VMFA-531 ... and you.

[StrikeFear]

A couple important things you ought to know about The Grey Ghosts. And a couple less-important things.
First, the REALLY important thing:

In-game, if there is just one of us ready to fly, it's enough to make a squad named for our squadron. You might see a squad with any of these designations:

GreyGhosts
VMFA-531
VMFA-531st
TG-531st
531-Jets

THE SQUAD WILL NEVER BE LOCKED.
It's a jet squad, like any other, and open to everyone. If other players join in, and they're pilots, everyone will rotate through the cockpit. Don't think that if you're not a member, you can't join, or 531 has "dibbs" on the assets.
Think of it just like any other "Jets" squad.

If there is already a "Jets" squad, we won't be making our own. We'll just join that one.

If you see a squad with one of those designations, you know you have quality air-cover. We will be available for sortie operations and will be working in cooperation with each other to take out enemy air and ground assets. We will be doing our level-best to provide close-in support on your offensive operations and working to keep those helos off your backs.
If the commander is not weilding us like a surgical knife, we'll let him know how to use us. If there is no commander, we'll be wanting YOU to inform us of where you need us most. How will we be able to tell? Well, if all we hear is "Enemy slick, inbound!", we know where the action is. But if you can't be bothered to keep that APC spotted, he's not likely to get bombed.
At the same time, spotting enemy jets for us will help us watch our own backs as well.

The coolest thing we can do for you is to splatter that tank you're shooting at all over the countryside. The coolest thing you can do for us is give a chorus of "Thanks, champ!" when you see him evaporate. That's job satisfaction, mate.

Now, for the less-important things:

VMFA-531 "Grey Ghosts"
|TG-531|
The Grey Ghosts are the first fixed-wing Fighter-Attack squadron for the TacticalGamer Battlefield 2 Armed Forces.
Mission: Provide air superiority and close air support for other TG squads.

VMFA stands for:
V: Fixed wing
M: Marines (didn't know they had jets? Look at the Hornet in-game)
F: Fighter
A: Attack (both roles)

[John CANavar]

great ! hoping to be on the same side with VMFA-531

StrikeFear, would you guys consider to try inter-squad communication by creating two teamspeak channels;

VMFA-531 (this is for your team communication for meeting and during game load, etc)
VMFA-531 Relays (under this one, your squad and other squads will put a relay man who will establish squad-squad communication. this will be handy especially in the absence of a commander)

We tried this with Cymba's "Close Air Support" squad and it worked great...

[TEMM]

The only problem i have with letting everyone have a turn in the cockpit is you end up with players just sitting around waiting for jets. Having people who wait join the battle on foot really isnt an option because they will have to move back to the airfield in order to take their turn in the cockpit. Now as i was typing this i came up with a good idea... if there are two fighters, or a fighter and bomber we have 2/3 respectively fying for 30 minutes, or an entire map, and 3/4 people acting as forward observers/antiair armor/emplacements for the people flying. Once the 30 minutes is up, or someone is tired of flying people trade off, or if someone is having a hot streak in the air they can stay up longer. The foreward observers can spot targets for bombing missions and spot enemy air assets to aide pilots during dogfights.

Trading off after every death will prevent pilots from getting in the "zone" and will most likely reduce the effectiveness of the air squad as a whole. Allow the pilots to get warmed up and keep the cockpit for a longer period of time should effectively increase their potential in the air.

Another thing I want to point out, online servers are not the place for beginners to learn how to get a plane off the tarmac without crashing. They should be doing this in single player, if someone cant keep a plane in the air for more than 15 seconds they should be delegated to a forward air observer until they learn to fly on their own time. Crashing jets into the ground is a waste of a valuable asset. Its ok for beginners to learn air2air and air2ground tactics online with real opponents, I just dont think they should be learning from step one while we're trying to win a game.

[Levi]

That's a good idea about the relay man- but you can do it with the software server side by tweaking the config files to have multiple outputs from one input channel.

Also-Strikefear, I hope to see you in game, and fly WSO for you and your guys in a bomber. It's so rare that someone uses the laser guided bombs effectively. I'm pretty good with them, but they need a special kind of pilot.

[John CANavar]

Originally Posted by Levi

That's a good idea about the relay man- but you can do it with the software server side by tweaking the config files to have multiple outputs from one input channel.

Did you mean "whisper to channel" key assignment in teamspeak? or can you actually do it in game???

[Napalmenator]

Off topic.. kind of.. i was playing around with piloting a jet last night on an empty server.. and im not horrible.. but do people who fly jets regularly use joysticks or keyboard? i was just using the keyboard...

