asch

SOP (Radio) - The SITREP (Situation Report)

What is a SITREP?
In special forces operations, often the plan never goes according to plan. Besides a structured training regime for young warriors which teaches them to "adapt, improvise, persevere and overcome" in order to handle these unforeseen events, the Squad Leader / Commander is constantly assessing the current situation in real time, so he can adjust tactics to the fluidness of the engagement when this happens.

Individual members of the team can help the SL / CO maintain tactical SA (situational awareness) by efficient use of SITREPS. All military units are trained to use a standard NATO form of radio procedure for SITREPS. The reason for standardizing the format of the SITREP is to minimize extraneous radio traffic by creating a clear and concise common approach. Therefore, everyone listening on the radio net understands exactly the nature and scope of the enemy threat, as well as the general status of their team's condition. In our virtual BF2 world we don’t use actual military radios, but with VoIP, virtually the same methodology can be utilized.

The form of the SITREP may be remembered by using the term E.F.A.R.

Enemy Forces (What is their status? What are they doing?)
Friendly Forces (What is your status? What are you doing? Do you have a visual on any other friendly call-signs from other units?)
Administrative Needs (Do you require anything i.e. medical, ammo, other?)
Recommendations (Do you have any tactical suggestions for the SL's consideration?)

When do I use a SITREP?
SITREPS are either requested by the SL / CO to clarify a specific team member's status, or they may be sent unprompted by any team member / SL based upon changing events in his own geographic area of operations. Often a SITREP is sent as a follow-up to a standard SOP (Radio) - The Contact Report, where the sender has previously engaged (or is observing) the enemy. The purpose would be to update the entire squad / CO as to the results of the engagement, or any significant change in the status of enemy movement being observed. The SITREP is also a mechanism whereby individual team members make recommendations to the SL / CO to alter mission objectives, the tactics being used, or suggest changes in routings that may be taken to achieve objectives.

Finally, SITREPS serve as a method for individual fire team members / SLs to report any critical administrative needs or shortfalls such as being low on primary ammunition, or a perhaps shortages of specific kind of secondary weaponry (i.e.: AT / C4 charges) that may be needed in order to accomplish mission goals.

Affirmative & Negative Hotkeys
The Battlefield 2 game provides a key bind to respond in the affirmative and negative. The default bind for the affirmative is the PgUp key. The default bind for the negative is the PgDown key.

Example
An example of VoIP Contact Reports under condition RED (see SOP (Tactics) - Fire Discipline for more information on RED / YELLOW / GREEN rules of engagement.)

Asch: "Squad Leader, this is Asch, CONTACT, north, three infantry and one ACP, moving south east, engaging."
Squad Leader: "Team, this is Squad Leader! DISPERSE! Go GREEN!"
Asch: Asch responds by hitting the affirmative hotkey.

.... LONG PAUSE IN ACTION AND RADIO TRAFFIC ....

Asch: "Squad Leader, this is Asch, SITREP, Enemy neutralized, call-sign Beatnik is down, need C4 to complete objective, recommend maintaining defensive posture at ths location until additional call-sign with requirments arrive."

Note: Use of E.F.A.R. format sequence (clear and concise)

Squad Leader: "Asch, this is Squad Leader! Understood, hold position until call-sign Bommando arrives, then continue with mission."
Asch: Asch responds by hitting the affirmative hotkey. Squad Leader: "Bommando, this is Squad Leader! Take your C4 and move East to support Asch. Team provide cover, Bommando move NOW!"
Bommando: Bommando responds by hitting the affirmative hotkey.

Additional Notes
SITREPS can be abused and over used. They're most useful in a situation where various teams are geographically separated performing individual mission tasks. If the entire fire team / squad is geographically on the same ground and everyone sees the same threat, often it's redundant to send either Contact Reports or SITREPS, except if you believe that other team members can't see the actual threat, or have possibly lost SA (situational awareness) as to what's happening around them. Therefore, information such enemy activity and intentions, who (friendlies) you can see or not see, suggestions for adapting the current mission plan, or sending administrative requirements such as low ammo might prove useful. The key is to use one's own best judgment. It should be noted that due to the higher command structure above the fire team & squad, then even if the team were all together, the Squad Leader would send a proper radio Contact Report to the Commander.

After a bit of practice using this technique, it becomes almost second nature and makes it much easier to communicate enemy threats, providing the squad leader / CO better command and control capability, plus improving the overall SA (situational awareness) of the entire team. We would encourage all players on any TacticalGamer BF2 public server, to utilize this standard NATO SOP methodology for sending SITREPS as much as possible.

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asch

Updated for Clarity!

__________________
| My Maps

Gaming Videos by Tactical Gamers

Fear the Frog! | Kill the Frog! | An Inconvenient Truth

"Support game play in a near-simulation environment. Where the focus of play would not be solely on doing what it takes to win, but doing so utilizing real-world combat strategy and tactics rather than leveraging exploits provided to players by the design of the game engine, regardless of the level of advantage, if any, it gives over the opposing team." -- Tactical Gamer Primer