Battlefield 2: How to Be an Effective Squad Leader

[WookinPaNub]

In this guide we’ll take a look at the concepts, strategies, and actions that will improve your game play as a squad leader in BF2. This article does assume a general understanding of playing BF2 as well as a familiarity with the basic squad leader functions. Topics covered include what characteristics make an effective squad leader, squad and commander interactions, as well as strategic and tactical considerations for intermediate and advanced squad leaders.

Given the amount of content, I’ll break this up into two articles (so be sure to read the second part as well!). Also, you’ll see references from Sun Tzu’s “Art of War”, a brilliant military tactician and Chinese General from 500BC. It’s amazing how something from so long ago can still be so relevant even today. So not only are you getting a guide on squad leading, but one in military history as well – and all this for the astounding price of $19.99 and we’ll even through in a Ginsu knife to sweeten the deal.

AND you get the WookinPaNub 100% guarantee or your money back. If you are a sucky SL, this will make you a good SL. If you’re a good SL, you’ll become an amazing SL (and get groupies). If you’re already an amazing SL, well, it’s guaranteed to take up your time reading it. Here are the topics we’ll be covering in detail.

Section 1: Are YOU up to the Task? – Characteristics of a Good SL
Section 2: A Happy Squad is a Full Squad – Adding People Into the Squad
Section 3: No, Don’t Kick Me!! – Removing People from the Squad
Section 4: What Dress Should I Wear to the Party? – The Importance of Kits in the Squad
Section 5: One Big Happy Family – Interaction with the Squad
Section 6: How to Get Along with the In-laws – Interaction with the Commander
Section 7: Coming Back from the Dead – Spawning to the Best Advantage of the Squad
Section 8: Whatcha Doin’ Over There? – Strategic Awareness
Section 9: Whatcha Doin’ Over HERE? – Tactical Awareness
Section 10: Now You See Me, Now You Don’t – The Art of Movement and Misdirection
Section 11: Up In the Air Junior Birdman – The Relationship of Air and Ground in a Squad

There is something I need to mention and some people I need to recognize. First is that all the items below are things that I, personally, as a SL try to do. But I will be very honest in saying that I often fall short in a number of areas. So read the below as what is best to do as an effective SL knowing the doing all of them well is a challenge to say the least..

Lastly and most importantly I need to recognize the ‘regulars’ in my squad that have played with me for years, have stuck with me as I learned the SL ropes, and are some of the best squadmates a SL can have. An SL is only as good as the squad that works with him, and these guys (and gals) have never let me down.

.50DesertEagle, =AC=Chapman, Arkoudaki, Bune88, CB~Green[PCM], Cougar38, Dmn01, JamesJC, LPUnit, Murphthesurf, Pashmerga, Therealdavies, Sankyo, Speciez, Uncleee, Wwurzba, Zlyrack

Section 1: Are YOU up to the Task? – Characteristics of a Good SL
“Regard your soldiers as your children, and they will follow you into the deepest valleys. Look on them as your own beloved sons, and they will stand by you even unto death!” – Sun Tzu, Art of War

Not everyone is cut out to be a SL, but if the following describes you it may be just what the doctor ordered. A good SL with a coordinated squad can not only influence the outcome of a skirmish, but often the outcome of the battle as a whole. It’s the analogy of a stick by itself is easily snapped in two, but a bundle of sticks cannot be easily broken. In short, be the bundle. Or if it feels more manly, think of metal rods vs sticks. There, I feel more macho already.

- Cardinal Rule: Your squad comes first, plain and simple. This is the biggest downfall of most SL’s. Remember that you’ll be asking these members to sacrifice their personal agendas for the betterment of the squad, so you need to as well and set the example. Think of the squad needs first, then the team, then your own.

- Speak Up: You MUST have a mic and be comfortable using VOIP. Without it you’re at a significant disadvantage right from the start. Your squad needs to be able to get direction from you and this is the best way to do it. It also helps in coordinating with your commander.

- Show Your Stripes: Much of being a good SL is not about knowing how to fight, but more importantly when and where to fight – or not to – and that comes from experience. It also gives the advantage of knowing the maps and how to move the squad easily and quickly around it. And you do know how to handle yourself in a firefight when things get ‘hot’ vs simply hiding under a bush. Having 6 ‘beef eaters’ in a squad is always better than 5.

- Think Strategically, Act Tactically: An effective squad lead not only knows what’s going on in the immediate area, but on the overall map in general. More on this specific topic later.

- Wear the Hats: As a SL you have a lot of concurrent responsibilities. You need to manage the squad, work with the commander, see the entire battlefield, use the tools and resources available to, adjust tactics on the fly and not die in the process. The last being extremely important.

