Library of Squad Types and Operational Basics

[John CANavar]

Since the release of BF2, we all spent countless hours on planning (SOP development) and playing different types of squads.

Changes in vehicle, kit and class dynamics introduced by talented Project Reality team re-defined the BF2 squad system. You must have noticed how PR modifications such as "heavy cost of losing a vehicle" or "two-crew armor operation" have significantly improved the tactical quality of typical BF2 rounds with a most welcome boost of teamwork concept.

PR Team showed EA/DICE that teamwork is not something you can measure with meaningless end-round "teamwork" points or stats. They just gave us a complex game and tools to experience the teamwork... With our close friends as well as with people we have never played before.

I invite all tactically-minded squad leaders and members to get together here and create a library of "squad types" with a brief description of roles and duties.

I've seen good examples of this (Rick's various posts, Air cavalry, Air Transport discussion, and many others) posted here and there but we didnt put an effort to bring all together to form a library.

As someone who experiences the great satisfaction of playing in an organized and methodical squad on daily/weekly basis, I am hoping that such a public library can provide an equal level of common ground, tactical understanding and satisfaction to anyone using it and help them to form, join and operate squads with a high level of organization and coordination which is something always considered to be unique to tight-knit clans or in-house squads before.

It is time for someone to say "Hey, do you guys know about Air Cavalry squad type from TG squad library?" and people in the squad responding "yep, I am taking ___ role/kit, lets roll..."

Here we go...

I will start with some basic, commonly used 1stMIP squad types.

Squad Name: 1stMIP Infantry

Description: Basic, all-purpose infantry squad.

Positions and duties:

Fire Team Alpha

• Alpha One: Rifleman (Squad sergeant. Second in command. Ammo source. Responsible for fire team Alpha. Pointman for the squad)
• Alpha Two: AT (AT kit specialist. Armor engagements and house/bunker clearing)
• Alpha Three: Medic (Always the last one to engage, stays back and primarily provides medical service)

Fire Team Bravo

• Bravo One (SL): Officer (Main responsibilities: Mission assignment to squad/fire teams, transportation planning and execution, CO/Allied squad communication, calling for and coordinating squad with backup forces, spawn point (RP), supplies and artillery support)
  
• Bravo Two: Swiss army knife of the squad (Assigned a situation dependent kit. Uses speciality kits if needed. Can be attached to Alpha under A1's command or stay with B1 (SL) depending on SL's preference)
  
• Bravo Three: Swiss army knife of the squad (Assigned a situation dependent kit. Uses speciality kits if needed. Can be attached to Alpha under A1's command or stay with B1 (SL) depending on SL's preference)

------------------------

Squad Name: 1stMIP Mechanized

Description: Basic, all-purpose mechanized squad.

Positions and duties:

Fire Team Alpha

• Alpha One: Rifleman (Squad sergeant. Second in command. Ammo source. Responsible for fire team Alpha. Pointman for the squad. Leads the infantry units)
  
• Alpha Two: AT (AT kit specialist. Armor engagements and house/bunker clearing)
  
• Alpha Three: Medic (Always the last one to engage, stays back and primarily provides medical service)

Fire Team Bravo

• Setup I: B1 (SL) and B2 in armor (crewman, APC). APC provides long-range fire support and is protected by fire team Alpha. It is essential to keep it up and operational as long as possible. Armor unit is not a risk taker. B3 is attached to fire team Alpha as infantry unit with a situation-dependent kit.
  
• Setup II: B2 and B3 in armor (crewman, APC). B1 (SL) may attach himself to Alpha or coordinate infantry/armor fire teams from a command point.

[deathknight]

Originally Posted by John CANavar

Fire Team Alpha

• Alpha One: Rifleman (Squad sergeant. Second in command. Ammo source. Responsible for fire team Alpha. Pointman for the squad)
• Bravo Two: AT (AT kit specialist. Armor engagements and house/bunker clearing)
• Alpha Three: Medic (Always the last one to engage, stays back and primarily provides medical service)

don't you mean alpha 2 for the part highlighted in bold?

[WhiskeySix]

We need a new tactics and missions forum dedicated to PR... it's that different from BF2.

Originally Posted by WhiskeySix

Running a specialty-squad with the sole mission of destroying rally-points/spawn cars is fun and helpful for your team. I think it's the most fun and most effective as UK on Helmand Province. To use as few resources as possible, the squad should be locked at 4 members.



