The Age of the Recon Squad Part I.
After many prayers, promises, and sacrifices to Aries, the god of war I found the TAC MOD at Tactical Gamer. That reminds me, my first five kids will need to be awesome warriors dedicated to war and carnage or I’m going to have a one way ticket across the river of Styx to Hades when I perish.
I digress. In vanilla, the greatest Intel device that a team has is the scanner and U.A.V. functions. These technological tools allowed the C.O. to of course provide live Intel to their team! Think about it, live information on the enemy’s presence.
With the TAC MOD, like before, the latest Intel is just as important as before. However, due to the crutch that was developed with relying on easy push button enmey positions that came with the techno vanilla wars, the dark ages started in the Tac Mod with regards to relaying the most up to date intell to the team. I noticed that the C.O. function is abandoned quite often and with it the awesome radio transmissions that comes with it. The intell gap that was left after the techno wars is huge and needs to be filled A.S.A.P.! You see, many warriors believe the path to victory is to solely engage the enemy and kill it quickly, either being on the offense or defense. There is a more elegant way of destroying your enemy. Enter the recon squad, the eyes and ears of the team. These warriors are neither in the primary offense or defense roles, but relay relevant intell to their team with the commo rose and precise radio transmissions with the SL and C.O.
Body
A. Mission Statement
B. Attributes a player needs to perform good recon work
C. Recon numbers in a squad and team
D. Distinction of the recon squad
E. General S.O.P. when forming a recon squad.
F. Kit selection
G. Commo rose function
H. Verbal communications.
Mission Statement
The primary goal of the recon squad is to provide the latest intell up the chain of command in clear and efficient manner in hopes of aiding their team in their offensive and defensive accomplishments. The secondary goal will be to assist and support the friendly assault team attacking positions the recon squad or squad member is closes to. The tertiary goal will be to impede the enemy in their offensive and defensive endeavors by use of bobby traps, and suppressive fire, and destroying the enemy itself.
Attributes of the players needed to fill the ranks of the recon trooper.
The player will need to be of sound discipline.
Will need to have radio communication
Will need to make precise communication relays up the chain of command.
Will need to be effieciant in spotting the enemy with the commo rose function.
Will need to be very very patient.
Will need to be proficient in stealth.
Will need to be cunning.
Will need to have the courage and skills to take up the CO position if not occupied.
Numbers
The recon squad consists of one to six members per squad. A team should have at the most one squad. The number of warriors on the map and the geographical conditions will greatly influence the number of recon personnel in the squad and their location on the map.
Distinction of the recon team
As noted above, the recon teams’ primary objective will be gathering and relaying intell to the team. This clearly segregates the recon team from the sniper team. The classic sniper team is an offensive weapon that focuses more on killing than intel. The recon personnel is interesting in viewing the enemy in its undisturbed defensive and flanking assault positions and identifying the strength and numbers of the enemy.
General S.O.P when forming a squad
As noted above the number of players and geographical elements of the map will dictate the numbers in the recon team. Rarely should a recon squad excide four or more members. For example, a map like Strike at Karkand with its close quarter melee action (64 players, as in there are 32 players on your team) should contain one-two members in the squad tops. In fact if there is an sniper squad already present, do not bother with recon. YOur team is going to need plenty of hands on personnel to engage the enemy. Mashtuur City (again 32 players on your team) could use up to four players in the squad due to the open flanking positions that the enemy has. The SL will need to use their judgment when forming, locking, and removing members from the squad. The recon squad must be an asset to the team. Taking up vital team slots and being idle would retard your team’s offensive and defensive capacities.
Due to the commo rose function and the constant radio communicationsbetween squad members, the recon soldier will spend most of their time split apart from their squad and team. This enables the recon squad to be scattered around the map thus having many different pairs of eyes and ears for the team.
The commander role is crucial. If not taken, the recon SL will ask for volunteers for the important role. If there are no takers, the SL should take the position. Once done so, provide the important commo relay to help coordinate attacks and of course relay recon intell.
Kit selection of the recon team.
Generally Sniper, Support, Special Forces will be used; however, depending upon the circumstances other kits will be used. As long there are binocs found in the kit you’re good to go for recon.
Commo rose
Due to the fact that the C.O. will be communicating with other squads, the recon situational reports will need to be exact and short. The arcade commo rose function will be your best intell relaying tool for your team. When spotting things, be careful for two reasons. One, if the enemy is close enough to you they will hear you spotting them. Two, your spotting will need to be accurate. Many times when spotting something the spot will be a false positive, meaning the enemy is not were it is actually on the map.
Verbal communications between SL and C.O.
As stated above, the C.O. net channel should be filled with prudent communications. During high priority situations the recon SL should announce intell verbally. For example, a recon trail watcher counts six enemy soldiers working to flank a friendly defensive position and gives the intell to the SL. The SL will then relay the numbers, a good idea on the kit selection, and the general direction the enemy is heading to the C.O. All the while the recon solider is spotting the enemy as they move.
This concludes Part I. The age of recon was brought about ironically by the demise of the U.A.V. and scanner. The ability to move in behind enemy lines and or protect the flanks of friendly positions without being seen from a cheap C.O. function enables the recon element to get into position to do the very thing the U.A.V. and scanner did, gather live intell on the battlefield.
P.S. if you’re a supporting member and thinking about joining an in-house squad and are interested with such tactics, the 4th Recon Force should be looked into.
Coming soon, Part II.
A. The Insertion
B. Finding the perch
C. Tactics
1. Behind enemy lines
2. The Trail Watcher
3. Capitalizing on team assets
4. Making Kill zones
D. Escape and Evade
E. The Extraction
F. General tips for better game play and overal
TG enjoyment
G. The future of online games and the need for recon.
H. Other.
The Age of the Recon Squad Part I.