Section 2: A Happy Squad is a Full Squad – Adding People Into the Squad
“When the common soldiers are too strong and their officers too weak, the result is INSUBORDINATION. When the officers are too strong and the common soldiers too weak, the result is COLLAPSE.” – Sun Tzu, Art of War

Just like the OctoMom, true happiness is found when you cannot possibly fit anymore members into the belly that is your squad. And yes, that does make you the OctoMom, responsible for their care and well being. Just without the paparazzi and stretch marks.

- Invite Them to Dinner: Use the squad screen and invite folks into the squad. While it’s true that even though you are cool enough that people should immediately join the squad on their own accord it doesn’t hurt to invite a few yourself. Here’s an important note: The highest point scorers are not always the best to invite into the squad – you want people that can and will work together, not a loose configuration of lone wolfs spread all over the map. And if you lose a SM, get the slot filled – a half full squad is just that, half as effective.

- Welcome Them In: Welcoming those that join does two very important things. 1) It let’s them know that you recognize them as members and 2) That you CAN and WILL be talking to them. Remember that some may be new to the game / squad play, and while it’s not your job to cater to them you should be willing to work with them as long as they are willing to try.

- Give Them a Quick Debrief: In those 30 seconds before the round starts you actually do have the time to give a quick rundown of your expectations. It’s as easy as telling them to always ‘spawn green’ (on the SL), what kits to start with, the first objective, and to either spawn in or hold spawn. In the span of those 5-10 seconds it takes you to do that you have already set the expectation that you have a plan and they are a part of it.

- Locking Squads: There are IMO only a couple of times locking a squad is warranted. The first is to keep out a disruptive player until the admins can give them the boot. The second, which I would recommend only sparingly, is at the beginning of the round while you coordinate sending out squad invites. Outside of that it sets the wrong impression that your squad is ‘elitist’ and unapproachable.

Section 3: No, Don’t Kick Me!! – Removing People from the Squad
“Maneuvering with an army is advantageous; with an undisciplined multitude, most dangerous” – Sun Tzu, Art of War

Kicking people from the squad should not be the normal order of business for a SL. If done in the wrong manner or for the wrong reasons those that were kicked will have a bad impression - of you as a SL and potentially of what being in a squad should really be like. It’s like the fat kid on the playground abusing his playmates simply because he can. Don’t be the fat kid.

- When Kicking is Justified: If someone in your squad disappears and goes AFK without responding for an extended period of time you are losing a squad slot to carry that dead weight. In this instance ‘pruning the tree’ can be a benefit to the squad. If a member is disruptive or not following orders, this too is a justifiable reason. But for any reason you may do it, be sure to….

- Warn / Tell Them Why Before Doing It: And be polite. Give them a chance to change their ways. A simple “xxx, I need you to move with the squad or I need to move you out” or “xxx, on next respawn I need you with a kit other than sniper” is much more warmly received than “Hey Noob, wtf are you doing over there?” – or simply kicking them out without warning for that matter. You’ll be surprised at the number of folks that will fall back in line with just that. And if you’re not surprised (cause they ignored you), then by all means give them a ‘righteous’ kick and, like my granddaddy used to say, “Don’t let the door hit ya where the Lord Split ya!”.

Section 4: What Dress Should I Wear to the Party? – The Importance of Kits in the Squad
“Water shapes its course according to the nature of the ground over which it flows; the soldier works out his victory in relation to the foe whom he is facing.” – Sun Tzu, Art of War

This is a widely debated topic, as to what kits should you have in the squad. The answers vary as widely as asking “So how many men has Pamela Anderson slept with?”. And just because I don’t know the answer either doesn’t stop me from wanting to be one of them. But I digress.

- SL Kit: Some prefer support, or the kit they are most comfortable with. I use and recommend medic. Given the criticality of you staying alive for your squad it gives you the ability to heal yourself. It also frees up your squad to not have a dedicated medic that is shadowing you all over the battlefield (as that effectively drops your active force potential by a full squad member). Your sprint lasts longer (faster ingress or egress) and if you do get hit members of your squad can grab your kit and rez you in a pinch.

- SM Kits (Meat and Potatoes): Medic, Assault, AT kits are good just about anywhere / anytime and are good ones to have in general. It also gives SM’s a ‘default’ kit unless you instruct otherwise.

- SM Kits (Specialty): Certain situations require specific kits, but IMO unless a SM is insanely good with one of these kits these are only used when the circumstances require it. Spec Ops work well for assaulting the enemy commanders assets or denying bridges to bottleneck enemies – or for jihading armor with a C4 jeep. Support works well in close quarter engagements or if the most of the squad is AT on armor heavy maps (to keep them constantly resupplied).

- SM Kits (Minimal Use): Snipers are my least favorite kit and I normally only call on a sniper to kill a sniper harassing my position - provided I can’t put a set of shock paddles on that sniper myself beforehand. While snipers do have an effective role for scouting and as harassment (defensive positions IMO) I have not found the kit readily employable as an ongoing kit in a squad. Snipers in my experience don’t move well with the squad (by nature they are far away and concealed), and when you need bodies on a flag to turn it there most effective attack is dropping a claymore on the ground. Again, it has its values in certain situations, but not in a mobile squads kit out.

