Hey;

I just wanted to draw everyone's attention to the following thread (under SOPs):

http://www.tacticalgamer.com/battlefield-2-standard-operating-procedures/57067-sop-radio-sitrep.html

As detailed in this thread, SITREPs can be an invaluable tool to boost situational awareness for the squaddies, SLs and COs. Too many times, as CO, I have asked for a SITREP from a squad to hear something like "We all just died, we're trying again". I've even given those too frequently as a SL. The CO (probably) already knows that, because s/he could see it on the overview map.

As noted in the SOP, the 4 components of the SITREP are denoted by EFAR:

Enemies - Enemy strength and activity in your area
Friendlies - Friendly strength and activity in your area
Administrative Requests - Any supply drops, UAV, etc go here
Recommendations - What do you think is the best course of action from here?

I'd like to suggest a few simplifications to keep the SITREP brief but informative:
When reporting strengths, use designations of
None - No contacts
Light - 1-2 infantry contacts
Medium - 3-5 infantry OR 1 jeep+infantry
Heavy - 6+ infantry OR 2+ jeeps

On top of these designations, the SL can use the modifiers:
Armour (or Armor, if you'd prefer) - indicate if any armour (tanks or APCs) comprises the forces being described
Helo - indicate if any helos comprise the forces being described.

Examples:
1) An infantry-only squad of 5 is defending a currently quiet CP.
CO: "1, this is CO, sitrep"
1 SL: "CO, this is 1, Enemy is none, Friendly is medium, no admin, no recommends"

2) A squad is enroute to an enemy base, in a transport chopper. An enemy chopper buzzes past them, but doesn't try to engage.
CO: "1, this is CO, sitrep"
1 SL: "CO, this is 1, Enemy is light helo, Friendly is medium helo, no admin, recommend AA ready at <CP Name>"
Note that when describing the friendly and enemy forces, the SL omitted the word "with", as in "light with helo". This will help abbreviate messages.

These are not meant to be hard and fast breaks in strength division. The SL should call out strength based on his best knowledge as opposed to counting each time a sitrep is asked for. Other factors such as active firefights, or the calm-before-the-storm will impact the SLs assessment of the situation.

SLs should not be concerned if they got it precisely accurate; give only the best information that you can. If your assessment soon turns out to be way off, then transmit a correction.

In conclusion, SITREPs do a lot to help the commander understand what is happening on the battlefield which is usually fairly removed from his or her personal location. This is especially true for the commander who has been blinded by losing his scanning and UAV assets. I highly recommend that we all try to use them. They are not the easiest thing in the world to rattle off, especially when you're in the heat of battle, but with practice, the team that uses them will move much more cohesively than the one that doesn't.

Dice.

Afterword: Anyone reading this may want to scan the entire SOP section again anyways. Identify what you do well and what needs improvement. That way, you will have something to build on when in the game, ultimately making you a better player.