Overview:

Generally, the idea is for the squad to patrol in an arc running east-west along the river/road. Since the squad isn't equipped to fight infantry, it's imperative that the SL give a hold-fire fire-condition. Likewise the squad should operate with a no-hurry/ninja/stealth mindset - the squad is operates behind enemy lines, so if/when someone is spotted, you WILL be hunted and killed.

Map:

Kit Layout:

1) Rifleman Anti-Personnel - This kit comes with binoculars, and this squad member's function is to be a forward observer (FO).... spotting insurgent cars as they respawn and advance.

2) Light AT - The muscle of the squad. Preferable over spec-ops because it allows the cars to be destroyed from long range. Leads the primary fire-team.

3) Rifleman - Follows LAT providing ammo and an extra set of eyes.

4) SL - Officer kit

SOP:

When the map begins, the west side of the map is a dangerous since there's a CP in contention immediately. For that reason, I like to start by moving north along the far east side of the map, placing a RP somewhere along the eastern side of the map. The FO takes position where he can see both the bridge and the north-east flag, while the rest of the squad carefully sweeps West along the river/road looking for spawn cars. Once they reach the west side of the map, the SL should find a place to lay low - this gives the squad two spawn points, one on either side of the map.

The same general idea can be fun on Al Basrah, but the tactics/SOPs are different enough to require a different thread. Feel free to borrow from this, adapt it to Al Basrah, and start a new thread

[GangreneDST]

Great idea John. Having some TG defined squad types would be useful. I'd love to be able to see a squad's name and have an idea of it's purpose and my expected role.

Pardon my lack of military experience, but here are few squad combinations that may be worth discussion.

Tank squad:
Alpha
Crewman-driver
Crewman-gunner
Squad leader-officer kit and tank commander
Bravo
Engineer- repair tank, infantry cover for tank
Heavy or light AT
Rifleman

Anti Armor Infantry Squad:
Alpha
Squad leader Officer kit
Engineer-mines
Rifleman-ammo
Bravo
Heavy AT
Rifleman
Medic

When version 0.6 arrives, the commander may need a "headquarters team" of some sort.

Commander- coordinate squads and assets
Engineer-construct bunkers, mines, defend commander
Rifleman-construct bunkers, Ammo for team, defend commander
Sniper/Marksman-spotting, defending commander
or
Support-defend the bunker (maybe the bunker will have mounted mg)

It remains to be seen how the new commander assets will be implemented. Will the commander be hiding in the bushes back at the uncap or will he have a more forward position to utilize his assets.

[mingmong]

Squad Name: Air Cav

Description: QRF and Air Assault
Positions and duties:
1.) Squad leader, officer kit
2.) Pilot
3.) - 6.) Infantry - 1 rifleman, 2 medics, 1 LAT

SOP:
Squad should try not to get bogged down in defensive operations where possible - and commanders should learn not to order them to. The primary objective in defensive organisations is to deposit a 5 man squad onto a flag that is in danger of being lost - a Quick Reaction Force. Ideally, once the situation is stable, the squad would either be relieved (if the flag is still in danger) or move out again (if the danger has passed). On the offensive, the squad leader should be constantly aware of when the next flag group comes into play - to the point where if two squads (one of them air cav) are capturing the last flag in the group, the Air cav squad should move off the flag to an LZ and prep for an Air Assault on the next flag.
As the CO, the Air cav squad should only be used as a QRF and Air Assault squad. As the standard defending squad of a point when others go on the offensive, the squad's capabilities are wasted.
The pilot - one thing that I cannot stress enough is that when the squad is in the air, the pilot outranks the SL. The pilot should not blindly land on the move marker that marks the LZ if it's exposed, or has enemy presence on it - the SL can't see that from his CAPS Lock view, you can. It is your decision to bug out, and it is a decision which you should make more often than not. When I ran this squad the first time on Al Burj, we made four insertions - on one of them the squad and helo were destroyed by a rocket, and on another we lost approx half of the infantry due to small arms fire while landing. This is an unacceptable level of casualties. I would rather have a cautious helo pilot than a reckless one.

[Crawlingeye]

Originally Posted by mingmong

When I ran this squad the first time on Al Burj, we made four insertions - on one of them the squad and helo were destroyed by a rocket, and on another we lost approx half of the infantry due to small arms fire while landing.

