The Basics of Leadership
This guide covers the basics of leading, whether you are leading a team, squad, or platoon. Use this as a strong foundation and then build off from here. There is not a one size fits all way to lead different ways work for different people.
If you have not read it yet, you should read through the TFAR guide. Having the knowledge and confidence to use the radio, set up alternative channels, and know how to effectively speak directly affects your performance.
Regardless of the level of leadership, these skills are required for any level of leadership. Don’t get disheartened if you think your skills are lacking, start as a team leader, and get some experience under your belt, then try the other leadership position once you feel comfortable. While the below sections are broken into the different levels of leadership, it is recommended you read through it all to get a full picture of the command structure and what is expected in each role. The three main basics we'll delve further into in this guide are communication, strategy, and attitude. These are then broken down into how they would be implemented at different levels of leadership.
Communication
When leading, a breakdown in communications can bring ops to a grinding halt. This could be due to a few issues, too many people on the same frequency, incorrectly setting up alternative radios, not being able to correctly convey your message, and the list goes on and on. As stated above read the TFAR Guide, it has relevant and useful information especially if you are new to leading, and having the confidence to teach others how to set it up and work your radios can help make the op flow smoothly and efficiently.
As part of leadership, people come to you for answers. So if you are not sure what you’re doing next or where to go, ask! People will get frustrated just waiting around and if you don’t ask you may just be forgotten about. Don’t be a pain in the ass though, if you ask your question, don’t just keep repeating the same question, and don’t assume the silence is a definite yes and go off and do whatever your heart desires. Wait a bit, ask again, then if no answer, alert the leadership above you about what you plan to do and ask if it's fine. Bringing up a plan instead of just waiting to be told one can help speed things up, but we’ll discuss strategies in a later section.
A useful tool for determining the status and effectiveness of a squad is an ACE report. An ACE report can be broken down into three sections, Ammo, Casualties/health, and Equipment. Most times in TMTM we only use the first two since equipment normally gets lumped into ammo. There are four different colors used to quickly find the status of the platoon, squads, or teams.
Ex. Command: Alpha this is command, give me an ACE report
Alpha: command, we are red green
(This would mean they are low on ammo and need a resupply but do not need medical supplies/medical aid)
Green
Ammo - You're fine on ammo and don't need a resupply
Casualties/Health - You're fine and don't need medical aid or medical supplies
Yellow
Ammo - You have enough ammo for the next firefight or two and will need a resupply soon (less than 70% of ammo remaining)
Casualties/Health - you have taken some hits but can be patched up, you used some supplies and will need a resupply soon (less than 70% medical supplies remaining)
Red
Ammo - you are running out of ammo and have enough for the current situation and need resupply very soon (less than 40% ammo remaining)
Casualties/Health - you are very hurt and will need a medic and may go unconscious, you are running out of medical supplies and need to resupply very soon (less than 40% medical supplies remaining)
Black
Ammo - you are out of ammo and urgently need resupply (less than 10% ammo remaining)
Casualties/Health - there is a mass casualty situation or you are out of medical supplies and urgently need resupply (less than 10% medical supplies remaining)
We are going to break down how communications (and map markers) should be dealt with at different levels of leadership below.
Commander
As a commander, when communicating make sure you are precise and quick to convey your information. Rambling or meandering speeches when giving orders may not fully be understood when under fire. As seen from above, there is no “higher command” for you to go to, you are the chain that connects all the different cogs of war into a killing machine. If you are being overwhelmed by too many people on long-range, try to pair vehicle elements with squads and get them to work together on a short-range channel vs you giving every direction. It may help to reduce radio traffic to you and increase efficiency in the field. Map makers are your biggest efficiency booster as a commander, this can be knowing what units are operating in certain areas, marking lines for squads to take, threats and resupply points too. Make sure you have all your squad/vehicle leaders mark who they are, what their group callsign is, and the frequency they are communicating on the map to easily identify and contact them when needed. Also when using map markers make use of colors to identify different squads, it will make giving new orders relatively simple and digestible. Lastly, try to find a good balance between under-managing and micromanaging. Try to make sure everyone is busy, but not breathing down their necks every other minute.