- Know How to Swap a Kit and Ensure Your Squad Does Too: As a squad leader I would rather swap another kit on the ground vs force a squad member respawn support to resupply me if he’s only needed for that sole purpose. For squad members, especially when the SL is a medic, it gives them the ability to become an ad hoc medic and rez you / other squad members back to life should you go down.

Section 5: One Big Happy Family – Interaction with the Squad
“Bestow rewards without regard to rule, issue orders without regard to previous arrangements; and you will be able to handle a whole army as though you had to do with but a single man” – Sun Tzu, Art of War

Once you have your squad established then the real work begins. Now you are responsible for communicating and directing them in an orderly and efficient fashion. The better you manage this aspect, the better your squad will perform for you.

- VOIP: This is the most effective tool to the SL. It allows you to quickly inform, coordinate, and deploy your squad even under intense fire situations – but you need to do it right. First, be calm on VOIP. If you are continually coming across stressed / agitated / screaming your squad will tend to feel that way as well. Be calm and it will have a calming effect on your squad. If you’re excitable do what I do and use the “Press to Talk” feature. That way you can talk calmly on VOIP then release the button and yell your head off. You’ll still feel better and your squad will appreciate it. The last tip is don’t spam. Get used to giving directions quickly and in a standard manner i.e. “2 contacts north”, “armor incoming, all AT kits on me”, “spec ops destroy bridge here, marking (on mini map) now”.

- Give ‘em a Pat on the Back: It’s a simple fact and too often overlooked. People like to hear when they did a good job; it’s true for almost all of us. If you see a SM knock down a chopper that’s been harassing the squad, tell them nice work. If your squad is getting top squad honors, tell them they did a great job in doing that. It’s such a small thing, but has major rewards in how your SM’s will perform in the squad with some positive reinforcement.

- MiniMap: Behind VOIP, this is your biggest tool in guiding your squad. Always keep your orders on the minimap, tell your squad to reference it when they’re not sure what to do. Now they know where they are supposed to be and what they are supposed to do when they get there (attack / defend / destroy). It’s also a great way to draw focus to specific targets for your squad to be aware of. After telling the squad what it is, use the ‘Move’ and put it on the target (a sniper, enemy commander, concealed mobile AA, etc). Now they have a concrete reference of where to look for that threat in relation to wherever they may be.

- Spot Threats: As a SL you are normally a bit back from the firefight, giving you a good view of incoming threats to your squad. Mark them on the minimap when you see them - now your squad can see them to on their minimap and can adjust accordingly. Encourage your SM’s to mark targets as well. With a full squad doing this it’s almost as good as a commander’s UAV for keeping the squad informed of their surroundings.

- Directions are relative: When referencing targets / objectives do it in the context of the map orientation and use North / South / East / West. This removes the ambiguity of “your left isn’t my left” and SM’s now have a concrete heading. The only time I don’t use that is when I call out targets to my ‘12’ or my ‘6’ when displacing on foot. As the squad is (or should be) moving with you it lets them know quickly if there are targets coming ahead or if hostiles are overtaking the squad from the rear.

Section 6: How to Get Along with the In-laws – Interaction with the Commander
“The general who advances without coveting fame and retreats without fearing disgrace, whose only thought is to protect his country and do good service for his sovereign, is the jewel of the kingdom” – Sun Tzu, Art of War

Unlike your squad, you have no control over who your commander is - hence they are like in-laws. Sometimes you get a gem, other times it’s the mother-in-law from hell. As a SL you need to do your best to support them until they prove you otherwise. Just remember that they have an extremely hard job – they have to coordinate across their SL’s, and (unlike disruptive SM’s in your squad) they can’t kick SL’s. Be the SL that is willing to help them out and more often than not they will be more readily willing to support you when you need it. When the commander/SL relationship is working the way it should an already effective squad becomes a effectual juggernaut on the field.

- Introduce Yourself: This is simple as “checking in” at the beginning of the game. It lets them know that you’re on VOIP and willing to talk with them. Go the extra mile and tell them your initial plans and to let you know if they need you for special missions (defend the base, harass the enemy base, retake a hot flag, etc) – they’ll remember you and your offer.

- Preface Your Comms with your Squad Number: You are one of many SL’s the commander has to interact with while trying to coordinate the overall battle as well. Make it easy for them, always preface your communication with your squad number so they readily know who is asking for what.

- Don’t be a Piggy: Of course you’re the most important squad out there; ironically other SL’s feel the same way. Ask for resources only when you need them, don’t consume resources unnecessarily. Mark the locations on the minimap for the commander of what you want where (artillery, uav, vehicle drop, supplies). This way they only have to press a button to grant your request vs trying to guess where you want it. Follow it up on VOIP if it’s not readily apparent why your asking for resources in unusual locations (so they know its not a mistake) i.e. “Those supplies are for spec ops resupply at enemy base” or “Requesting danger close arty to clear my ingress to the flag”.

