Squad Leader 101

SQUAD is a team game. There are other shooters that encourage teamwork, but SQUAD is a game that demands it. The outcome of a match depends on the entire 50-man team being able to work as a cohesive unit to take objectives, construct and supply forward operating bases, relay scouting intel, repel attacks, deploy fire support quickly and effectively, and eliminate the enemy.

The core leadership element of SQUAD is the Squad Leader, or "SL" for short. It is the Squad Leader's job to lead their 9-man squad into battle, and in coordination with the other squads on their team, achieve victory.

"Squad Lead, what's the plan?"

Many newbies and even longtime players are reluctant to take on the responsibilities of Squad Leader, resulting in a shortage of leadership in many games that quickly leads to Situation: FUBAR. Many players say they're afraid to let their team down, others say the role is too exhausting, and some say that they tried it and got chewed out by their squad and the other SL's. If you've played SQUAD for any length of time, you'll know what it's like to be in a squad led by a bad SL. Nothing teaches the value of leadership faster than playing in a squad that doesn't have any. Matches that clearly lack leadership on one or both teams are rarely fun for either team, while games with competent leaders on both sides - win or lose - are always enjoyable for everyone involved, and are the reason we all play SQUAD.

This guide will thoroughly prepare you for the role of Squad Leader. By the end of this guide, you will:
The Squad Leader role is the most fun and rewarding role in the game once you master it. Leading your squad through tough situations and onwards to victory is a thrilling experience and is really what the game is all about. Half of squad leading is just straight up leadership skills and has nothing to do with the game itself, ...and people remember a good squad leader. Even randoms in a public lobby, days later, will speak up and remember you as a "good SL" from one match you played last Monday - a match you lost. But I won't spoil all the surprises for you - if you've already taken the time to look up this guide to improving your SL game and have read this far, I know you've got what it takes.

Recap of gameplay basics. Seasoned players may skip this chapter.

The Squad Leader is the only role that can: (squad spawn points)
(team-wide spawn bases)
(SL-only voice channel)
(map icons visible to both squadmates and team members)
(color coded groups led by Fireteam Leaders)
(eject a player from the squad)

These six abilities are unique to the SL role. The Squad Leader's list of abilities and constructables can be accessed by holding "T" and interacting with the Radial Menu.

Squad Leader loadouts are a minor modification of the standard Rifleman kit. The SL is always equipped for binoculars for surveying the battlefield. The SL is also equipped with extra signal smokes (colors depend on Faction). Some SL kits lack a shovel, and cannot construct or deconstruct buildings. Shovel-less kits can only place unbuilt structures - the Squad Leader has to order his teammates to build them. Only Squad Leaders can place structures. Choosing a non-Squad Leader kit when acting as SL introduces penalties - your Rally points will now require four total squad members nearby to place (including the SL), and you will not be able to place FOBs or FOB deployables. It is highly advised to choose a Squad Leader kit when in the SL role unless it's an emergency. Rally Points are squad spawn points that require a nearby squad member to place, and will spawn squadmates in waves every 60 seconds. They have a cooldown of 2 minutes and 30 seconds before they can be placed again. They can't be placed within 50m of an enemy - attempting to do so will reset the cooldown. If an enemy gets within 30m of the Rally, it will be automatically destroyed. The wait time to spawn on a Rally is 15 seconds longer than a FOB, and 30 seconds longer than spawning at Main Base. A squad can only have one Rally Point active at a time, and only members of your squad can spawn on the Rally. Spawning does not automatically replenish your ammunition - resupply from FOB ammo boxes, Rifleman ammo bags, or vehicles. Forward Operating Bases, or "FOBs" for short, are team-wide spawn bases that can be constructed anywhere on the map by a Squad Leader. To construct a FOB, an SL must first place a territory-claiming structure called a Radio - this requires a teammate and a Logistics vehicle (truck or helicopter) by the SL. Once the Radio is placed, a Logistics Truck, or "Logi," can unload Construction Points and Ammo Points into the FOB. All FOB structures besides the Radio require Construction Points to build. Typically, the first building built is the HAB - a spawn bunker that anyone on your team can spawn at. The SL can then further fortify the FOB with weapon emplacements, ammo crates, vehicle repair stations, and heavy fortifications like pillboxes and walls. FOBs are extremely important assets for the team and key to winning games. The Command Channel is the third and last voice channel in SQUAD, after the Local Channel (proximity-based talking) and the Squad Channel (the squad's radio channel). It is an SL-only channel and regular soldiers are unable to listen to or communicate on Command. Squad Leaders talking in Command will have their names colored in orange at the bottom-left of your screen (green highlight is Squad Channel, blue is Local voice). In addition, SL's have the ability to talk directly to any Squad Leader by holding their Squad's respective number on the Numpad (for example, hold Numpad 3 to talk directly to Squad 3's SL). It is highly advised to rebind your voice channel keys to something easy to access. (ex. Mouse Button 1 for Squad Channel, Mouse Button 2 for Local, and V for Command). Map Markers are placed by SL's, and appear on the in-game map. There are two types of Map Markers - Order Markers, which are visible to everyone in your squad on their maps and compasses, and Unit Markers, which are visible to everyone on your team. There are five Order Markers, Move (Arrow icon), Attack (Dagger icon), Hold (Shield icon), Observe (Eye icon), and Construct (Shovel icon). Map Markers are placed by opening the Squad Screen (Enter) and right-clicking on the map with your cursor. You can also place Order Markers without looking at the map by aiming at the area, holding T, then selecting the appropriate icon. Order Markers can be hotkeyed for easy access. Order Markers will briefly appear on your squad member's HUDs after being placed. Unit Markers must be placed by right-clicking on the map, and will be visible to your entire team - they are used to mark enemy positions and units, enemy FOBS, friendly FOB sites, and designate Fire Missions for mortars. Fireteams are the smallest organizational unit in SQUAD, typically composed of 3 to 6 soldiers, and assigned by the Squad Leader. Fireteams are always a subdivision of an existing squad. They are designated as either Alpha, Bravo, or Charlie, and appropriately color-coded. Squads may be composed of up to three fireteams. Fireteams are led by Fireteam Leaders, a role assigned to a soldier in the Fireteam by the SL. Fireteam Leaders gain a limited ability to place Order Markers on the map, only visible to the Squad Leader and members of that Fireteam Leader's Fireteam. Squad voice chat from a Fireteam will be color-coded in that Fireteam's color. There is no Fireteam voice channel. Assign Fireteams by right-clicking on a player's name in the Squad Screen and selecting the Fireteam. Squad Leaders may Kick players from their squad by opening the Squad Screen (Enter), right-clicking on the player's name, and selecting "Kick." Squad Leaders can also transfer the Squad Leader role by right-clicking on a squad member's name and selecting "Promote to Squad Leader."

