08-09-2014, 02:43 PM
This is a topic that i am really excited to talk about, i will try to the best of my ability discuss the usefulness of specific equipment and items that maximize the efficiency of the Squad leaders ability to perform as a good leader and commander.
First of all, let us establish that we know the difference roles between the common rifleman and the squad leader, quite simply one is the foot solider who is ordered by the SL to carry out orders with the rest of the other riflemen under the SL's command. The SL has the job of coordinating and leading the forces of riflemen(and other classes) in his group. So what equipment by default does the SL have that allows him to carry out his job, or rather lets start by asking what kind of skills does he require to do so that the riflemen do not.
He needs to have:
1. An enhanced sense of perception and battlefield awareness
2. The ability to organize his troops and communicate with them
3. A way of indicating unique orders to specific individuals/groups within his squad(Eg: assigning different targets to different soliders)
So what is the addition in the SL's loadout that allows him to carry out his role? By default the squad leader is given a more powerful rifle sight, usually the RCO to meet requirement 1 where he can perceive the battlefield around him to a greater degree than his riflemen that allows him to effectively plan battle strategy.
With the aid of many commonly used radio mods, the SL is given a long range radio that allows him to communicate orders over a longer distance than the regular radios which is invaluable in aiding his group when operating over a large area. He can also do so by placing map markers to convey orders.
Finally he is the only class to spawn with tracer round magazines for his rifle. The reason behind this is that verbal communication has an extent to which it is effective in every possible firefight scenario, and in these cases, the visual cues of his tracer rounds will be far more effective at giving precise fire orders than the word by mouth ever will.
What i recommend to be items mandatory to the squad leader's loadout, are things i believe will maximize his effectiveness at being a good leader. With each item i wrote the number that corresponds with each of the 3 abilities it assists with
Binoculars - I always found it strange how so important a piece of equipment be left out of the default loadout, he needs to be able to see far to form his strategies(1)
More tracer round mags - By default he spawns with only 2 tracer magazines out of 6. First of all the ammo count for the leader is laughable at only 6 magazines with only 2 of them being tracers. I suggest he have his ammo loadout beefed up with at least 5 tracer round magazines and 3 more normal ones(3)
GPS - This is just for him to instantly determine his current location and surrounding terrain without having to open his map(1)
3GL rifle w/ 40mm smoke grenades - Why i chose this over hand grenades, is not only because the distance that they can be launched is increased to anything of 50m-400m but also because you can control how far the distance they be fired. Used resourcefully, smoke grenades can do anything from highlighting enemy positions without having to shoot at them, to indicating move orders for different fireteams with different colored smoke, highlighting objectives and extractions points(2)
First aid kits - The combat medic has the job of keeping everyone healthy but there will be times he cannot render help to an injured leader and in such cases when highest priority is keeping the leader alive to command a battle, he has to heal himself. Although it may weigh him down slightly more, packing more first aid is a fail safe tactic.
UAV(optional) - This is just something i do for fun, leave it flying in the air at a safe height and use the high zoom optics and thermals for recon when needed.
Well i hope everyone enjoyed this little thread ive been itching to write lol, i know its been a little wordy but i think the concepts and lessons are important to any Squad Leader. What i do in my missions is add a few extra lines in the init. for the SL to give him the extra items. While equipment is important remember that a Squad Leader can never be good without competence at leading and forming strategies no matter what loadout he has.
Cheers CIA,
First of all, let us establish that we know the difference roles between the common rifleman and the squad leader, quite simply one is the foot solider who is ordered by the SL to carry out orders with the rest of the other riflemen under the SL's command. The SL has the job of coordinating and leading the forces of riflemen(and other classes) in his group. So what equipment by default does the SL have that allows him to carry out his job, or rather lets start by asking what kind of skills does he require to do so that the riflemen do not.
He needs to have:
1. An enhanced sense of perception and battlefield awareness
2. The ability to organize his troops and communicate with them
3. A way of indicating unique orders to specific individuals/groups within his squad(Eg: assigning different targets to different soliders)
So what is the addition in the SL's loadout that allows him to carry out his role? By default the squad leader is given a more powerful rifle sight, usually the RCO to meet requirement 1 where he can perceive the battlefield around him to a greater degree than his riflemen that allows him to effectively plan battle strategy.
With the aid of many commonly used radio mods, the SL is given a long range radio that allows him to communicate orders over a longer distance than the regular radios which is invaluable in aiding his group when operating over a large area. He can also do so by placing map markers to convey orders.
Finally he is the only class to spawn with tracer round magazines for his rifle. The reason behind this is that verbal communication has an extent to which it is effective in every possible firefight scenario, and in these cases, the visual cues of his tracer rounds will be far more effective at giving precise fire orders than the word by mouth ever will.
What i recommend to be items mandatory to the squad leader's loadout, are things i believe will maximize his effectiveness at being a good leader. With each item i wrote the number that corresponds with each of the 3 abilities it assists with
Binoculars - I always found it strange how so important a piece of equipment be left out of the default loadout, he needs to be able to see far to form his strategies(1)
More tracer round mags - By default he spawns with only 2 tracer magazines out of 6. First of all the ammo count for the leader is laughable at only 6 magazines with only 2 of them being tracers. I suggest he have his ammo loadout beefed up with at least 5 tracer round magazines and 3 more normal ones(3)
GPS - This is just for him to instantly determine his current location and surrounding terrain without having to open his map(1)
3GL rifle w/ 40mm smoke grenades - Why i chose this over hand grenades, is not only because the distance that they can be launched is increased to anything of 50m-400m but also because you can control how far the distance they be fired. Used resourcefully, smoke grenades can do anything from highlighting enemy positions without having to shoot at them, to indicating move orders for different fireteams with different colored smoke, highlighting objectives and extractions points(2)
First aid kits - The combat medic has the job of keeping everyone healthy but there will be times he cannot render help to an injured leader and in such cases when highest priority is keeping the leader alive to command a battle, he has to heal himself. Although it may weigh him down slightly more, packing more first aid is a fail safe tactic.
UAV(optional) - This is just something i do for fun, leave it flying in the air at a safe height and use the high zoom optics and thermals for recon when needed.
Well i hope everyone enjoyed this little thread ive been itching to write lol, i know its been a little wordy but i think the concepts and lessons are important to any Squad Leader. What i do in my missions is add a few extra lines in the init. for the SL to give him the extra items. While equipment is important remember that a Squad Leader can never be good without competence at leading and forming strategies no matter what loadout he has.
Cheers CIA,