That might have been me :S (still learning the art to land in safe zones)

Anyway, my experience with Air Cav / Airborne squads is that it works best with LB's. Littlebirds can fly into narrow streets etc. But on an open map like Jabal it works just as good with the MEC transportchopper

[Steiner]

Squad Name: Special operations-squad

Description: Special operations, sabotage, observation/artillery recognisance from OP’s.

Positions and duties:
This squad does on purpose only consist of five squad-members in order to enable transportation by air (insertions or extractions) in small choppers like the Little Bird and its likes. In other words would a squad like this work very well in cooperation with the 160th S.O.A.R. or an other organized air-transport squad.

Fire Team Alpha
• Alpha One: Squad-leader with officers-kit for RP’s, observation [artillery-observation etc] and overall coordination of the squads movements.
• Alpha Two: Engineer (useful for its mines and C4’s in terms of mining roads, junctions and the demolition of bridges etc in order to slow down enemy movement with vehicles, or prevent it totally in certain areas)
• Alpha Three: Rifleman (with its ammo-bags is this kit vital to the squad in order for them to be self-sufficient for some time, in terms of re-arming themselves).

Fire Team Bravo
• Bravo One: Spec-Ops, 2nd IC. (the SLAM that goes with the kit makes it a good alternative to the Engineer, and the firearm works well from an ambush-pov).
• Bravo Two: Rifleman AP (given that any SO-squad should have the task of performing ambushes behind the lines against enemy troops so do this kit’s claymores come in handy in those situations. A couple of well placed mines that eliminate an enemy squad in a “click” is far more effective than a fire fight between the SO-squad and its target.




Squad Name: Armoured squad

Description: A fully manned armoured squad consisting of two tanks, and with the task of operating on their own or as support to infantry.
Position and duties:

Alpha (1st tank)

• Alpha 1: Crewman-kit & Squad leader. Positioned in the turret, but only as an MG-gunner. The armoured squads leader is to lead the squad and coordinate the two tanks along with observation, prioritizing targets.
• Alpha 2: Crewman-kit: Driver.
• Alpha 3: Crewman-kit: Gunner


Bravo (2nd tank)

• Bravo 1: Crewman-kit & tank-commander. Also positioned in the turret with the MG and command the tank’s movements and targets.
• Bravo 2: Crewman-kit: Driver
• Bravo 3: Crewman-kit: Gunner

As you can see so are all squad-members inside the tanks and with appropriate kits for their tasks. In the event of casualties so should anyone be able to take over an other squad-members role. Also, two tanks in the same squad makes, imo, a far more potent squad that having only one squad. Having all positions in the tank manned to also increase the strength of each squad and their full potential can be reached. Infantry-support for this armoured squad will have to be provided by dedicated infantry-squads, or mechanized/motorized infantry earmarked as infantry-support (ideas on such squads should also be created).

[Dirtboy]

Squad Name: TG Assault

Description: Always on the move, constantly attacking, and provides back-up for other advancing Squads

Positions and duties:
I dont use Fireteams...I have everybody under ME


One: Squad Leader, Always in the front of any advancement and having a Officer kit or Spec Op's when using different Rally Point
Two: Medic, Always near SL. Provides back-up and and smokes.
Three: L-AT, RP and Vehicle Destroyer. In the middle of an assault
Four: Support Gunner (L-AT if a Armor map). Lays down suppressing fire when SL goes down.
Five: Rifleman. No squad can survive without this guy. Providing ammo and has a endless supply of grenades.
Six: Medic, I always have two medics, one near me(2) and one in the rear. Always within 30 meters but never within 15 meters from SL. After a nade attack...he will stay back and suppress and smoke to get the SL up and going again.

[mingmong]

Originally Posted by Crawlingeye

That might have been me :S (still learning the art to land in safe zones)

Anyway, my experience with Air Cav / Airborne squads is that it works best with LB's. Littlebirds can fly into narrow streets etc. But on an open map like Jabal it works just as good with the MEC transportchopper

It was. You're a good pilot, you just need to do two things:
1.) Learn how to say "No, I'm not landing there".
2.) Learn to come in hard and skid, instead of hovering. Hovering = death. Harder to do with the MEC chopper, but still desirable. Obviously if you're dropping us off on a mountain/slope you can't, but there's no excuse for not skidding on relatively flat terrain - that time we got wiped by the rocket, we had a flat landing zone and spent about 5 secs too long just hovering, slowly losing enough altitude so we can jump out. I can give you tips on landing next time I see you on the server if you want.