The Squad Leader's job is to make sure his squad works as a unit to complete a specific objective. This should be obvious, but there are many SL's in SQUAD that routinely allow their squads to scatter across the entire battlefield, without giving the squad any idea of its objective for the entirety of the match. The squad is thus rendered combat-ineffective. Worse, this lack of leadership often results in the complete annihilation of the squad and its SL. Strong squad leadership is bar-none the biggest win condition in SQUAD. Lone soldiers are utterly vulnerable to enemy squads and vehicle patrols. SQUAD is a game designed to brutally punish lone wolves and reward team players. It's your job to make sure teamplay happens, by getting your squad working towards a common objective. The Squad Leader is responsible for deciding the objective of the squad, and all squad members should be aware of the current objective at all times. The squad must always have an objective. Not communicating the objective is perhaps the most common mistake the average SL makes, and the most easily correctable. At any point in time, the squad should know what it's trying to do. Every squad member, from the SL down to the Recruit, must have a clear image in their heads of what the squad is trying to accomplish. This is essential for alleviating the need for micro-management and "babysitting." Clear, constant, and repeated communication of the objective is the foundation of squad leadership. If circumstances change, either update the objective, or verbally reaffirm the original objective to your squad. Never let the squad forget the objective. When selecting objectives, the SL must consider the capabilities of his squad and its equipment, while estimating the enemy's position and gauging their strength based on the best intel available. The question the SL should always be asking himself is "What would help our team the most?" SQUAD is a game where your team can get the most kills and still lose. When in doubt, think "Flags and FOBs." While slaughtering an enemy squad may make you feel important, the truth is that games are won and lost by capturing Flags, securing friendly FOBs, and destroying enemy FOBs. Killing an entire enemy squad and wiping their Rally in AAS is worth 9 tickets. Flipping a Flag in AAS causes your team to gain 60 tickets and the enemy to lose 10 - a net ticket advantage of 70 tickets. If you take out their FOB radio in the process, your net total increases to an 90 ticket advantage for your team - without counting the strategic value of destroying the FOB and its equipment. Squad Leaders must think of the big picture, and translate their evaluation of the big picture into concrete objectives for the squad to execute. Setting vague or nebulous objectives ("Defend! Guys, push them back") is almost completely ineffective in the heat of battle. Being specific in exactly what's important and what's not is what allows the squad members to use individual initiative. When stating the objective, be crystal-clear as to WHAT needs to be done, WHEN it needs to be done by, WHERE it needs to be done, and if possible, WHY. ("Alright squad, our job is to prevent Old Hospital from being captured until Squad 4 can reinforce us and build a FOB here.") In one sentence, the WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, and WHY were all clearly communicated to the squad. The squad can now refer to this objective in evaluating risks and in choosing their positioning and methods of engagement. Contrary to what people tend to think, squads love being given an objective. What they don't appreciate is micro-management and getting blamed by their Squad Leader when the squad's objective was not clearly communicated in the first place.

Rally, Objective, Plan, Execution. The R.O.P.E. method is a quick and easy way to remember the four tasks you should be accomplishing as Squad Leader. Rally is Love, Rally is Life. If you remember nothing else about being an SL in SQUAD, at least remember this. Your Rally Point is your squad's lifeline, and if it's misplaced, or worse, not placed at all, your squad is in danger of being wiped and put out of the fight entirely. If there is no nearby FOB, this could mean having to trek extreme distances to get back to the objective. If your team doesn't have a FOB, you'll be forced to spawn at main. Getting wiped back to a distant FOB or having to spawn in main is a crippling blow not just to your squad, but your entire team's progress. Maybe you're constantly getting shot like a clay pigeon, and your K/D ratio is an embarassment to your nation. Maybe this is your third game of SQUAD and you're spending the entire match testing your keybinds. Maybe you haven't given a single objective to your squad, or maybe you don't even have a mic and haven't said a word at all - but an SL that doesn't place Rally Points is a miserable excuse for a Squad Leader and should immediately transfer the role to someone else in the squad. SL's who don't place Rallies are worst type of SL to play with and should not be leading a squad. A squad without an objective is a squad that can't function. Like a musician with no music to play, or an actor with no script, a squad without an objective is going nowhere fast. The confusion and disorientation that occurs in squads that are not given objectives is painful to watch. Without an objective, the squad really has no idea where to be, except perhaps somewhere near the SL. It also has no idea what to engage, and will quickly start dispersing in search of targets. As mentioned, killing enemy soldiers alone does very little for your team. High-priority kills are your goal, and that always means engaging targets that are either preventing you from taking a Flag or FOB, or that are attempting to take a Flag or FOB from you. You would have to kill (not incapacitate, kill) more than six full enemy squads to equal the value of taking a Flag. Always be aware of the big picture, figure out your place in it, and turn that information into objectives that your squad can tackle. If the Objective is knowing what to do, the Plan is how you're going to do it. This is the fascinating field of infantry tactics, covered in Article 5. However, as rewarding as it is to turn your squad into a well-oiled killing machine through application of sound infantry tactics, the truth is that this is the least important aspect of Squad Leading. Rally Points and Objectives are what gets your squad going and keeps it going. Watching SL's attempting to order their squad members around like General Patton without having even stated the objective or dropping a Rally Point would be amusing if it wasn't costing your team the game and annoying the hell out of the squad that's suddenly expected to act like it knows what it's doing. If you've taken care of everything else, you can start applying what you've learned from the History Channel and your night classes at West Point. Just because you have an Objective and come up with a Plan doesn't mean that everything is going to go perfectly without a hitch. When fecal matter makes contact with the proverbial fan, your squad is not going to be using words like "hitch" - and the person they are going to be looking to for answers is YOU. Welcome to leadership, and the joys of responsibility. Refer to Article 8: Section 2 to learn more. Execution is where the talk ends and the shooting begins - and it's going to push the limits of your decision-making and leadership skills. If the bullets are flying, chances are you're in the Execution phase - and perhaps in need of a new Rally, Objective, and Plan.