Squad leader
As a squad leader, you’re the commander to crayon eater translator, and vice versa. Your job is to effectively & efficiently communicate, actively listen to orders, and make changes on the fly. Make sure you mark on the map what unit you are in, who you are, what frequency you are on, and any additional channels your teams may be on. This will help any problem-solving if other units cannot get into contact with you, or you with others. The commander may give you orders on the map, but feel free to add to them. Put in regroup points, places you want your different fire teams to clear, and make sure you inform the teams about these points and your intentions as well. You also get to decide if you want alternative nets, but when is the right time to set up alternative nets? A good rule of thumb is to set additional nets whenever you have more than one team you are directly dealing with or a squad with 7 or more people (including yourself). Any less and you may be adding in unneeded complexity, any more and you’ll have a headache by the middle of the op
Team Leader
As the team leader, you take your orders from the squad leader and then pass them down to your team. Your job is to make sure that your team has everything they need to perform, and if not, make sure that you know what they need to tell the squad leader. This could be ammo, resupplies, or reinserts that need transportation. Now only squad leaders can decide whether to use alternative nets or not, but feel free to bring up the idea to the SQL if you think it may be a good idea.
Lastly, READ THE TFAR GUIDE I’m not kidding you are seriously knee-capping yourself if you don’t.
Strategies
A good strategy could be the difference between seeing the respawn screen repeatedly and having to bitch at Logi/Zeus for redeployment, or being able to have fun with friends. While the most straightforward strategy may be the most fun, you may also kill off your whole squad or take the fun for the other squads since you killed most of the contact.
As the famous saying goes, no plan survives first contact. Be prepared to change your plan on the fly and for the plan to completely fail. Learn from your mistakes and keep on going, no one is perfect and hindsight is 20/20, as long as you learn from the mistakes instead of just doing the same thing, it is perfectly fine.
We are going to break down the different levels of strategies you should be thinking of at the different levels of leadership below.
Commander
When you’re a commander, developing strategic plans is one of your main assignments. While you don’t have to provide every detail and movement, you do have to dictate who goes where and does what. When slotting as commander use the time before briefing to take an idea of the forces you’ll get to use, who is leading them, and what assets are available to them. This bit of pre-planning will help reduce the amount of downtime in briefing and get boots on the ground faster.
When briefing as a commander, a good rule of thumb is to only plan for the first or second objectives at max. Most likely something will happen that is out of your control sometime between the beginning and ending and all that extra planning will be for naught. While your squads or units are attacking the objective, make rally points to regroup, resupply, and set paths and places for the units to go next so there is little to no downtime once the objective is complete.
Being able to efficiently make plans for every unit to be doing something all the time can be a lot to manage depending on how many elements they are, so don’t expect you’re gonna be a pro on your first time, experience is key. Try to not have anyone sitting around and ask around if anyone is, if the radio is quiet ask for sitreps and updates on how they are doing.
Squad leader
As a squad leader, you are the ones making the nitty gritty details to tell people what to do, how to do it, and when to do it. You get your orders from the commander, but you are more than able to adjust your approach and other details, within reason. You don’t want to be a loose cannon doing whatever you want, but you don’t want to follow the line and not be able to adjust when needed. If you are going to be majorly adjusting the plan, let the commander know your intentions and wait for their ok. If it is just a minor adjustment, alert the commander and take action if the window of opportunity is closing. Do not back-seat command the commander and other elements, if you wanted to command you should have picked that slot.
Team leader
You get your orders from the squad lead and tell them to the units under your command. You get to determine when and how you're gonna move-in according to the SQL's plan. While you should follow their plan closely, feel free to offer suggestions if you see a better way of completing the objective without backseat leading. Work with the other team leaders to make a solid plan and execute it. Make sure to plan your path, fallback points, and be able to adjust on the fly since you are the point of the spear.
Attitude
Your attitude is a major factor in the operation's performance. A good attitude can make working together much better and providing useful suggestions make the op run smoother. A petty, snarky, or bad attitude can cause people to grind the gears of efficiency and ruin the op for everyone involved.
Commander
As a commander, you should be confident in your choices but understand criticism or suggestions for your plan. Even great leaders can make bad decisions that someone else may know how to avoid. Never think you are infallible and if your plan fails, don't have a tantrum. Look back at the failure and adjust to change.
If people are not listening to you, at first try to be respectable but stern, you are the commander. If they are purposely not listening or causing issues, alert a member of staff to deal with this or bring it up in debrief afterward.
Squad leader
As a squad leader, having a positive attitude can influence the effectiveness and enjoyment of your squad. You don't have to be overly peppy, but having a positive outlook vs a pessimistic one can help other members of the squad to have a good time.
If the commander's plans aren't working for your squad, don't bitch them out or yell at them. Take a breath, wait until the anger subsides, then let them know your thoughts and opinions constructively. Most times people want to fix issues, instead of blowing them up and having a catfight over the radio. As stated above in strategies, if you have an alternative plan, suggest it then versus just complaining and then doing the same thing again.
Team leader
Like being a squad leader, having a good attitude can trickle down to the rest of the squad. If a squad leader's plan didn't work, wait until you are in a calm state of mind, then let them know and if possible provide a new plan or solution.