- Communicate Threats to Commander Position / Critical Flags: The commander has a lot on his plate, they may not see that black hawk inbound to their position or fully loaded enemy APC heading to a critical flag. Just as the commander keeps you aware of threats, return the favor.

- Directly Support the Commander: There are times the commander specifically tasks you for opps that don’t sound like much fun, like defending the base flag or wrenching up their UAV. Just like you have a greater responsibility to your squad, you have a responsibility to your commander as well. Your sacrifice may make the difference to your team overall. Is it boring defending the flag? Send the squad out without you and call them back if things get hot. You may temporarily lose the flag, but you still maintain a spawn point to regroup and counterattack without unnecessarily idling your fighting force in the meantime.

- Recognize Good Behavior: Just like with SM’s positive feedback works well with commanders too. Granted if this was the actual military this wouldn’t make much sense i.e. “Sarge, I think you do a wonderful job” – chances are you would be washing a lot of floors and getting numerous sideways glances from others in the barracks. But this isn’t and commanders here are people too, they appreciate hearing it (and they can’t make you wash floors in BF2).

- Follow Orders, But Not Blindly: If you have an experienced commander chances are he has a good reason for asking your squad to a certain task even if you don’t see why. Give them the benefit of the doubt and work with them. If they are inexperienced, then exercise your own judgment. But also recognize you have the opportunity to help them become better (see next bullet), which in turn helps you and your team out.

- Explain Why When You Refuse Orders: Ever been on one side of the map in a heated battle and the commander gives you an order to defend a flag on the other side of the map? Seems a little questionable doesn’t it? But before spamming the “No Can Do” button talk to them about your reservations (and again do it politely). Telling them that “This is 3, if we leave this flag it will be overrun, can you confirm last order?”. It gives them a chance to relook at it and they’ll appreciate it you actually trying to work with them. Not following orders in the actual military will get you in deep trouble, but again its BF2 and they can’t make you wash the floors here.

Section 7: Coming Back from the Dead – Spawning to the Best Advantage of the Squad
“No leader should put troops into the field merely to gratify his own spleen; no leader should fight a battle simply out of pique. But a kingdom that has once been destroyed can never come again into being; nor can the dead ever be brought back to life. Hence the enlightened leader is heedful, and the good leader full of caution.” – Sun Tzu, Art of War

The nice thing about BF2 is when you die, you actually do get to some back to life (unless you believe in reincarnation, then it’s no big thrill). Use those 15 seconds after you die not to reflect on how you got your dumb ass killed, but how to make the most of this new life you will be given shortly (before you get your dumb ass killed again).

- Look to Your Next Objective: Because you’re a good SL, you’re always looking to your next objective. Respawning gives the opportunity to adjust to your next target, and sometimes quicker than you would have been able to otherwise. Also look at what’s available at your first choice for respawn – are there fast movers or armor available as you need? If not you are probably better off spawning a flag back that has the resources you need immediately when you come in.

- Spawn in Where Your Team is Not: If you don’t have a pressing objective, spawn in at a back flag where no one is. Chances are their commander can see no one is there as well and you may have unfriendly company already inbound or on the flag as soon as you spawn. And you need to plan for unfriendlies to be there, few things are more embarrassing to just egress a flag to see it turn while right behind you.

- Join Me, My Brother: If you’ve done your job right from the above your squad is already ‘spawning green’ on you. Sometimes, however, you’ll want them to spawn elsewhere – and you need to tell them that. For example, the commander may be in desperate need of reinforcement. While you may currently be alive and kicking on the other side of the map any SM who goes down can respawn with the commander to immediately help them. Or perhaps you need armor brought up to support your attack, have a respawning SM come from a flag with the tank or APC you need.

- Tell the Squad How to Spawn: In some instances it makes more sense for your squad to ‘hold spawn’ – to protect them from anticipated bombing runs while you drive or to appear to be a smaller force on the uav (and not a threat to the watchful enemy commander). If you have specific needs, inform the squad what kit you need on the next respawner and as importantly when you don’t need that kit anymore (otherwise you may end up with a full squad of specs ops when you only wanted one). Lastly, tell them when it’s a “hot spawn” and your under heavy fire – nothing sucks worse than to enter your new lease on life looking down the barrel of an enemy tank without the slightest bit of warning.

- Stay Out of the Clown Car: Your job is to give your squad a place to spawn, so stay out of the tanks, AA, and other low occupancy vehicles. And, as we’ll talk about shortly, you shouldn’t be driving that kind of armor anyway.