The Rally Point is the most important ability the Squad Leader has. It is the difference between the enemy having to fight your squad once, or many times over. Rallies are the key to any push and the cornerstone to any defense. A well-placed Rally Point will create wave after wave of soldiers until the Rally Point is found and destroyed. Rally Points are an item in the Squad Leader's kit that can be placed on the ground to spawn troops, and looks like a stack of backpacks. They can be deployed from your inventory or by holding T and selecting Rally Point from the radial menu. The Rally Point can be picked up again and redeployed at any time, and if lost, can be resupplied from an ammo crate, ammo bag, or vehicle. It is your obligation to your squad to take care of the Rally first and foremost - there's a reason it's the first letter in R.O.P.E. Neglecting Rally Points - either placing them carelessly, or not placing them at all - will lead to disaster for both you and your entire squad. Your squad is utterly dependent on you to make sure the Rally is up and placed intelligently. If you take care of the Rally Point thoughout the whole match, you will never be a completely worthless SL, and your squad will definitely notice and appreciate you for it. The Rally should always be up - period. If you're defending a FOB, you should have a backup Rally in case the FOB gets compromised or camped. If your squad is walking cross-country from A to B, you should place Rallies at fallback locations as you go. SQUAD is a game where you never know exactly where the enemy is, and where you can be ambushed at any time. If you take the first bullet and a Rally isn't up, your squad is suddenly stranded halfway across the map without a spawn point or an SL. Where the Rally should be placed always depends on the objective. If you're attacking a heavily defended town, your Rally should be placed along an attack route that affords cover to advance into the town. If it's placed in an open field, your squad will be cut down by enemy fire as soon as they spawn in by the defenders in the town. If you're defending a capture point, your Rally should be placed as far inside the perimeter as possible. If it's placed on the outskirts, an enemy intruder could easily wipe the Rally and leave you without a spawn point. Rally placement is a skill you learn with time and experience, but the Squad Leader should always be thinking about the Rally - where it should be placed, and whether or not it's in danger of being overrun. There are two reasons why a Rally Point goes down - either the Rally is either found and destroyed by the enemy, or the Rally's timer gets burned by attempting to place it when enemies are within 30m. Both are the Squad Leader's fault.

Directing your squad to protect the Rally is important, but if there are enemies near the Rally, the SL should already be falling back to place a new one. Many a Rally is lost because the SL is too lazy to withdraw from the fighting and place a new Rally. Burning the Rally timer because enemies are within 50m is an extremely common SL mistake - there are many SL's who will use this as an excuse for not having a Rally up, shrugging their shoulders at their squadmates who are now unable to spawn as if to suggest, "I did my best." Do not expect to be able to drop a Rally down in the middle of the enemy position. Fall back with a squadmate and place a new one. Burning the timer out of carelessness almost guarantees your current Rally will be destroyed before you can place another one. Good SL's take time to place effective Rallies, and are always thinking one step ahead in regards to their placement.

The FOB is essentially a super-Rally for your entire team, and is important for all the same reasons. Well placed FOBs can win a game almost single-handedly. There are essentially two types of FOBs - "Attack FOBS," aka "Spawn FOBs," are limited to a Radio and HAB, with an optional ammo crate. They are often placed aggressively - their purpose is to spawn troops for an attack and their bare-bones nature prevents the loss of too many resources if the FOB is overrun and destroyed. "Defense FOBs," aka "SuperFOBs," are heavily fortified to withstand concentrated enemy attack - requiring multiple runs from Logistics Trucks to construct. They are placed defensively - their purpose is to hold an area at all costs. Because they require dedicated logistics supply lines to construct and resupply with ammo, they can't be placed as daringly as Attack FOBs. Choosing the right kind of FOB for the job is your responsibility when tasked with building one. FOB placement always relates to the flags you intend to capture or protect. Due to their high ticket value, flags are the focal points of conflict, and your FOB placement should reflect that. FOBs can mutually support each other through intelligent placement, and a well-laid FOB network is your best defensive and offensive tool, strategically. The best rule of thumb for new SL's is to always have a fallback FOB - a FOB one point behind the active one. In most cases, your first FOB should be placed on a defensible point on your side of the map (for example, Market on Kokan as Insurgents). It's vital that your team always have at least one FOB up. Aggressive FOB placement at the start of the game is a viable strategy, but a fallback FOB must be under construction at the same time. If a FOB is under attack, and there is no fallback FOB, the team is in danger of being wiped back to main completely. Constructing your team's first FOB in hotly contested territory is a gamble and can easily cost your team the game before it starts. The HAB is the heart of the FOB, but the Radio is where the HAB is plugged in. If the Radio is easily accessible to attackers, they can destroy the HAB without even contesting it by eliminating the Radio. The Radio should be placed so the enemy has to confront the HAB to get to it, or placed so the enemy can't find or destroy it at all. HABs usually benefit from being placed in an area with multiple exits for the defenders - inside courtyards and large buildings is usually ideal. HABs in areas that only have one exit are susceptible to being camped, and HABs placed in the open are doubly susceptible to being locked down by enemy fire. If building a HAB in the open, walls and fortifications should be built to protect the people exiting the HAB and provide them with multiple safe options for exiting. Fortifying a FOB should only be done if you intend to defend it. Choosing to not defend a FOB can be the right decision - remember, the purpose of FOBs is to capture or protect flags, and if a FOB is no longer relevant for that purpose, defending it may be a waste of time, manpower, and resources. FOBs that lack natural cover benefit the most from walls, sandbags, and pillboxes. Fixed weapon emplacements must be placed with great care and should often only be placed by experienced Squad Leaders - an emplacement that's a few feet from where it should be may be rendered completely useless. For new SL's, simple sandbags, sandbag windows, and razor wire are usually enough to fortify a FOB against general attack. It goes without saying that a fortified FOB must be manned for the fortifications to be of any use - if there are no defenders to man the FOB when the attackers arrive, the fortifications will do nothing.

