Basic Infantry Tactics and Procedures

Introduction

I wanted to write this as OFP is releasing soon and we will be having a greater influx of new
recruits. Since we are implementing a boot camp into our clan I thought it would be great to have
a sort of training doctrine to teach the new recruits the "ropes" on how a realism clan would
operate. So I took the initiative to research and read a few chapters on infantry basics from U.S.
military handbooks and also from a shack tactical arma guide to strip out all the irrelevant
information to make a manual detailing tactics and procedures one would use during their stay
with ASOC. This is a really rough draft and I'm just throwing the meat onto the bones at the
moment so bear with me. I was also thinking and took the liberty of mocking up a boot camp
schedule to get you guys (Command) thinking on how to start implementing things and getting
our clan up and running.

So without further ado here we go.

First I think that once OFP:DR releases we should hold practices on Thursdays, deployments on
Saturdays, and boot camps on Mondays-Wednesdays.

Monday - Boot camp

Tuesday - MOS Schools (Armor, Flight, OCS, etc)
Wednesday - A field exercise to test and grade the recruits ( Any failures would be rolled into a
future class)

Thursdays - Killhouses?
Fridays - Killhouses?

Saturday - A deployment against another clan

I feel as though this would be great as the boot camps aren't long and arduous, not to mention to
attend them on mon-wednes would show who was dedicated enough to attend and become a
member. This also gives senior members responsibility of running things. This schedule would
also give the foreign affairs guys something to do during the week looking for other clans to
play. Also Thursday could be our killhouse because thats what it was before the change and
Friday gives people who missed the first to come to the second. By having plenty of activities we
could build a very tight knit community which could grow freaking big.
 Basic Introduction to the ASOC, our rules and procedures, and establish a rank structure
for the recruits.

1) At the start of a "boot camp" class you should introduce yourself to the recruits and let them
know your forum name ( PV2 Hearns etc) this reinforces your role as a leader and teacher and
lets them know right off the rip that we are professional and can takes things seriously.

2) Explain our rules and procedures (should be fairly simple). Again this is the introductory
phase and we are gamers so we are here to have fun but at the same time we need to let them
know we are professionals because if we don't enforce this it can cause problems during
Deployments or Killhouses.

3) Establish a sort of pseudo rank structure to give responsibilities during the training since
everyone there should be of the recruit rank. This helps during the exercises later because
everyone forms on the makeshift squad, fireteam, or whatever leader.
 Basic Formations and Squad Spacing

Basic infantry formations and their uses

While there are plenty of formations most are useless most of the time in a gaming situation.
There are a few however which are highly useful and fairly simple to learn.

They are the column formation and the line formation-

The column formation is simply that a column or a straight line. It is probably the most useful
formation in all of gaming history simply because it gives your team a 360 degree view. Not only
that but its damn easy to maintain a good spacing and formation. This is one we will implement
80% of the time because it makes movement safer, faster,everyone is more aware, and the
simplicity of it allows for an almost instantaneous change into a line or wedge formation. The
downfall of the column is the vulnerability of the formation from the sides and rear.

Then there is the line formation-

Its essentially a horizontal column formation. This is the formation you want to take on when
contact is made because it makes everyone come on line with everyone else. This is a great
advantage when bullets start flying because you see what everyone else sees thus making fire
direction very simple. It also reduces if not eliminates the chance of friendly fire. This is our
standard fighting formation because once the enemies location is known your team should be
facing towards the enemy and this provides the whole team with firing positions. So when
contact happens everyone should instantly move into line formation.
There are also the Vee and the wedge formations which are more difficult to implement in a
game because they are more of a squad level formation (Except for the wedge which is also a
standard fireteam formation). They do have their uses however.

The Vee formation is just that a V. It is more of a defensive formation due to its nature. During a
V formation one or two fireteams in the middle of a line formation will pull back forming a V or
U shape. This is good because it allows for the flanking of the enemy while maintaining your
own flanks. The V provides the squad with a maneuver element to flank the enemy or to provide
extra security on the flanks.
The wedge is the exact opposite of a Vee. In that its more of an arrow shaped formation. The
wedge is a good assaulting formation because it gives security on the flanks and allows for
enemy flanking.
Squad spacing is a fairly simple concept -

The tighter your formation the greater the chance you'll all get grenade fucked. Stress this to the
recruits because untrained guys tend to bunch around the leader of the formation and the next
thing you know everyone's either wounded or dead. The casualty radius of a typical grenade is
about 15m although in games the downplay it with about a 5m or about 15 feet kill radius.
We generally want to keep at least 10 feet of space between each member of the team in urban or
close areas and about 30 feet between each other out in the open. This lowers the threat of
grenades, machine gun fire, and other weapons that tend to cover a large area (Artillery, Air
strikes, the hand of God).
 Basic Rifleman Skills

I know we are an army clan but we must strive to maintain that every member of our clan is a
rifleman first. On the battlefield every non infantry element is there to support the infantry
whether it be snipers, armor, or air it's all in support of the infantry therefore basic rifleman skills
should be mandatory. When the time comes we should be able to call upon any person to pick up
a rifle and know how to act as part of an infantry fireteam.