- Stay Safe: Your squad can’t spawn on you if you’re dead. This doesn’t mean to simply hide under a bush, but it does mean you need to be smart about where you position yourself. Close to the objective for your squad, but out of the immediate threat zone so your chances of staying alive are as best as they can be.

Section 8: Whatcha Doin’ Over There? – Strategic Awareness
“The general who wins a battle makes many calculations in his temple ere the battle is fought. The general who loses a battle makes but few calculations beforehand. Thus do many calculations lead to victory, and few calculations to defeat: how much more no calculation at all! It is by attention to this point that I can foresee who is likely to win or lose.” – Sun Tzu, Art of War

As if your life as a SL wasn’t loaded enough, you also need to keep an eye on the entire battlefield. You may be doing some of the commander work but chances are you will see some things before they do. While you’ve invested all your effort into defending the flag you’re on, the enemy has taken all the other flags and in the meantime has to decided to drop by for dinner. And unless you have place settings for a battalion, all you’ve done is given them one place to train all their gun barrels.

NOTE: If you have an effective commander this section is moot for an SL. A solid commander will concentrate on the overall flow of the battle, watch for all threats, and provide orders / resources for the SL’s before an SL actually realizes they need them. However, an SL is not always that lucky and fortune favors the prepared – so be ready in case you need to step up for some of these responsibilities as well.

- Objectives are Like Chess, Plan Ahead: While you’re tying up your stay on a flag, you need to consider where to take the kids on vacation next. Evaluate flags depending on the overall situation and be ready to mobilize and move out as soon as the area is secured. Or you can sit there for awhile and give the enemy commander some arty points while you make up your mind.

- Evaluate How the Team is Doing Overall: Is your team behind in the ticket count? Then attack (but do it wisely, see the next bullet point). Ahead in tickets at the end of the game? Control critical flags / chokepoints, kit out the squad with medics and bleed the other side out. Are their planes preventing your air cap from being effective / getting off the ground? Give your flyboys a chance and go harass the enemy hangers. And yes soon you’ll be the object of the enemy’s bombing runs but you may buy the time needed to get your own air cover airborne and operational.

- Where Do You Invest Your Money for the Biggest Return: Choosing your next flag may be as simple as what flag is closest – but chances are you and the enemy think alike. If it’s a critical flag evaluate your chances of being able to take it. Or perhaps capping a low value flag nearby gives you more points to attack that critical flag from (and reduces locations the enemy can reinforce from).

“Hence that general is skillful in attack whose opponent does not know what to defend; and he is skillful in defense whose opponent does not know what to attack.” – Sun Tzu, Art of War

- Empty Vehicles Where They Shouldn’t Be: After playing the game awhile you have a decent idea of what vehicles are on what flags. When an empty boat shows up on the Wake Island mainland, chances are it didn’t appear by divine intervention. Same thing with jeeps that miraculously appear or empty planes overflying flags. Either tell the commander or check them out yourself. You may buy enough time for that area to be reinforced before a flag is lost.

- Who’s Spying on Who: Most times you’ll see the enemy UAV over an active engagement area. If its overflying a seeming empty area (no one from your team there), chances are the enemy commander is vectoring his forces through that area. Again, know what’s going on around you and make the choice to either investigate yourself or let your commander know.

- Aim Big or Aim Small: Sometimes it is in the best interest of the team to continually assault a critical flag until it’s captured. Often times you can do just as much of a service by quickly assaulting and taking numerous lower priority flags. This can quickly sway a ticket count in your favor, decrease locations the enemy can reinforce from, and pull enemy resources away from that same critical flag (to deal with you) and give your assaulting force a better chance at taking it.

Section 9: Whatcha Doin’ Over HERE? – Tactical Awareness
“Therefore, if the enemy is at ease, be able to exhaust him; if the enemy is well fed, be able to starve him; if the enemy is settled, be able to move him; appear at places where he must rush to defend, and rush to places where he least expects.”– Sun Tzu, Art of War

In addition to keeping an eye on the whole battlefield, it’s also a good idea to be aware of your current tactical situation (ironically enough). While you can influence what happens elsewhere on the map, you can control what occurs in your immediate area.

- Bring What You Need, Steal What You Can: When assaulting a flag a good SL has already planned and has brought the kits and vehicles necessary to be able to successfully take said flag. Armor sitting unoccupied on that flag are like presents from heaven – get your SM’s into them first thing. It radically increases your chances for getting the flag and denies the enemy a resource that can, conversely, radically decrease your chances.

“Bring war material with you from home, but forage on the enemy... use the conquered foe to augment one's own strength.” - Sun Tzu, Art of War

- Bring the Rain: If you’re hitting a hot or heavily defended target, call in an arty strike from the commander before going in. Stage the squad on the periphery until the arty clears and then roll everyone in. Even if an arty strike doesn’t clear out the personnel they will have scattered for cover - giving you the few extra moments you may need to secure your assault before they can regroup.