[Crawlingeye]

Originally Posted by mingmong

It was. You're a good pilot, you just need to do two things:
1.) Learn how to say "No, I'm not landing there".
2.) Learn to come in hard and skid, instead of hovering. Hovering = death. Harder to do with the MEC chopper, but still desirable. Obviously if you're dropping us off on a mountain/slope you can't, but there's no excuse for not skidding on relatively flat terrain - that time we got wiped by the rocket, we had a flat landing zone and spent about 5 secs too long just hovering, slowly losing enough altitude so we can jump out. I can give you tips on landing next time I see you on the server if you want.

I'm always willing to learn!

[Crawlingeye]

Squad Name: Enforcer

Description:: Stay near / between 2 flags and move in to help if needed.

Positions and duties::

This squad is a defencive squad that stays between 2 flags
or near 1 and moves in if the flag area is overrun.
This way you don't need to have 2 squads per flag
(Total of 4 squads on the def) to defend.
Instead you only need 1 squad per flag and
a squad that moves in to reinforce is needed to.

(Btw, this is originaly Blitzer66's idea)

[John CANavar]

Thread added under Tactical Wiki \ BF2 Tactics and Training Library \ Squad Types Section.

Squad Types

[Sam Hoy]

Squad Name: Pink Team

Description: Specialized Hunter-Killer airborne squad.

Positions and duties:
Red Team:
1.Attack pilot-Operates the attack helicopter, requires pilot kit .
2.Gunner-Mans the secondary position on the attack helicopter, requires pilot kit.
White Team:
1.Scout pilot (ideally the squad leader)-Flies light observation helicopter, requires pilot kit
2.Observer(optional, potentially squad leader)-Flies in the observation helicopter and aides in target identification, generally utilizes the officer or special operations kit.

Essentially, the red, or attack team stands far off the target area in relative safety while the white, or scout team surveys a designated target area, trying to locate various targets and potential anti-aircraft threats. All this information is concisely relayed to the attack team who devises a plan of attack on said targets, then promptly after execution, disengages. More info here: http://www.tacticalgamer.com/battlef...ion-guide.html

Perhaps a finalized list could be standardized and put in the SOP?

[deathknight]

Squad Name: Light Infantry

Description: Light squad for rapid assaults

Positions and duties:
Fire Team: Alpha (Primary assault element)
1. Rifleman - Point man and for ammo supply
2. Rifleman - extra ammo
3. Medic (FTL)

Fire Team Bravo: (Fire suppression)
1. ***SEE BELOW***
2. Support - Fire suppression
3. Medic(SL)

***
Bravo 1 could be:
Rifleman for ammo and replace Alpha 2 with grenadier or support
Grenadier for Indirect Fire support of enemies behind cover

Could also have bravo 2 be Designated marksman and have support move up to bravo 1
***

I envision it being standard tactic of dumping rifleman ammo at point for bravo team to suppress target and then assault team flanking

Not sure how well it would work but just an idea for discussion

[Sabre_Tooth_Tigger]

Originally Posted by mingmong

It was. You're a good pilot, you just need to do two things:
1.) Learn how to say "No, I'm not landing there".
2.) Learn to come in hard and skid, instead of hovering. Hovering = death. Harder to do with the MEC chopper, but still desirable. Obviously if you're dropping us off on a mountain/slope you can't, but there's no excuse for not skidding on relatively flat terrain - that time we got wiped by the rocket, we had a flat landing zone and spent about 5 secs too long just hovering, slowly losing enough altitude so we can jump out. I can give you tips on landing next time I see you on the server if you want.

The littlebird will land really quickly. A flat area surrounded by fencing is ideal as the littlebird can be damaged by small arms even.

I wouldnt try the same in the blackhawk though, you might approach the crest or edge of a hilltop quickly and hope the passengers can take a 6 feet fall.
A BH will take a rocket often too so I see them more of a combat airship at present.

The MEC 'cow' has a ton of lift, you wont get a quick landing out of that easily afaik



Also thats a good point about the pilot. He is basically the captain of the ship and should decide the lz as close to your marker as he can. Sticky passengers who argue over having to walk 100m only make a crash more likely


Dont forget rivers are the quickest way to exit a heli, flying the length of one will allow people to jump out even at speed.

The downsides are its not that stealth, most rivers have high visibility and till the troops find their feet on a riverbank they cant return fire or take cover. Steep river banks are pain on some maps