Fire and Maneuver is the bread-and-butter, meat and potatoes, peas-and-carrots of infantry tactics. It's just how you fight with guns. Fire and Maneuver is the principle of using one element of an infantry unit to fire at the enemy, while the second element uses the covering fire to maneuver itself into a new firing position. This is the basic doctrine of infantry combat. As simple as it sounds, failing to effectively use Fire and Maneuver will immediately lead to very predictable problems. Squads that are entirely engaged in firing their weapons can't move. If every member of the squad is shooting, the squad just isn't going anywhere. As you can imagine, this is a real problem if your objective is to take a point. Getting locked in an prolonged firefight is exactly what happens to squads that don't Maneuver. Squads that are all Fire and no Maneuver risk being pinned down, outflanked, and simply outgunned. The longer you fight an enemy, the more time he has to size up the situation and react appropriately. If you don't follow up your fire with maneuvers to gain ground and get new firing angles into the enemy, the enemy will eventually either call reinforcements, safely withdraw, or start maneuvering on you. Squads that are entirely engaged in moving can't fire their weapons. If every member of the squad is running, the enemy is free to simply come out of cover and shoot you. Getting shot with accurate bullets is exactly what happens to squads that aren't laying Fire onto the enemy. Squads that are all Maneuver and no Fire risk being quickly gunned down by an enemy that is free to engage you from whatever angle he chooses. If you have no squad members ready to fire on the enemy, the enemy has a window to maneuver and reposition themselves with complete impunity, as well as take accurate shots at your squad. Flanking the enemy position is the best way to gain tactical leverage in a firefight, and is the ideal goal of the Fire and Maneuver doctrine. An enemy that is being shot from the side as well as the front must either immediately seek new cover, eliminate the flanking threat, or withdraw. Flanking is the most effective way to take ground from the enemy. Unless your squad has vastly superior firepower or numbers, a frontal attack will simply not eliminate an entrenched enemy. Tying up the enemy with fire from the front, and using either part of your squad or an allied squad to hit the enemy from the sides or rear, is what Fire and Maneuver is all about. You can think of this as a "Hammer and Anvil" strategy. To execute a flanking maneuver, the enemy must be first be held in place by fire or the threat of fire (Anvil) while the flanking element positions itself for the coup de grâce, the "killing blow" (Hammer). Protecting your flanks with either cover, concealment, or friendly forces, while seeking to expose and attack the enemy flanks, is the purpose of Fire and Maneuver. Base of Fire is the term for the place where the majority of your squad's outgoing fire is coming from. It's the "Anvil" part of the Hammer and Anvil. Squad members that are acting as the Base of Fire are in a position to fire upon the enemy if the enemy exposes themselves. Holding the enemy in place requires a Base of Fire that the Flanking Element can then use to maneuver. Squad members that do not have their weapons brought to bear on the enemy are NOT functioning as a Base of Fire. If you have to drop to your knee and raise your rifle before you are ready to shoot, a group of enemy soldiers could have already crossed the street in front of you. Automatic Riflemen and Machine Gunners specialize in creating an incredibly effective Base of Fire with the use of their high volume-of-fire weapons. In general, new SL's should stick with the Base of Fire, serving as the anchor point for their squad while the Flanking Element pivots around and goes in for the kill. The area you are able to put accurate fire on is called the Kill Zone. Defenders are trying to funnel the enemy into their kill zones, while attackers are trying to maneuver around the enemy kill zones and set up kill zones of their own. Getting a good angle on the enemy is essential to creating an effective kill zone. If you can only see and shoot at a small area between a boulder and a building, you have an ineffective kill zone and are unlikely to hit anything, much less kill it. If you are overlooking an entire field with a machine gun, you have a very effective kill zone and will cause massive casualties against any enemies attempting to move through it. Note that the number and type of weapons covering the killzone determines how deadly your killzone is. If you were to overlook the same field armed with only a pistol, you would once again have an ineffective kill zone. Snipers on the high ground have extremely large kill zones, but lack the volume of fire to quickly kill large groups of enemies. When defending objectives, look to create kill zones and design your defense around them. Alpha Squad has tasked itself with taking a small town defended by an entrenched enemy squad. The town is situated in the middle of large wheat fields with little available cover. The enemy is suspected to be covering the field with machine guns in windows, turning it into a kill zone. The Squad Leader knows the approach will be tricky. The SL orders his machine gunner to deploy his bipod and create a Base of Fire overlooking the field. He assigns himself and two rifleman to the Base of Fire as well. He instructs the rest of the squad to advance across the field and to be ready to drop to the ground if they start receiving fire. Under cover from the Base of Fire, the squad begins to Maneuver across the field. Halfway across the field (the most dangerous point) the advancing element is suddenly met with a hail of gunfire from the buildings overlooking the field. They quickly drop to the ground while the Base of Fire immediately opens Fire on the building. The Machine Gunner suppresses the windows with generous bursts of fire from his weapon, while the Riflemen in the base of fire patiently line up shots against the targets in the windows. The soldiers in the field are ordered to slowly advance by crawling under the cover of smoke grenades while the MG and Riflemen continue to suppress the enemies in the building. As soon as the forward element is across, it immediately enters the building to secure it. The Base of Fire uses this opportunity to move up across the field safely. The forward element clears the building and sets up a new Base of Fire from the windows facing into the town. The rear element advances onto the capture point in the center of town, under cover from the new Base of Fire. Enemy riflemen attempt to Maneuver on the advancing element in an attempt to flank them, but are quickly cut down by the Base of Fire in the building - the targets are dead before they know where they are being shot from. The soldiers in the capture zone deploy their bipods and set up a second Base of Fire, while the soldiers in the building continue to cover their flanks from the windows.

These squad roles are the tools in your toolbox - learn to use them effectively.