- Use the Eyes in the Sky: Similar premise as the above, but to ask for a UAV just prior to ingressing a flag. Knowing the size / type / location of threats may allow a last minute change in tactics to better assault the position - or to make a decision to pull back and retask to a less heavily defended flag.

- Don’t Move as the Crow Flies: It’s true the shortest distance between A and B is a straight line, however this is often not the most effective when you ingress a position. Look for the road less traveled, it’s often less crowded and less monitored. Sure, a paved road / highway is a great way to move around but many of the enemy are having the exact same thought.

- To Sneak or Not to Sneak: If you’ve worked with the commander up to this point, you have a decent idea how well the flag is defended. While going in stealthy is normally the way to enter the area, it also takes more time. When there are only a couple defenders it makes sense to move in quickly before the situation changes. Knock them out and get everyone on the flag, chances are you can get the flag white before they can even respawn / regroup.

- Choose Where to Host the Party: Often times you don’t have much control over where your engagement takes place. Regardless, always try to position your assets in the best locations to take advantage of their strengths. Armor prefers flat ground with room to maneuver. Infantry should hold the high ground – it’s easier to move down vs up and to defend the position should your attack get repulsed.

“On dispersive ground, therefore, fight not. On facile ground, halt not. On contentious ground, attack not. On open ground, do not try to block the enemy's way. On the ground of intersecting highways, join hands with your allies. On serious ground, gather in plunder. In difficult ground, keep steadily on the march. On hemmed-in ground, resort to stratagem. On desperate ground, fight” – Sun tzu, Art of War

- Think like Darwin: Adapt and evolve your tactical plan as the situation calls for it. Your initial plan should have gotten you good initial results, but probably won’t get you to the goal because the situation changes (an arty strike claims half your squad, an unforeseen APC rolls in and camps the flag, etc). Don’t be afraid to alter your tactics on the fly and inform your squad in a quick and calm fashion. Remember that the enemy is also having to adapt (to you) as well, whoever can do it best / fastest will often be the victor.

- Cut the Head Off the Snake: Even the most capable squad can be severely crippled by taking out their leader. Look for the SL (just look for the guy popping other guys out of his hind end) and make him the primary target. If he goes down his squad will be scrambling to get him back up, which means their focus is (and their guns are) temporarily off you. Now you can work on the rest of the enemy squad while ensuring the SL stays down.

- Make Sure You’re Alone: After capping a flag, ask the commander for a spot on the flag to ensure it truly is clean. If there are any residual forces left around and they have even a spec of gray matter in their heads they’ll wait until you leave before attempting to retake that flag.

- Be Sure to Close the Door When You Leave: To the first topic in this section “Bring What You Need, Steal What You Can”, don’t leave assets for an enemy squad either. Take the armor / fast movers with you, deny them the assets and employ them in your squad. If you can’t take them with you (maybe you need to move quickly and armor won’t work), booby trap it so the enemy can’t use it either.

Section 10: Now You See Me, Now You Don’t – The Art of Movement and Misdirection
“All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near. Hold out baits to entice the enemy. Feign disorder, and crush him.” – Sun Tzu, Art of War

This is, to me, one of the most critical aspects of a SL – the ability and art of moving well. It gets you and your squad safely into and out of an area, or across the map to mount a counter offense or rapidly reinforce a desperate flag. Your success as a squad is directly related to your ability to mobilize and move your squad in a rapid and organized fashion in any circumstance. You’re not helping your team walking between engagements - and chances your squad may use you for target practice to keep themselves entertained on the march.

- Stay Mobile: But don’t just move for the sake of moving. If the enemy doesn’t know where you are it is a good idea to stay hidden – but even in this case not indefinitely. If you don’t cap the flag quickly chances the enemy commander has an arty shell with your name on it coming, so do shift every now and then regardless. Now once the shooting starts and the enemy has an idea where you are, do keep moving. This can be as simple as circling an encampment to grabbing a fastmover and driving over to the opposite side of the flag. It’s always harder to hit a moving target, so keep moving. Otherwise your spawning SM’s simply becomes a breadcrumb trail back to the bush you’re cowering under.

- Bad Things Come in Big Packages: Keeping your squad together is good, keeping them tightly bunched up is not good. Spread them out, get them away from your position. It increases your fields of fire, gives the deception of a larger force, and minimizes the chances of multiple people going doing in a single hand grenade. And like the above, the ever watchful enemy commander rejoices at a large grouping of red dots on his UAV – that’s two points a pop during the arty strike he drops on your head shortly thereafter.

- Give Up the Car Keys: As your making your way across the map in vehicles, it’s a good rule of thumb to give up the car keys to one of your SM’s. If you drive into an unexpected hot zone chances are you’ll want to quickly exit stage left and get into cover. If it’s a jeep, it’s now stalled and your passengers are sitting ducks. If it’s an APC, those few moments it takes one of your SM’s to fill your slot and acquire targets means a couple extra hits they probably can’t afford to take.

