiously to the next nearest flag rather than getting caught way out in the middle of nowhere.

ok let me know what you think! Again, the tone of this is not critical more of a discussion of tactics etc.

[Bommando]

Originally Posted by BigTony

More often than not after defending a flag I'll be given orders to attack a flag halfway across the map only to go part of the way and see the flag turn on the base we just left OR get ordered back in a hurry. Somethimes this goes on and on. CO needs to keep in mind that most of the time we are on foot and a long haul is painful especially when forced to turn around.

Totally.

I will endeavour to move a squad to an adjacent flag wherever possible rather than a remote flag. Sometimes there are extenuating circumstances as a CO though. I often find that I come to rely on a particular squad or squads to do the bulk of the work, since I know I can rely on them. There is nothing worse than sending a 6-man squad to capture a CP defended by 3 hostiles and see them get owned time and again. Sometimes you need to send a greener squad back to defend a less risky waypoint, while your crack troops have to lump it to the front line.

The classic terrain mistakes are made on the FuShe Pass, Kubra Dam and Oman maps. Both Kubra and FuShe have deceptively distant CPs, despite looking quite close, while Oman has those 2 killzones before the beach and along the road. If you ask a squad to cross the field in any of these maps, you are not only likely to be wasting their time, but you are probably sending them to their deaths.

[BigTony]

ugh..I've been one of those squads. Commander was yelling at me..There's only 3 guys there! me - "I know! But they're really really big!"

I'll sometimes pipe up when I get a large movement command about feeling a bit unsecured. The one thing I do is if I get a command to move I move and I keep moving for that objective until told otherwise...

[TEMM]

What i wish commanders would get throuhg their heads is that we only need to control 50% + 1 of the CP's on the map and hold them... I cringe when my squad is given an order to take another CP when i know full well at least one, if not more, CP's will be left undefended.

[SmokingTarpan]

Originally Posted by Bommando

I usually advertise artillery by voice at least 20 seconds before it's dropped. It is up to nearby SLs to relay this to their troops. Inform your squad and then wait for the map icon. You have another 15 seconds after seeing the icon before it hits. The outer ring of the indicator is a conservative safe distance. I find that holding a perimeter on the second ring is the ideal position for a squad readying to launch an assault, since it's a good 10m closer and still safe.

A battery lasts for 10 seconds, so once you count to 8, start moving in at speed.

I believe that your timing here is off, though I can't say for certain how much. Artillery arrival may be a factor of distance. I know for a fact that I've seen artillery arrive within 6-8 seconds on the beach of Oman when I test-fired the US artillery.

As an SL, my rule of thumb is that I plan 8 seconds ahead when I need artillery, and I'm generally not disappointed.

Also, for the CO's that like to use artillery when they feel it's necessary, rather than when a SL calls for it: plan forward! It's annoying when a CO decides to "help" me out by placing artillery right on top of the enemy. By the time the strike arrives, the enemy has moved forward and the shells fall behind them.

The same goes for supply drops; please let your SL's target them. Nothing is more annoying than seeing your much needed supplies land in the middle of river, on top of a building that can't be reached, or right next to the flag where the next artillery strike destroys it.

[Wulfyn]

Trust me SL's like a bossy (asseritve?) CO as long as the orders are consistent and informative. (Ok I like it..maybe not everyone)

As a regular SL I'd like to emphasise this point. I love a bossy CO that is chatty and keeps info flowing (it's amazing how much info you can passivley pick up from what the CO tells other squads to do). A chatty/bossy CO takes a LOT of pressure off of me, and allows me to focus more specifically at the job at hand. This is cumulative - the more time I have to focus on the specific objective the more help / info / bossiness I can direct at my squad-mates, and thus I take the pressure off of them.

The same goes for supply drops; please let your SL's target them. Nothing is more annoying than seeing your much needed supplies land in the middle of river, on top of a building that can't be reached, or right next to the flag where the next artillery strike destroys it.

I had to laugh when reading this. Mainly because I called for a supply drop in Fu'She and of course it landed teetering on the egde of a stack, a good 50m above us. The CO was kind enough to send a second, more accurately requested drop asap


I'll just reiterate my main feeling of CO/SL interplay - and that is good communication. One of the reasons I like playing SL so much is because it brings some people skills into play as well. I know there is not always time for talking in game, but I am sure the CO appreciates return comments along the lines of not being able to carry out that order at the moment because you are pinned down (etc).

Very good post Bommando

[Bommando]

Originally Posted by SmokingTarpan

I believe that your timing here is off, though I can't say for certain how much. Artillery arrival may be a factor of distance. I know for a fact that I've seen artillery arrive within 6-8 seconds on the beach of Oman when I test-fired the US artillery.

It's possible that it's a factor of distance, but I have found that it definitely takes longer than 8 seconds most of the time. I guess the crux of the point was. Be ready, don't run into the middle of it and use the timing to your advantage.

This is where defensive barrages are particularly important. As a CO, you should always zoom to see whether the enemy is moving and how fast they are moving. The scan blips aren't very explanatory, so what looks like 5 concentrated blips at scan time might reveal itself as 2 buggies, an APC and 2 infantry when you zoom in. Obviously, this would not be a viable target, since the vehicles are hard to hit and it's not worth dropping on 2 infantry.

Originally Posted by SmokingTarpan

The same goes for supply drops; please let your SL's target them. Nothing is more annoying than seeing your much needed supplies land in the middle of river, on top of a building that can't be reached, or right next to the flag where the next artillery strike destroys it.

A good CO should always drop supplies when zoomed in and account for a little drift. Even SLs often choose the wrong places for a drop. Rather than just accept a drop, zoom in and drop it where it's easily accessible to vehicles and / or allows troops to stay in cover. It's very powerful stuff having a tank / APC firing from adjacent to a supply crate. In an armour stand-off, a supply crate will swing things your way. Your opponent will either have less armour hit-for-hit or they will waste a shot trying to destroy the crate.

[walrus]

All CO's need to get familiar with the RIGHT-CLICK > SPOTTED feature. I'm running into two or three CO's per day that didnt know about this feature until I told them about it. If your CO isnt "Spotting" targets with this feature after every SCAN and instead spamming VOIP with enemy locations then it is up to you to teach him/her about this feature!

You do not have to RIGHT-CLICK directly on each blip... Just getting close will register the target and paint the enemy on all maps! Spamming enemy locations solely over VOIP is garbage!

SCAN + RIGHT-CLICK > SPOTTED

Another thing, I often play Defense! but will send a small 2-person strike-force (tank, buggy, etc) to assist a nearby offensive Squad instead of redeploying the entire Squad! This only works if you stay in close VOIP contact with the Strike-force squad fragment and call them back when needed. I usually keep a volunteer in a recon/pest vehicle so when it comes time to send a fragment to help another squad we all know who will get to go.

[Bommando]

I thought I'd just bump this, since we have quite a few new players and they might benefit from it.