The Rifleman is the real muscle in your squad. The rifle is a well-rounded weapon that can effectively engage targets at close, medium, and long ranges. If you need to take a point, it's the riflemen that are going to do it. The rifle is a weapon that can provide accurate and sustained fire - Riflemen are trained to shoot at targets just as much they're trained to shoot targets. In combat, your enemy is doing his best to remain concealed and in cover - but just because you don't know exactly where the enemy is doesn't mean you can't lay deadly fire onto him. Riflemen that are not able to line up an accurate aimed shot in a firefight should choose an area that is likely to contain an enemy and place accurate fire on it. This is especially true if the Rifleman's job is to function as the Base of Fire for his squad. Firing at the enemy keeps him suppressed, prevents him from raising his head and putting fire onto the Maneuvering element, and limits his battlefield awareness and ability to discern where your forces are. Riflemen carry ammo bags for resupply in the field. If you want to take a position, send in your Riflemen as the frontline assault troops. The Grenadier is a "Rifleman Plus." In addition to fulfilling the role of Rifleman, he is equipped with an underbarrel grenade launcher that allows him to deliver highly accurate fragmentation grenades through windows, around and behind cover, into concealment, and into rooms. Grenadiers specialize in killing targets that you can't directly see. Grenadiers rely on their squadmates to designate targets ("Grenadier, hit that far left window, second floor!") so they can use their grenades to destroy enemies in hiding. Grenadiers can also deploy smoke grenades at great distances, allowing you to create concealment anywhere. They are equipped with colored signal smokes to easily mark enemy positions for the fire support elements to deal with. They are the Swiss Army Knife of the squad and excel at urban warfare. Use them to flush out enemies in cover and put smoke in the enemy's face - they can also smoke hard-to-reach bodies for your Medics. Grenadiers often need their squadmate's direction to function at maximum effectiveness. Medics keep a squad on its feet with their ability to heal squad members. It is highly advised to always have at least one Medic in your squad. Squads without Medics lack staying power and are very vulnerable to getting picked apart in protracted firefights. Medics are equipped with a rifle, but should prioritize staying alive above all else, only firing from conservative positions. If the last Medic goes down, the squad will have no way to recover from battle injury. Medics should always be placed in positions where they have easy access to multiple squad members, and spread throughout the squad. Medics that keep getting themselves killed or that are nowhere near their squad are not doing their job, and the problem should be addressed by the SL. A good Medic stays alive, and immediately responds when a squad member is hurt. The Machine Gunner, or "MG," specializes in volume-of-fire. The extremely high rate of fire of his weapon can quickly fill the air with lead and achieve complete fire superiority with one pull of the trigger. "Incoming fire has the right of way," and the Machine Gunner leverages this fact to create openings for his squad to advance and maneuver. In addition to being an effective suppression tool, the machine gun can also deliver deadly-accurate fire at medium to long distances using a bipod. MG fire is delivered in bursts of 3-8 rounds, with pauses in between. This conserves ammunition, improves accuracy, gives the gunner a chance to adjust his fire based on his tracer impacts, and suppresses just as effectively. Remember, accurate fire is suppressive fire - three bullets right next to an enemy's head is more effective at convincing him to stay down than emptying your mag at the horizon. The MG excels at medium to long range firefights, but is extremely weak in close quarters and when reloading. The MG is well-suited to overwatch duty, providing a Base of Fire for your squad. SL's pair well with MG's as they can use their binos to spot and adjust the gunner's fire. The Designated Marksman is equipped with a semi-automatic rifle capable of putting out accurate fire at ranges that the normal Rifleman would struggle to hit - up to 700m and beyond. The Marksman is meant to stick with and to support his squad, extending its effective range by engaging long-range threats like MG positions and enemy marksmen. The Marksman is equipped with a high-power scope and binoculars, and often serves as the eyes and ears of the squad - when the squad leader is busy, the Marksman can serve as his early warning system, scanning for threats and relaying enemy positions and movement. The Marksman is not a true sniper and is not equipped to operate on his own - his scope lacks the magnification to reliably hit extreme distances (900m+) and the caliber of his rifle lacks the power to drop targets with one shot. When it comes to taking out pesky machine gunners, however, the Marksman is your man. Utilize their scouting abilities and keep them on overwatch duty when not fighting. The Anti-Tank Gunner, called the LAT or HAT (for Light Anti-Tank and Heavy Anti-Tank, respectively) is the infantry squad's only defense against armored vehicles like APC's, IFV's, and tanks. The armor of these vehicles is rated for calibers up to 7.62mm, meaning ordinary rifle rounds will ricochet off of its hull harmlessly. The anti-tank gunner is equipped with a rocket launcher that can punch through heavy armor. If you know the enemy has access to armor, it is highly advised to include AT in your squad. Your AT should usually be with your Flanking Element, and enemy armor will often need to be flanked before it can be effectively engaged with a rocket. If enemy armor is in the area, your anti-tank gunner is immediately the MVP and all measures should be taken to protect him and move him into position to intercept the enemy armor BEFORE it makes contact with your squad. The Combat Engineer, also known as the Sapper for the Insurgent and Militia factions, is the squad's mine-laying, barricade building, bomb-detonating explosives specialist. The Engineer is equipped with magnetically-activated anti-tank mines that can be buried along vehicle approach paths to deter and eliminate enemy armor and transports. The Engineer is also equipped with timed explosives such as C4 or TNT that will detonate 30 seconds after being placed, which can demolish anything from enemy Radios and FOB emplacements, to a vehicle wreck holding up a convoy, or even enemy vehicles themselves. They can lay barbed wire and sandbags and build structures faster. Sappers can lay IEDs, triggered by cell phone, and decoy rocks. Engineers are most useful when building, defending, and eliminating FOBs. Their anti-vehicular capabilities can be instrumental to the team's success.

