(The following message is from Damonte-the-player, not from Damonte-the-admin)

Damonte has had some experience with squad leading. Here are a few of the tidbits that Damonte has found to make his squad more effective under his command. Please note that these are fairly general and apply to all situations. Damonte will not go into specific tactics that apply to specific maps or situations.

• Use VOIP. Squad leaders must use VOIP. Seriously! And do everyone a favor and buy a headset. Your squad does not want to hear your kid crying in the background (You know who you are), or your air conditioner roaring in the window (You know who you are too), or double-feedback coming from your game in very poorly accented Russian. If you're going to squad lead, you're going to be doing a lot of talking. C'mon, you paid anywhere from $30 to $55 (including Northern Strike), what's $20 for a decent headset? $30 or so will get you a sweet Plantronics model. Enough said on this.
• Communicate what you want the squad to do before you go do it. Too many times a squad will be milling around and not realize the squad leader is off going to their next objective without as much as a simple "Hey, let's go over here!". Damonte likes to give out his plans of movement several steps ahead of what is currently happening. For example: "While everyone else moves on to <a flag name> we are going to stay here for a minute and make sure that we got everyone. Someones people like to hide. Then we'll move over to this position <Damonte places a waypoint>. Not yet though... let's just make a couple sweeps." Once the sweeps are over: "All right, let's move to the waypoint. If everything looks clear, we're going to flank to the north and put some rockets on the enemy position, but we are not going to advance." See... the squad knows what will be coming next. They know to heal up, rest up their sprint if they have to, reload their rocket ammo from the support member, and mentally prepare for the next step. A squad that is mentally prepared for the immediate task is focused. A focused squad is always a much more effective squad. Damonte cannot emphasize this point enough. Communication is the most difficult and important role of the squad leader. This times time and practice. Don't expect to be able to do this overnight. Damonte thinks it is safe to say that the best squad leaders he's ever served under exhibited this skill.
• Use waypoints. Attack and defend orders on flags are great for getting bonus points. But we're not in it for the points, are we? Use waypoints to indicate general paths of movement. Squads react much better to visual queues than verbal ones. Get familiar with the squad leader rose. Someone will undoubtedly post a screenshot of that. Use the SL rose to lay down intermediate waypoints if you're running a back-flag operation, or flanking the enemy via a specific route. The more information you share with your squad, the more effective they will be at successfully executing your desired goals.
• Don't be afraid to lead from the rear. Squad leaders are not always point men. Now... there will be people who will respond saying "I always lead from the front. I'm just that darn good!" That's great. Damonte is glad it works for them. It doesn't work that way for everyone. In deciding which method works for you... consider that an SL is a mobile spawn point. If your squad is behind enemy lines with no flag nearby... keeping alive at the cost of the rest of the squad might be necessary. Hopefully it is not. There are a few key individuals who are amazing at surviving encounters. It takes a blend of strategic movements and tactical decisions. The differences between a tactical retreat and running like a little girl are only defined by your ultimate intent. Tactical retreats are only long enough to regroup and return with overwhelming, focused firepower. Don't be afraid to make that choice.

These are some of the most critical to success points that Damonte can think of for effective squad leaders. Doubtlessly there are more. But if a squad leader can incorporate these four points into their game... Damonte thinks that individual will be most effective in any situation, on any map, in any game type.