Platoon Leader

This introduction in Platoon leading will be kept simplified and then expanded on as we progress.

In the beginning of a mission you always have a medical officer. This is the base of your medical chain and is included in every mission. JTAC/UAV operator is a position only taken when a mission maker has included them.

You will also have an Alpha command section, callsign “ASL” and most likely a Bravo command section, callsign “BSL”. These sections are comprised of 1 squad leader and a medic. These leaders are in charge of squad level movement and will be your best eyes on the field during the assault. Maintain a good spacing from your squad leaders, preferably rearward, to safeguard your chain of command from losing two leaders to a stray artillery shell at the same time.

Under the squad lead command will be two squads of five infantrymen each. This brings our average squad to 12 infantrymen, equipped with two machine guns, five grenade launchers and two anti-tank launchers. Keep this in mind as you plan your mission.

Team

Medical officer-This unit is in charge of medics and logistics regarding medical supply and troops. He is also your second-in-command, so keeping him in the loop regarding your plan and intent is essential should you become a casualty. During centralized medical missions he will not leave the Field Hospital, unless he is ordered on a medevac. On decentralized systems he will follow you until the FH is deployed.

Forward Observer/JTAC-This unit is in charge of all air and indirect fire assets. You will relay fire missions and request air assets from him. During missions that have air assets he is not to leave the PL. His presence makes your job easier and it is vital to keep him alive. If there are no air assets, he is best used by being pushed down to SL or teams. His ability to quickly designate and call fire down accurately is best used on the front lines. If he is KIA have squad leaders continue to mark targets and begin to take over the FO duties. The FO may be equipped with a backpack-deployed UAV. If this is the case, he also becomes an invaluable reconnaissance asset and is able to identify targets without input from the SLs or being physically present at the front.

Planning and Orders

Briefing

Upon loading in, you are expected to read the briefing and come up with a battle plan as fast as possible. Generally, we are aiming for a briefing time of 10 minutes and should never exceed 15. Gather your squad leaders and specialty leaders, if applicable, and involve them in the planning effort. A lot of the time, it is enough to give basic directions and have the element leaders fill out the blanks. You should focus on the general plan with emphasis on each unit's role within that plan, ensuring that the element leaders understand said role so that they will act accordingly in the field. Avoid micro managing your leaders here: you are on a timer and your squad leaders can figure out the precise route they wish to take by themselves. Time again is an important consideration here: After your briefing, it is the squad leaders turn to confer with their fire team leaders and refine their part of the plan, and afterwards the team leaders need to brief their teams as well. The shorter and simpler you keep the bigger scale of things, the more time your squad leaders have to come up with a decent plan of their own.

Ultimately, draw up and assign a very simplistic plan that allows for squad leaders to manage their own movements. Don't focus on making a step-by-step plan because it will never survive contact.

Execution

Upon mission start, your duty is to keep a watchful eye over all of your units and assets. Do this by setting up pre-planned CPs that give you a view of the battlefield or maintaining a proper control distance. Your positioning should be relevant to your platoons movement so that you are not in direct danger but have command and control while not being separated.

Your second duty is to ensure communication is kept up at all times between all elements and assets. You need to bug infantry to give you situational reports (sitreps) and ACE reports as necessary. For specialty assets such as aircraft, it's important to continually have your JTAC active by giving him consistent orders. Do not let him or your assets sit idle and fail to be a force multiplier.

Cohesion

K.I.S.S = Keep it simple, stupid.

• Do not over-extend your units
• Do not move your units without support in position
• Keep your infantry squads close together so they can support each other
• Keep your specialty infantry in supporting positions
• Keep your heavy strike assets busy

Follow these five simple rules while being a PL and you literally cannot screw up your cohesion.

Specialties

Your specialties are roughly divided into three categories: Support, Heavies and Strike assets. Support assets are usually weapon teams or ICVs, designed to augment the firepower or mobility of your squads and fire teams. You can pass them down to the squad leaders, depending on who would benefit greatest from having that specific asset for the completion of their task. Heavy assets, such as tanks and IFVs are linchpin units for your battle plan. Their firepower enables you to maneuver on the enemy very aggressively, since they will be able to beat down any concentrated defensive effort. At the same time, their loss will be a huge blow to the combat strength of your platoon. Strike assets, such as artillery or CAS do not have a presence on the front line, but they can augment your firepower in a certain area of the battlefield with little delay, enabling you to call focused fire on enemy concentrations, react to enemy action without having to shift your units and, in case of artillery, obscure the battlefield with smoke to enable your maneuvers.