The squad's method of transportation is an area often overlooked by many SL's - many transport trucks are simply ditched after the match starts and squads move on foot for the rest of the game. While going on foot has advantages - it's quiet, discreet, and you maintain situational awareness - on larger maps, the cross-country approach is far too slow and impractical. Using a truck as your dedicated squad transport to deploy to objectives throughout the match can greatly increase your squad's ability to be in the right place at the right time. Use Map Markers to set disembark zones on the map for your driver. Your embark and disembark zones should be out of the engagement range of the enemy, maybe even out of earshot - the element of surprise can be the difference between fighting a prepared squad or catching the enemy off-guard. Using vehicles off-road, especially trucks, takes a skilled driver, as it can quickly lead to getting stuck, flipping the vehicle, and taking a rocket to the passenger compartment. Armor's role is to support infantry through its superior firepower and its immunity to small arms fire. It must be closely supported by infantry if operating in urban environments, and communication between the armor and the SL is a must. Armor excels at long-range engagements in open areas, making sweeping advances across fields and deserts. Armored troop carriers like APC's and IFV's specialize in breaking infantry stalemates, as they can transport soldiers straight through a kill zone that would tear any infantry squad to shreds, deploy the troops in a safe area, then provide covering fire while the infantry advances. It's important to note that badly-used armor is a massive liability to your team, and losing armor will cost your team a lot of tickets as well as a powerful battlefield asset. The APC is a vehicle designed to perfectly synergize with an infantry squad and provide steady fire support for deployed troops. The infantry's job is to protect the APC's flanks from enemy AT infantry looking to close in and get an angle on the vehicle. This is easier said than done in urban environments. APC's like the Russian BTR shine when they are able to support a squad from a distance with their accurate and powerful weapons systems - a 300 meter "safe zone" around the APC, such as a field or open plain, will prevent the APC from being ambushed, and hitting an APC with a rocket beyond 300 meters, even a stationary one, requires an expertly aimed shot. The American Stryker is a heavily armored APC/IFV hybrid and a juggernaut on wheels - it is excellent at pushing through the hellish kill zones typical of urban areas. If you are unsure whether or not to take an APC, don't. Like all armor, APC's require skilled crews, and using one is a match-long commitment to close coordination and teamplay. Carelessly driven armor can cost your team the game. MT-LB's are tracked APC's. Despite their imposing appearance and deafening noise, these flat-topped transports are thin-skinned - .50 cals will easily penetrate the frontal armor. What they lack in armor, they make up for in carrying capacity. Their weapon systems are often identical to those on an APC. All things considered, however, they are usually weaker than APC's like the BTR and Stryker due to their thin armor and tricky handling, and can be heard from miles away. They should be used mainly for transportation and ammunition resupply. The IFV is even more expensive than an APC, and SL's should only authorize experienced crews to operate the vehicle. IFVs are designed to be infantry-killing machines and are best used as tools to take objectives with. Some IFVs are equipped with ATGMs (Anti-Tank Guided Missiles) to allow them to fight back against enemy tanks. The weapon systems integrated into these vehicles allows you to take the Base of Fire concept up about 10 or 20 notches. An IFV perched outside a key objective can completely lock down enemy movement in or out of the area, and liquify any squads or vehicles that dare move into its field of vision. Tanks are the kings of armored warfare, and their domininance on the battlefield is unquestionable. Casually shrugging off hits that would obliterate APC's and IFV's, the tank is built to spearhead assaults and annihilate any resistance encountered. Their primary purpose is to engage enemy armor - demolishing APC's, IFV's, and anything else on wheels or treads. In urban environments, use them to shield infantry moving through the streets and direct their huge firepower to quickly crush any threats that attempt to contest the advancing troops. In open battle, use their speed to launch sweeping attacks and punch through enemy lines. The tank is always the biggest dog in any fight and thus doesn't need to play cat-and-mouse games - taking out a tank is no easy task. Tanks are not invincible, however, and are vulnerable to coordinated anti-tank ambushes, mines and explosives, or their deadliest enemy - other tanks.
Helicopters are the ultimate battlefield transportation solution. Ferrying soldiers and supplies across the field of operations, these airborne angels can provide invaluable support for your squad. Deploying and evacuating troops, resupplying FOBs, and providing airborne fire support are what helicopters do best. When it comes to choppers, timing is everything. Helicopters are vulnerable to both small arms fire and getting shot out of the sky by RPGs, TOW missiles, and armor. Use colored smoke to designate landing zones (LZ's) for pilots. Helicopters draw a lot of attention and can be seen and heard for miles. Closely coordinate with the pilot to get your squad loaded and unloaded as fast as humanly possible. Anything slower could mean the complete annihilation of your entire squad and the chopper. Squad members attempting to access a vehicle must first receive authorization from their SL before they are granted vehicle privileges. Use this feature to control what vehicles are on the battlefield, and to make sure they are used responsibly. If you suddenly receive an authorization request for a Stryker in the middle of a firefight, ask the squad member what he plans to use it for, if he has experience driving armor, and if he has a gunner for the vehicle, BEFORE you authorize the request. You should make sure the crew is ready to communicate with the squad and team to use the armor effectively. Doing this will prevent armor being wasted and your team from losing tickets, and can prevent the loss of the match in low-ticket situations. It's good practice as SL to flat-out refuse to authorize any armor that doesn't have a gunner.

There are many aspects to leadership, but only one way to lead, and that's by example.