Cover your given sector -

Whether it be in open terrain or in urban environments know your sector because if I get shot by
a guy you were supposed to shoot I'm going to kick your ass. Strive to always maintain a 360' of
awareness. I know it isn't possible all the time but make sure your paying attention. (Ex-
Pointman is watching the front, 2nd is watching the left, 3rd is watching the right, and 4th is
watching rear)
Let all important information be relayed as quickly and cleanly as possible. If you spot an enemy
let the squad leader know where and how far and who is reporting the information. If I'm leading
and someone says "Enemy patrol 300 yards at my 9 o' clock" I'm going to go what the fuck?
State your name when reporting information so leaders have a clear picture or the situation.

Practice fire discipline. Nothing is going to get you demoted faster than getting your team killed
because you didn't want to hold fire. If you are hidden stay hidden because once the trigger is
pulled nothing is going to bring that little lead deliverer of justice back into your gun. Wait for
confirmation to be given given before opening fire unless the ROE states otherwise. Of course
once the enemy is aware of you than the ROE are immediately "Open fire, Engage at will" you
know unless the ROE state otherwise.

Know what the hell it is that you are shooting at. Please for the love of god confirm your target
before opening fire. No one likes getting friendly fucked.

Listen to and obey orders. I can't stress this enough, if the commander of the mission wants you
to sit in one spot and watch an area it's probably for a good reason. Also while on deployments or
killhouses listen to anyone of higher rank than yourself, it maintains order on the battlefield and
if they fuck up you have someone to blame and laugh at.

Cover, Concealment, and Combat.

Knowing the difference between cover and concealment can mean the difference between virtual
life and death.

Cover - Anything that protects you from enemy projectiles

-Brick walls
-Houses
-Tanks
-Terrain features such as hills or bomb craters

Concealment - Anything that restricts the enemies view of yourself but doesn't fall into the cover
category
-Bushes, shrubbery, or tall grass
-Thin metal
-Wooden fences or doors.

If this isn't obvious always try to be behind some sort of cover because when the shit hits the fan
you don't want to rely on leaves and twigs to protect you from bullets.

During your time with ASOC combat will be inevitable because of course we are playing games
and virtual lives will be taken without remorse. So you'll want to be able to survive while
deployed and you don't want to be looking at a respawn screen most of the time so pay attention.

When contact is made there is a process that must be completed for victory to be assured.

-Everyone must find cover or concealment as soon as possible. If he can't see you then he can't
shoot at you.....accurately.

-Afterwards everyone must try and locate the enemies position. If you don't find him he's going
to find you and if that happens I'll see you at spawn.

-Everyone must form a line towards the enemies known or suspected location this brings all your
weapons to bear on the enemy.

From there the squad or fireteam leader can assess the situation and employ the tactics he sees fit
for the engagement.

Different types of fire-

There are several types of fires you can utilize to suppress and destroy your enemy.
Point Fire- Is used when you can clearly see your target and fire is deliberate and carefully
aimed. Basically the type of shooting that is done in most FPSs these days.

Area Fire- Is employed against an area and not a specific target. Ex- Having your automatic
rifleman fire at a tree line where you think an enemy is. It is faster than point fire and is used
against a concentration of enemy or against suspected or likely enemy locations.

Suppressive Fire- Is employed against an enemy to keep him from shooting at you. In essence its
simply making him think that when he peeks up he's going to die. You should make it your
priority to keep the enemy suppressed because it allows you freedom of movement and mobility
wins battles, which of course allows for flanking maneuvers to be employed. Always strive to
keep the enemies heads down. Suppressive fire employs a high volume of fire against a target or
area, and its the most effective for killing and routing enemy forces.
Indirect Fire- is fire from indirect weapons such as the M203 and artillery. Its usually employed
when the enemy is not within line of sight and it's highly effective because the enemy can't
engage with standard weapons.

Then lastly there are the firing enfilades. It's basically flanking fire relative to the suppressing
element.
Reloading-
While in combat your going to have to reload at some point. Knowing when to reload can save
or cost you your virtual ass.

-Always reload behind cover or if cover isn't available in the prone position
-Try to not reload if you have less than 10 bullets in your magazine, in OFP:DR magazine counts
are saved and you don't want to reload a magazine with 1 bullet in it.
-Let your team know you are reloading, this is highly critical especially if you are suppressing an
enemy because your team has to temporarily pick up the slack in fire.
-Know when to do a tactical reload, (Entering a building, assaulting an enemy position, etc).
Knowing when and where to reload is an advantage and you'll need everyone you can get on the
battlefield.