This is the third and final part of our TLC presentation. We understand the rules, we can follow the guidelines to simplify our play and now it's time to perfect our play. These are simple ideas anyone can understand.
It doesn't matter how many times we have played the missions and the different ways we tried to complete the objectives. We all know the enemy continues to surprise us and create difficulties in our play. What we enjoy most is playing with each other so why not become like actors on the stage. We change the classes and roles as we want, so each of us can show the others how outstanding commandos we can be.
We can forget pretending an enemy is not here or there. We focus ONLY on what we have to do, everything the enemy does can be a surprise. The most important goal is staying alive. It is what keeps our team going forward. When you know your place in the group, you know your orders then you will know what to do and the chance of failure is minimum.
So what's the purpose of a team? Well... to complete objectives of course. Our efficiency is decided by how fast we can move, without detection and minimum or no casualties. This is what we get payed for.
Again, let's go over the classes and the roles you're responsible for.
The Team Leader(TL)
The Team Leader is the one concerned with the group's safety. He makes the plans necessary to complete all objectives and supervises the group. Large groups can be divided into teams, each team can have a leader of its own, creating more specific objectives. The Team Leader can ask for an assistant when having to deal with difficult situations or when taking important decisions. He is known as 2nd in command.
It is vital that the TL will select regrouping locations on the map. These can be used for healing, ammo, planning the next move and jokes :)
It is also important that the TL assigns the order in which the group will advance. It is the order we will use to move from one position to another or from corner to corner.
The TL can create assault groups for close range combat and fire/cover squads for suppressing the enemy while we advance in urban areas or open spaces.
Everyone needs to know what the objectives are, what the plan is, what's his squad's task is and what is his role in the squad.
The Soldier(S)
The soldier is the second most important piece within the group. When one soldier is unable to focus or pay attention to what is going on around him, the entire team will suffer. The soldier must be able to concentrate and also be a sharp shooter. He is always the first one enemies will shoot at so it's important that he always refines the way he moves and shoots. Volunteer as a soldier to make the difference.
The Heavy Gunner(HG)
The Heavy Gunner is usually the buffer between the enemy and our team. He has the task to eliminate most of the enemies before anyone gets hurt. The heavy gunner can have the role of covering someone's advance or assault, retreat or defending a position. When using formations, the heavy gunner moves behind one or two soldiers, covering them, but also quick to respond to any enemy attacks. When choosing this class, be prepared to deal with an increasing number of enemies. If you fail to suppress the waves of enemy attacks, our team will fail. Shoot to kill.
The Engineer(E)
The Engineer knows how to handle explosives, electrical stuff, disarm mines and destroy enemy armored vehicles. He, besides the Medic, is the one our group needs to protect in order to accomplish the mission. It is important that the Engineer is not the first one in line, but he can participate in assaulting enemy positions.
Engineers have the task of searching enemy bodies for secret documents, explosives or keys to unlock doors. He is also responsible of carrying any extra ammo and supplies our group needs.
The Medic(M)
The Medic is the one responsible for our group's survival. Without a restored health we could never finish our objectives. The medic usually waits for the wounded soldier to retreat to a safe spot for healing. He will always have the task of searching the enemy bodies for extra medic kits. Make sure you don't faint at the sight of blood and patch those wounds before they get infected.
The Pointman
The Pointman should be the most experienced one in the group. It is necessary to train everyone for this role because the pointman needs to be changed multiple times during a mission. His task is to move ahead of the team and report back any obstacles, enemy patrols and other dangers along the way. He is the first in line so he is the eyes of our group.
Observe the enemy patrolling, search for their weak point. Take advantage of the landscape objects so they become obstacles for the enemy. You must have initiative but also calculate risks and report them to the commander.
Formations
Using organized formations is not only a sign of discipline, but it also keeps the whole group focused and alive. They can prove useful in countering the enemy effectively. Our most used formations will be line and column or file. It is not necessary to use formations.
The Line formation is best used in defensive situations or when engaging the enemy by surprise from a safe distance. It is good for slow advancing and also covering large spaces when moving in open areas. It's easy to convert line to a column or an arrow formation. When using a line, it's best to have the protected classes at the center, with the soldiers and heavy gunners at the flanks.
The column formation is the one we use for advancing in both urban or open areas. A group can form two columns to cover both sides of the road or when moving on the streets of a village. A column formation can spread clockwise or counter clockwise to form a line before engaging the enemy. For the column, the soldiers and heavy gunners sit in front.
Arrow formations are great for a strong advance. We can move quite fast and with safety when using this kind of formation. One could say it's the combination between column and line. The protected classes stay at the flanks or center-back. Long range weapons can use the flanks on open areas.
V formation is best when having a large group. This can easily open to create a line or move into two parallel columns. The protected classes sit at the back. The soldiers are in front followed by heavy gunners. The V formation can be used to surround the enemy or to cover both sides of a village or street, looking more like an L letter.
It's best to use numbers when using formations so everyone will know their place and whom they need to follow. For example when advancing in urban areas from position to position, box to box or corner to corner, we will advance in cycles. The first in line finds a defensive position to cover a certain angle, the 2nd one moves to cover another angle and so on until the advance is complete and the position is secured. Then the step is repeated for the next position until the objective is achieved. This way we close all gaps and avoid surprises. We could move faster and need less healing time. This procedure is useful when retreating also, but used in reverse.
Usually our team does not use a formation, but moves together as a closed group with a pointman in front. When attacking an enemy position we always use an assault team and another team to cover their advance.