Phase 1 - Advanced FTX

Updated 1,420 Days AgoPublic

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3 Hours, 1 Hour per segment
This segment has a 15 minute brief, a 15 minute execute and a 15 minute debrief

Phase 1 Situational Awareness & Security

You will find yourself grouped with different players in different missions, and your comprehension of this guide is what will allow you to all act as a cohesive and combat-effective group, regardless of who exactly is in your fireteam.

Maintain appropriate interval.
Bunching up gets people killed. Keep several meters of distance between yourself and other players at all times. If not, a grenade, rocket, or machinegun is going to have a fun time with you and those you have clustered with.

Cover your sector. 360° security is needed at all times.
This means that with a fireteam of six, every person should be observing or covering a different area. Good security means that your team is that much less likely to be surprised by the enemy, and thus is going to survive longer in combat. When halted, ensure that somebody is paying attention to rear security as well. If nobody else is, take it upon yourself to do so - your team will thank you later.

Maintain situational awareness
This all helps to prevent being surprised by enemy contacts, prevents friendly-fire incidents, and gives you an idea of what areas may need more observation based upon how the squad or platoon is oriented.

All of the above are CRITICAL responsibilities of all people in a team, and the sum of that effort is what makes a team an asset to a Squad. Talk about buddy teams next: https://unitedtaskforce.net/training/sop/basic-infantry/combat-buddy-teams

Scan for, spot, and call out enemy contacts.
Do it concisely via voice so that everyone can hear you. When giving the direction of contacts, relative directions (front, left, rear, right) can be used when friendly forces are moving in a known direction and front, rear, right, left are known to everyone. Otherwise, compass directions and degree bearings should be used. More on this in the "Contact Report" section later on. We will cover contact reporting in Phase 3.

Exercise

Questions to ask yourself

• Where are friendly forces located?
• Where is the enemy most likely relative to you?
• What are the likely positions they will be occupying?
• What can you do to minimize your exposure to them?
• Where is the nearest usable piece of cover or concealment?
• Where are my teammates watching?

Where to look

• Bases of trees
• Shrubs and bushes, particularly on the edges
• Large rocks, boulders, stone fences, and fallen trees
• Rooftops, especially near any protrusions such as stairwells
• The edges of windows
• The edges of walls, buildings, etc
• Knocked-down trees, bushes, fences, etc
• Prominent structures

What to listen for

• Muzzle flashes at night
• Tracers
• Smoke
• Dead enemies
• Stragglers or last-stand enemies.
• Incapacitated enemies.
• Watch for satchel charges or other explosives that could have been set on a timer or may be command-detonated.
• Check what weapon systems have been left behind if the enemy retreated.
• Sounds of vehicles.
• Sounds of movement.
• Voices.

Be concise on comms.
Learn how to speak with brevity on voice channels to avoid cluttering them up when they're most needed.