- Honest Officer, I’m OK to Drive: There are a few occasions where as the SL you’ll find yourself behind the wheel. If the path you want to take to the flag is a bit complicated it’s probably easier for the SL to drive. However you still need to jump out of the drivers seat and let a SM take it before you get there – just give them a heads up on VOIP and one of the SM’s can swap out on the fly.

- It’s OK to Bravely Run Away: A dead squad is no longer an effective fighting force. If you’re assaulting a position and it’s doubtful you’re going to take it or you are being overrun, it’s time to ‘displace’ to greener pastures. Be sure to tell the squad that you’re pulling out and to cover your six (it’s embarrassing when a SM outruns you out of a firefight). And if you can orchestrate it tell the commander what’s going on, mark an arty strike along your egress and make a stand just long enough for the arty to decimate the pursuing force.

- Call Them a Cab: Sometimes you can’t take the whole squad with you when you leave a flag. Remember that it’s in your best interest for them to be with you when you reach the next objective, the more bodies you have the better your odds. If you have to leave some SM’s behind do the right thing and call them a Vehicle Drop from the commander – they’ll appreciate it and you’ll be helping the squad out in general.

- The Fast and the Furious: Try to keep fast movers available for you and your squad, you can strike much faster and cover more ground. If there are none available, call for one. If you still don’t have one, camp out around the flag where the vehicles spawn. Waiting the 20-30 seconds for a vehicle to respawn is still probably faster than jogging to the next flag anyway.

- Use the Frequent Flyer Miles: If you can ever get the air whores, err, aviators to give up a plane for a moment, take it for a spin to a back flag. Having your squad holding spawn while you go in on afterburner to a remote flag allows a fast cap as soon as your feet hit the ground. You’ve just given your team another place to spawn behind enemy lines and the enemy commander something new to think about.

- BlackHawk Whoring: Chances are you’ve seen this before. A SL flying, his SM’s a mix of medics and engineers filling all the seats. The pros are that it’s darnn near impossible to bring one down, flag caps are lightning fast, and they are moving to the next flag before you can swing your gun turret around. The cons are if the enemy team can bring enough fire on to your bird that your engineers can’t fix the enemy gunner just collected 12 points (2 pts for each of you) and your entire squad has been instantly decimated.

- Dare to be Different: Similar to the ‘Don’t Move as the Crow Flies’ section above, it’s worth stressing to mix up how you move to a flag (especially if you just came from there). Look for a different route, take an APC vs a fast mover and go in heavy, grab a boat and try an end around. Don’t be a creature of habit.

“In all fighting, the direct method may be used for joining battle, but indirect methods will be needed in order to secure victory. In battle, there are not more than two methods of attack - the direct and the indirect; yet these two in combination give rise to an endless series of maneuvers. The direct and the indirect lead on to each other in turn” – Sun Tzu, Art of War

- When a Waste of Resources Isn’t a Waste of Resources: Sometimes you need a diversion to cover your pending attack. While an arty strike is always nice, the commander may not yet have it ready. Given any SL worth his salt will notice things out of the ordinary, ask the commander for a Vehicle Drop on the opposite side of the flag. If you’re lucky, the enemy will think it’s a drop for a squad and go check it out, giving you a few free moments to move in before they figure it out they just traded the flag for a car.

Section 11: Up In the Air Junior Birdman – The Relationship of Air and Ground in a Squad
I tend to have a similar opinion of aviators in squads as I do of snipers, again from my experience. They have their place on the battlefield, just not mixed in with a squad of ground pounders. After all, it’s difficult to help turn a flag when you fly by at mach 2. As an SL you’ll need to make the determination of the amount of benefit you get from getting your own personal air strikes over being a man down on the ground.

- Smoke ‘em if Ya got ‘Em: If you’re willing to have a pilot in your squad, be sure to use them. Call in air strikes in relation to your position. Mark harassing armor on the MiniMap with the move icon to make a bombing run easier. Although I’ve only gotten it to work a couple of times in the years I’ve played, when it works it works WELL.

- Birds of a Feather: Should flock together. The most effective squads with pilots tend to be made up of all pilots. Fighter pilots can then coordinate on VOIP for air cover and targets. Attack helo pilots can talk to their gunner and vice versa to vector on threats and opportunities. Sharing VOIP across pilots is a tremendous advantage. When you’re flying around the map that fast, by the time you type “there’s someone behind us!!!!” chances are you’re already heading groundside in a flaming casket.

Recap
So as you can see, there are a number of hats you’ll need to be able to wear to be an effective SL. Congrats to those who read through the entire article, for those who just skimmed it shame on you. But in either case here’s the cliff notes version of the above for your reading pleasure (and those with Attention Deficit Disorder).