Horrendously annoying,

Napalmenator

[StrikeFear]

Originally Posted by TEMM

...we have 2/3 respectively fying for 30 minutes...Allow the pilots to get warmed up and keep the cockpit
...people acting as forward observers/antiair armor/emplacements...
online servers are not the place for beginners to learn how to get a plane off the tarmac without crashing.

TEMM - GREAT ideas!
I agree with you on these counts:
1. Better to get and stay in the zone as a pilot
2. Forward observers/spotters, AAA-station-manners - good role
3. Noob pilots should de-noob themselves privately. Heh. Only pilots of a "working" skill level should be in combat.

I also think 6 players in an air squad is very possibly too many. Certainly so for the 1-fighter maps, of course. I think 1-2 players more than the number of cockpit-seats. (Seats+1/2)

Totally agree.
There are some other great roles, too, for the grounded pilots waiting their turn:
1. Repair/defend CO assets
2. Drive armor from the airstrip (usually a main UCB) to the front lines and hand it off to friendly squads
3. Act as SL on the ground:
a. providing strategic overview and map awareness, allowing the pilots to run sortie after sortie with good intel and focus on their job.
b. Liaison with the CO and other squads.
c. Act as relay with 1stMIP

And, y'all - See this thread for more info on how you can help the air force.

CANaver - I'm totally into the relay thing (esp w/out a commander). VMFA-531 is intending to use in-game comms for squad communications. Hence, they only use we'd have for TS is for relay. In that case, why wouldn't we just join (or have a representative join) the 1stMIP relay channel rather than have our own relay channel?

[John CANavar]

Originally Posted by StrikeFear

I'm totally into the relay thing (esp w/out a commander). VMFA-531 is intending to use in-game comms for squad communications. Hence, they only use we'd have for TS is for relay. In that case, why wouldn't we just join (or have a representative join) the 1stMIP relay channel rather than have our own relay channel?

of course. When you guys see our squad on the same side please send your relay man into our relay channel. we are looking forward to hearing:

"1stMIP, this is VMFA relay, we are ready to provide air support, over"

PS: This is also an open invitation to other squads wishing to develop inter-squad communication for coordinated actions...

[Telorn]

Why make your callsign difficult to understand? You should stick to one and always use that one. And include the word 'jet' in it so people who haven't read this thread understand that it is a jet squad. It'll solve a lot of confusion and you'll have less 'ground pounders' joining you.

[StrikeFear]

Originally Posted by Telorn

Why make your callsign difficult to understand? You should stick to one and always use that one. And include the word 'jet' in it so people who haven't read this thread understand that it is a jet squad. It'll solve a lot of confusion and you'll have less 'ground pounders' joining you.

Initially, we WILL be using the more clear squad names (VMFA531Jet or 531-Jets). Once players get used to seeing us, we'll move to the more appropriate and glossy names.

[Telorn]

Originally Posted by StrikeFear

Initially, we WILL be using the more clear squad names (VMFA531Jet or 531-Jets). Once players get used to seeing us, we'll move to the more appropriate and glossy names.

You shoudl never change from the obvious, because we'll always have new players. We'll always have public players.

I'm just saying, why make it more difficult than it has to be?

[Phelan Ward]

Because clan tags have a direct corilation to the size of your penis. The glossier and bigger, the better for everyone to know your well hung.

J/K StrikeFear I think it's a great idea. Will the 531 be needing Heli crews in the future?

[StrikeFear]

Originally Posted by Phelan Ward

Will the 531 be needing Heli crews in the future?

VMFA-531, by its designation is a jet (fixed-wing, not rotary-wing) squadron.
V: Fixed-wing
M: Marine
F: Fighter
A: Attack

Hence, pilots won't ever fly helos under that designation. Fixed-wing flight is so different than rotary-wing flight that pilots of the two groups wouldn't ever train together, share tactics, would not want to share comms, or even squad together. So there's not much purpose in putting them in the same squadron.

However, the TG armed forces has upwards of 4 infantry/mechInfantry squads now, one Fixed-wing squadron, but is lacking in armor and helicopter support.

... get the hint?

Perhaps you could re-create:
http://www.globalsecurity.org/milita...c/hmla-773.htm

[Phelan Ward]

Ah I disagree about the need comms between the Heli and fixed wings in game. Those planes can fly too damn slow and sometimes I need that support really badly.

How do I join/make a squadron? If it's a SM thing, I can't really start supporting until my on campus job starts up. I plan on supporting as soon as I can afford it.

Are you guys competing in something, or is this just for a little more ingame recognition?

Seriously I started seeing these unit numbers poping up in game and I'm thinking, "What the hells going on?"

[John CANavar]

Phelan,

In my opinion, the basic idea behind a regular unit is a higher level of organization and coordination, which can only be achieved by protocols, rules/regulations and regular members.