Half of leading a squad in SQUAD has nothing to do with SQUAD, it's just plain leadership. Getting nine random people to work together towards a common objective, communicate effectively, solve problems as a group, and use critical thinking and quick decision-making skills while soothing ruffled feathers is straight-down-the-board Leadership 101. If you're in doubt as to the importance of effective squad leadership, simply sit down, load up a game of SQUAD, and pay attention to your Squad Leader - what the SL does, what the SL doesn't do, how he handles problems, and how your squad behaves as a result (and how YOU behave as a result). People don't have to have played Squad Leader to tell whether they are under good leadership or not, and make no mistake about it, people notice good leadership - in fact, they don't easily forget it. Taking responsibility is basically the essence of leadership. Most people want to take responsibility when things are going well, but when things aren't, it's always someone else's fault - and the blame game begins. Leadership means it's always your fault. Blaming your squad, the other SL's, or the opposing team does absolutely nothing except sow negativity - and when negativity is in the air, people shut down. The toxicity and acidic remarks tossed from one SL to another during a stressful game don't come from a bad place - it proves that SQUAD does a great job at getting people to care about the outcome of a match. SQUAD makes players want to win. Unfortunately, frustrated SL's often choose to take it out on their team rather than respond to the situation at hand. Being a leader means you are willing to accept responsibility for whatever happens, whether good or bad. Nothing, I mean nothing, will destroy a squad member's trust in you faster than pointing the finger at them when things go wrong and calling them out in front of the whole squad when it was someone else's fault. Being a leader means that when someone under your command screws up, you point that finger at yourself. Squad Leaders make a lot of decisions. It's important that you make decisions fast, and that you stick to them. Don't hesitate to make firm decisions, and make sure your orders are followed through on. Don't be afraid to make bad decisions - bad decisions are always better than not making a decision at all. Your language should always be confident and clear - don't beat around the bush. Replace "I think we should attack" with "We're attacking. Everyone get ready." Do, or do not - there is no try. Be confident in your decisions, even when you're not so sure about them yourself. Your squad needs that kind of clarity. "I want" is a fantastic command. "I want you watching the fields to the south." Hold your squad members accountable - address them by name (this is extremely effective) and ask them why they aren't following your orders. If people are wandering off, address them by name, order them to rejoin the squad, and give them a time window to comply. The Squad Leader is given the power to Kick for a reason - this is how you enforce your rank, and how you back up your ultimatums. Kicks should be your last resort, but at the end of the day, you're the one who stepped up to the plate and decided to lead. You don't have to tolerate squad members that are determined to ignore you. If their points of view are constantly clashing with yours, inform them that they would be better off leading their own squad. Always give players warnings before you Kick them, and give them plenty of opportunities to correct their behavior. If a player is just asking to be Kicked, don't drag it out. Kick him, and be very polite when doing it. There is a word that perfectly sums up the attitude of a good leader - and that word is, "Unfazeable." Being unfazeable means that no matter what happens - even if the sh*t has hit the fan so hard that the walls are painted brown - you never, ever lose your cool. The squad gets their confidence from YOU. If you're flipping out when things start to go south, then what the hell are the people you're leading expected to do? The squad leader is all about the next step - always thinking ahead, always making a plan, always doing the best he can do with the tools he has available. It's your job to figure out the next step and do the thinking for your squad. Level-headedness is a trait that people deeply appreciate in a leader, especially if those people are already unsure of their own capabilities. Even if things are going completely haywire, even if the situation is starting to look absolutely hopeless - you still lead the squad with the exact same confidence you had at the start of the match. Don't let it take you down a single notch. People respond to that kind of constancy, and they will work harder for you. This is basically the motivational equivalent of the atom bomb. Every SL, even the very worst ones, are quick to point out what someone did wrong. It's not hard to find out what went wrong - after things have gone wrong. It's easy for a Cpt. Hindsight to come along and point out that someone should have put a rocket in that BTR after it's killed everyone in the town. You don't even have to be that great at the game to make accurate observations on exactly who did what wrong, and what should have happened instead. But few SL's will regularly congratulate their squad members when they do things right. In fact, people might be doing their job so well that you don't even notice - after all, who notices the absence of a problem? If your machine gunner has been locking down the field on the left side of town for the last ten minutes, leaving nothing but bodies strewn across the landscape, still smoking from the tracer rounds embedded in their dead flesh - a beach chair SL could be sitting in town, sipping on a lemonade and scanning the horizon with his binos, chatting about how the squad "just doesn't seem to be encountering much resistance here." Thank your squad members - even for the little things. If you've ever been thanked for doing a good job, whether at work, or in a video game, you know it motivates you more than many reprimands. Thank your fellow SL's publicly. People will bend over backwards for someone that recognizes their efforts.

Making the people around you feel invisible is the opposite of leadership.

Local should be your go-to channel. If you can say it in Local, say it in Local. Not only does this help people locate where you are, it cleans up Squad Channel. If you burn out the Squad Channel with random banter and things you could have said in Local, people won't just stop listening to Squad Channel - they'll stop listening to all the channels. Unless your entire squad is being pushed, call out contacts and bearings in Local. Call for medics in Local. Squad Channel should be reserved for things the whole squad needs to hear - squad objectives, enemy FOB locations, incoming armor - or to talk to a distant squad member. Do not call out "guy on my body" in Squad Channel. There are 100 players in a game of SQUAD and they are extremely busy trying to maintain situational awareness. Clogging up squad comms with non-specific callouts is very damaging to squad coordination. When using Command, always refer to both parties, and say "over." For example, "Squad 2, this is Squad 1, how are things at the bridge, over?" This greatly, greatly reduces confusion and makes it clear that another squad is on the line asking to speak to an SL. Use Direct Comms with other SL's when you can, especially vehicle units, by using the NumPad. Brevity and clarity is the key to using Command properly. Be incredibly brief and clear with your comms (refer to the Callouts section). If there's drama going on in Command, never tell your squad about it. Keep SL issues between the SL's. Maybe you're not good at small talk - you don't have to be to be a good SL - but if you like banter in your games, it's an excellent way to build rapport with your squad. There's a lot of downtime after the intial planning as people just wait for the match to start - this is a great time to just joke around and be silly. I've had some absolutely hilarious conversations just on the truck ride to the deployment zone. Breaking the ice with your squad gets people using their mics and invested in the game - and part of the magic of SQUAD is the ridiculous antics and Oscar-worthy Michael Caine impressions that happen throughout the course of a match. Enjoy the silliness, just keep it on a switch - don't mix your joking around with your actual squad leading, or people won't know when you're actually being serious. As soon as the fighting starts, you should snap back to your role as Squad Leader quickly and smoothly. A sense of humor makes even losing enjoyable and takes the edge off. Players tend to get less talkative when things are going badly in a game of SQUAD, and start slowly tuning out - except for Squad Leaders. The verbal lashings that SL's bestow upon each other during a match of SQUAD is truly something to behold. Whenever negativity and blame start being thrown around like a hot potato, people's first instinct is to shoot back. The problem is that if someone's blaming you for something - even if it's not your fault - trying to correct them is like putting out a fire with gasoline. Don't argue with other SL's. Even if you could crush his argument with logic so undeniable it would make Plato proud, don't argue with other SL's. Don't ever make your team members your enemies in this game. If someone's a bad SL, that's simply another factor in the situation you're dealing with. Don't call him out, and don't start a flame war in Command. He may be new, he may be having a bad day, he may not have read this guide - it doesn't matter. SL infighting just undermines the morale of your entire team. Your SL's may be bad, but they're what you've got to work with, and it's better to handle your corner of the war as best you can. If an SL is frothing at the mouth on Command, ordering you to pull your squad back to his position, either calmly explain your objective to him and carry on, or calmly relay the censored version of his request to your squad and start falling back. If you harbor doubts about the other squads, always keep them to yourself - never share them with your squad. Remember to compliment other SL's that are doing a good job and thank them when they come to your aid. Reprimands only get you an inch where positive reinforcement gets you a mile. You will make mistakes as squad leader. Don't make a big deal out of it. Keep making decisions. Keep giving orders. Don't freeze up. If you led your squad straight into an ambush, just keep leading - figure out the next step and relay the orders to your squad without breaking your stride. It doesn't matter if you screw up, or even if you get chewed out - you had the guts take the lead and assume responsibility. My first game of SQUAD, I threw a bad frag a few minutes into the match and teamkilled two of my squadmates. I was once playing Scout and accidentally pulled out my cell phone instead of my land mine - and blew up the entire FOB my team had been defending for the last 20 minutes. My finger slipped on my mouse while on guard duty and I gunned down my squadmate the exact instant he walked through the door. I shot one of my men in the back of the head when he walked in front of me. I once got in the drivers seat of a British transport truck and almost kicked the person in the left seat for not driving the squad to the objective. ("And the Dumbest SL of the Year award goes to...") The mistakes are just part of learning SQUAD. Get used to making them. There really isn't a substitute for actually caring about your squad. If you don't give a sh*t, it shows. If one of your squad members says he needs ammo, see if you can get him some ammo. Radio other squads, ask local blues, make his problem your problem. If someone fell behind and is trying to catch up, tell the squad to hold up and wait for him. If one of your guys goes down and you think your Medic can get to him before the squad falls back, tell the Medic to get over there and revive him. Make sure everyone has transportation and nobody is stuck running from main. Use Command to get blues to give your squadmates a lift. Call people by their names instead of by their roles. Make sure people feel like they can speak up. Rotate people on duties like Logi duty, overwatch duty, or guarding the rear. Thank your backcappers and give them rides back to their squad. It has a big impact on people when their squad goes out of the way to take care of them.

