77th JSOC / Public Servers / Combat Guides
Basic unit movement and formations
General introduction into movement and sector keeping.
Basic formations
Formation - A formation is defined as an arrangement. The way something, in this case members of a squad, are arranged or coming together. The endgoal of keeping formations lies in working together as a single entity, providing cover and keeping sectors cleared so the integrity of the unit can be guaranteed.
Column
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A column is frequently used in non-combat situations when moving towards a set point over the mainland. Whilst this formation is one of the most frequently used, goal of it gets misused even more. If one wants to make optimal use of this formation it is of the upmost importance to keep sectors.
The first person in line always keeps the sector right in front while navigating towards the objective. The second person chooses and vocalises wether he is taking the left or right side relative to the person in front. All soldiers who follow will take the opposite side of the person in front of him, while ultimately the last person checks the rear from time to time to make sure noone can creep up behind.
Staggered Column
http://www.77th-jsoc.com/wiki1/images/staggered-column.jpg
A staggered column is frequently used in non-combat situations when moving towards a set point in urban areas or along main roads. This will also be used when escorting vehicles towards a set opjective, having the vehicle drive between both columns.
Moving as two seperate staggered columns, the leftmost column will keep the left sector clear while the rightmost column keeps the right sector clear. Just as a normal column the persons in the back of the formation keeps check of the rear so no enemies can creep up on them.
Wedge
http://www.77th-jsoc.com/wiki1/images/wedge.jpg
The wedge or arrow formation is commonly used when moving through an open field while under fire or when starting an assault from an elevated position towards a set objective. This formation provides when used correctly almost 180° coverage in the direction you are moving. Just as all other formations the last person makes sure the rear end stays clear from enemies.
Echelon
http://www.77th-jsoc.com/wiki1/images/echelon.jpg
Echelon or staircase formation is most frequently used on steep terrain diffrences like moving up a mountain in which the use of other formations are inefficient. It is in essence the leftmost or rightmost half of a wedge. Where sectors are being kept in par with the wedge formation.
Diamond
http://www.77th-jsoc.com/wiki1/images/diamond.jpg
The diamond formation is often used when escorting a high value target(HVT). This formation is less frequently used, but when used correctly it will provide 360° coverage. Each member covers the sector relative to his position within the diamond.
Line
http://www.77th-jsoc.com/wiki1/images/line.jpg
A line or walking line formation is either used when supressing fire from an elevated position or when you need a maximum firepower in one direction. Also proven handy to sweep areas of dense cover. The main responsability of the soldiers on the outer flanks is to prevent enemies from flanking or creeping up behind the squad.
Combat movement
Combat tactics when moving towards an objective or when retreating from hot areas to provide a maximum amount of safety and therefore ensuring a minimum amount of casualties whilst being on the move.
Bounding
The bounding tactic is a combat maneuvre frequently used to safely reach your objective when there is not much cover and when you want to keep a maximum firepower at all times.
This tactic consists of one fireteam bounding to a certain point, once that fireteam is set, the second overwatching fireteam 'bounds' up to the first fireteam's location. Which allows a maximum amount of firepower if troops come into contact with enemies. This movement gets repeated untill the full squad reaches his destination.
Alternate Bounding a.k.a. Leapfrogging
The tactic of alternating movement of coordinated units to allow, if necessary, suppressive fire in support of offensive forward movement or defensive disengagement.
In essence, a fireteam takes up an overwatch position whilst the other members advance to cover. These two fireteams continuously switch roles towards their objective. This allows the overwatch position to suppress enemy fire when necessary.
The diffrence between normal bounding and leapfrogging lies in the fact that the leapfrogging tactic overtakes the overwatch position instead of halting at the overwatching fireteam.
Medical procedures
Next to the squadlead and fireteam lead the combat life saver(CLS) is the most important role a squadmember can fulfill. Therefore it is imperative not to take big risks but rather stay behind the other members in order to provide medical assistance when someone gets injured or killed in action(KIA). It is a smart thing to task other members of the squad in retrieving downed member to safety so the CLS can do his job.
In light of keeping the tactical realism to a high standard it is NOT allowed to respawn when one dies. When you decease on the battlefield it is imperative to let the timer run and give your squadmembers the chance to drag or carry you into safety so the medic can perfom his magic upon you, since briefly put, if you die, you must have done something wrong. Frequently, casualties are sustained when not being able to keep sectors, let enemies creep up on you, not using hard cover to your advantage and so on. Therefore we explicitly ask you NOT to respawn.
Be advised that, if you however do respawn for whichever reason other then disconnection, you will be demoted to the lowest priority to link back up to your squad. Which means, if pilots have other tasks at hand, you will stay at base untill other tasks have been completed before getting reunited with your squad in the battlefield. Unless you are the squadlead or medic there will be no exceptions made.
As a CLS it is essential to wait with performing medical assistance untill the casualty has been dragged and dropped completely, or, carried and touched the ground. When trying to revive while the animation is still being executed this can result in a socalled 'bugged' player. If you are experiencing a carry bug, the solution is: Press ESC --> Respawn (ONCE) --> Medic revive. There are NO legitimate reasons to kill a friendly.
Clearing of buildings
While this might be standard for most players, it is one of the deadliest manoevres when not carried out correctly. When breaching any kind of building or structure it is imperative the breaching squad communicates clearly on each members tasks.
While stacking up in anticipation of breaching it is a smart thing to reload a fresh magazine, make sure your weapon's firerate is set to burst or automatic, keep on covering sectors to avoid getting flanked by roaming enemies and waiting untill all members are ready to breach. Whilst this seems like the most basic of things, missing out on one of previous measures can have catastrophic consequences for the whole team.
The breaching process:
While one member opens the door, the first man in or 'breacher' proceeds moving inside the structure neutralising
all enemy contacts in the frontal sector. The second soldier (who opened the door) immediately follows and calls out 'Clearing
left/right' depending on that building's layout. The third member takes the opposite side for his account whilst vocalising his sector. A
fourth member will cover the entrance unless explicitly told otherwise by the person in charge.
Situational awareness
Situational awareness is the perception of environmental elements with respect to time or space, the comprehension of their meaning and the projection of their status after some variable has changed. Or, in simpler words, being aware of what happens in your surroundings and posessing the ability to adapt to unforseen circumstances.
Situational awareness is a state that should always be kept regardless from combat situation, even at base when waiting for a squad it might come in handy understanding what is going on on the servers at that moment in time. The HQ or pilots might be otherwise engaged at which point it makes no sense in pushing or pressuring people to prioritize yourself over the overall situation at hand.
Critical thinking helps out improving your situational awareness in the battlefield. Putting yourself in the enemies shoes and questioning if I were the enemy, where would I station myself. Where would I fire from? How can I flank the enemy without them spotting me. These are basic examples that can help you raise your overall awareness.
The keeping of sectors at all times and being able to adapt to the evolving situation improves the situational awareness aswell. Knowing that, if you keep a sector which is not taking fire at that particular moment in time but your team member on the opposite side of your formation is, you don't need to change facing towards his sector unless explicitly told to do so. If you do however change your sector you are weakening your formation and giving the enemy the opportunity to attack the weakest link.