- Farm Raid
- UNder Pressure
The ArmA 2 portion of the session began in the purple fog of Proving Grounds, as OPFOR attempted to kill an outnumbered INDFOR squad in comrade Wolfenswan's Farm Raid. Despite enjoying an almost 2:1 advantage in numbers, OPFOR's simplistic plan saw their human wave break upon the defences of INDFOR for almost no effect. It also didn't help that the defenders had found some ingenious hiding positions (comrade Helios was particularly deadly in his little under-the-patio spot, but later died standing up). Next, we took on comrade Wolfenswan's UNder Pressure with two full squads of infantry, supported by two IFVs, two APCs, two MMG attachments and some engineers - all under the command of comrade CO Tigershark. In a slow and methodical advance we fought our way through the northern outskirts of Zargabad until to the city itself. Despite enemy SPGs and other nastinesses the platoon made good progress, and it wasn't until we entered Zargabad itself that our casualties went from manageable to disastrous - mostly because a car-bomb had levelled the mosque, forcing us to switch to a thunder-run through deadly streets. When it became apparent that the documents we sought were buried under the rubble of the mosque, and a lot of our troops required burial themselves, we abandoned the mission. As Bravo SL, I was really impressed to see us handle combined arms pretty well tonight. A few notes, however, that I'd like to share:
- COs make plans: If you're taking a CO slot, please remember that we don't plan by committee: don't ask your SLs for suggestions about the overall plan or a critique during the briefing. We also expect you to generate a plan that has a little more thought to it than a 'zerg rush'; doesn't have to be any more complex than standard bounds or a fix'n'fire plus flank; but it should be a plan that makes use of the different elements (squads, attachments).
- Some FTLs are more likely to be promoted than others: If you're taking an FTL slot but want to avoid becoming an SL, head for the B3 and A3 fireteams (in that order, of you can); taking A1 or B1 FTL makes it far more likely that you'll find yourself scrambling onto CC and wondering how to salvage our latest clusterfuck.
- If you get promoted, the others are counting on you: Everyone benefits from our chain of command in the mission, which includes those people that weren't particularly senior at the start (you!). If you find yourself leading a squad or even the whole platoon, please do your best to step up and lead - this is your way of meeting some of your responsibilities to other comrades. It's perfectly okay to issue some orders that get everyone killed (hey, this is FA!), but issue orders you must.
ArmA 3 Missions:
- Downed Bird
- Hillside View
- The Church of kerry
After Party - Downed Bird