1. Make sure you’re up to the job: You need to wear a number of hats as a SL and, most importantly, put your squad’s interests in front of your own
2. Fill up the squad: Invite people in, welcome them, let them know you’ll be an active SL and what they need to do
3. Removing people from the squad: There are only a couple times you should remove someone from the squad. But before you do warn / explain why you are doing it
4. Choose your kits wisely: Use the kit (personally) that is of best use to the squad. Have the squad pick kits that adapt to the situation.
5. Working with the squad: Talk to the squad, give clear / concise orders, use all the tools available at your disposal.
6. Working with the commander: Talk to the commander, help them out, follow their orders or explain why you aren’t.
7. Respawning: Look before respawning and choose the best location for your next objective, tell your SM’s where you want them to respawn and what kits to have when they do.
8. Strategic Awareness: Keep an eye on the map outside of the area where you are, inform the commander or check out unusual situations yourself.
9. Tactical Awareness: Know your immediate area, plan what you need, employ everything at your disposal. Don’t leave the area hostile and take the assets with you.
10. Movement and Misdirection: Stick and move, use the vehicles at your disposal, change up the ingress routes to prevent being predicatble.
11. Air power in the squad: Choose to have it or not, and if you have it to use it.

Know and practice the concepts. You should start to see a marked change in the squad and their effectiveness as time goes on. Eventually you’ll be competing for top squad and all the rewards that go with it – like groupies. OK, I made that last part up, but it is still very rewarding nonetheless. Happy SL’ing!

WookinPaNub

[Potemkine]

WOW!!!!

Great, detailed write up. I love it. I think what you call Blackhawk whoring, we call HALO jumping. SL stays up in the blackhawk typically 300(ft/m) or more and just uses it as a spawning platform.

This is too long for 1 article. Lets try to split it up to 2, MAYBE 3, but I dont quite know if it needs it.

Screen shots are a must! There is nothing like telling a person how to do it then showing them a pretty picture that illustrates the point or the objective.

Besides that, its golden! LOVE the Sun Tzu references as well as the humor you worked into some of the intro paragraphs to each section. :9

Wook, you get one of these -->

[WookinPaNub]

Thanks for the comments, need some help on the screenshots. I uploaded the screenshots per the instructions (and they are small size), used the image 'properties' to get the filename for reference (is this right?) and then used the [img] tag to imbed it in the article. However, the images are showing up too large and I want to scale them down without having to do the trial and error of manual resize of the images themselves. With the [img] tag I tried using the normal height and width properties but it doesn't seem to accept them. Any ideas on how to fix this? Thanks

[Stormywaters]

Wow, Awesome work! As far as the images go....once you drop this puppy into the article editor you can insert images and change their sizes with a wysiwyg editor.

I'm not a BF2 player but i think after reading this i understand a lot more how teamplay works in the game.

[dex71]

Wow Wookin.....in-fuckin-credible!!!

Only a true master could work the Octo-Mom into a BF2 Squad Leader handbook.

Wookin is

[WookinPaNub]

Wow, Awesome work! As far as the images go....once you drop this puppy into the article editor you can insert images and change their sizes with a wysiwyg editor.

I'm not a BF2 player but i think after reading this i understand a lot more how teamplay works in the game.

If that's true then it sounds like I can take care of this with the editor used to post the article with. If that's true, can I get the permission / details to get that posted there, get the screen shots in, and tie this up? Much appreciated!

Wook

[IronStomach]

Wow, Awesome work! As far as the images go....once you drop this puppy into the article editor you can insert images and change their sizes with a wysiwyg editor.

I'm not a BF2 player but i think after reading this i understand a lot more how teamplay works in the game.

If that's true then it sounds like I can take care of this with the editor used to post the article with. If that's true, can I get the permission / details to get that posted there, get the screen shots in, and tie this up? Much appreciated!

Wook

Done! You should now have a "Submit article" link at the bottom of your right-hand site layout, below the Site Tracking box. Once you submit it, I or another editor will PM you a link to make changes. And I agree with Potemkine that it needs to be in at least two parts.

[Potemkine]

If you have an xfire Wookin, I can walk you through adding in the images and formatting it properly. I can do that at around 9-930 est tonight if you want.

[WookinPaNub]

If you have an xfire Wookin, I can walk you through adding in the images and formatting it properly. I can do that at around 9-930 est tonight if you want.

Thanks for the offer. I kicked XFire to the curb cause it was screwing my voip up ingame in BF2 (that was awhile ago but I never tried it since). I'll give it a go on my own, sounds like I need to post two articles to make this a better size yes? If so I'll split it at a section in the middle and post two of them out there. Also, can you confirm the proper way toreference an image in the media store? I right clicked and pulled it from properties, but is there a better way?

Thanks

[Walkerxes]

In the image gallery, if you click on an image to see it expanded, it will give you a list of linking options that you can use to copy/paste. Regular link, BBC code link and HTML link, I believe.