Blue/Blueberry - Friendly from another squad (blue player icons on map)
Green - Friendly squadmate (green player icons on map)
Main - Main Base
FOB - Forward Operating Base
SuperFOB - Heavily fortified Forward Operating Base
Rally - Squad Rally Point
SL - Squad Leader
Command - Command Voice Channel
Squad Chat - Squad Voice Channel
Local - Proximity Voice Channel
Logi - Logistics Truck
Logi Run - Logistics Resupply Run
Point/Flag - In-Game Objective
Cap Zone - Objective Capture Zone (on the Flag)
Flip - To completely take an Objective (Flag) from the enemy
Neutral - When an Objective (Flag) doesn't belong to either team
Neuting - To take an Objective (Flag) from the enemy-held state to the Neutral state
Capping - To take an Objective (Flag) from the Neutral state to the Captured state
Backcapping - To take a "safe" Flag while the team fights further along the Objective chain
Double Neut - When the two relevant Flags are being simultaneously held by opposite teams in AAS or RAAS, forcing a stalemate and denying capture progress past the Neutral stage
Grid Ref - Map Grid Reference (ex. Charlie Four One Seven)
30 Mike - 30mm Autocannon (found on APC's, MT-LB's, and IFV's)
LAT/HAT - Light Anti-Tank and Heavy Anti-Tank, respectively
Nade - Grenade
Smoke - Smoke grenade or mortar
Mic Check - Roll call for squad members
Middle Mouse Safety - Resting the index finger on the scroll wheel to prevent accidental weapon discharge
Tongue Clicking - Method of communication and celebration used by the Insurgent faction
Hold Spawns/Holding Spawns - To delay your spawn until further instruction
Burned - In reference to Rallies, when the Rally is overrun by enemies and destroyed, or when the timer is reset due to trying to place it too close to enemies (burning the timer)
Proxy/Proxied - When friendly spawns are disabled due to there being two or more enemies close to a HAB
Hot - In reference to Rallies and FOBs, when there are enemies engaging friendlies in the area
Lone Wolfing - Playing away from your squad
Downed - Incapacitated, but not killed
Rez - Reviving of a downed player
Dead-Dead - If you are downed again in a certain time frame without being healed, you are killed outright
Wipe - When the squad or team gets downed to the last man, preventing revives
Layer - Version of a map featuring unique arrangement of factions, faction assets, and map Objectives
AAS - Advance and Secure, one of the game modes in SQUAD
RAAS - Random Advance and Secure, one of the game modes in SQUAD
Invasion - One of the game modes in SQUAD
Insurgency - One of the game modes in SQUAD
Skirmish - One of the game modes in SQUAD
Destruction - One of the game modes in SQUAD
Territory Control - One of the game modes in SQUAD
Tickets - Team resource tied to deaths, destruction of vehicles, Flag capture, and Radio destruction - the win condition of SQUAD

"Form up on me"
"Form up on Squad Leader"
"Loose formation"
"Tight formation"
"Watch your spacing!"
"Overwatch"
"Spread out"
"Stay on me"
"Squadmate on me for Rally"
"Squadmates on me for Radio"
"Lead the way"
"Take me to it" "Weapons tight"
"Weapons hot"
"Hold your fire"
"Wait for my command"
"Standby squad" "Hold spawns"
"Hold spawns for Rally"
"Spawn at FOB"
"Spawn at Rally"
"Rally is hot"
"FOB is hot" "Enemy movement"
"I have visual on X"
"Contact!"
"...infantry!"
"...multiple infantry!"
"...enemy armor!"
"...Southwest!"
"...bearing Two-One-Zero!"
"Sniper!" "Return fire!"
"Covering fire!"
"Suppressive fire!"
"Keep their heads down!"
"I want fire superiority!"
"Lay it on them!"
"Find some cover!"
"Cover me"
"I'm covering you"
"Reloading!"
"Follow their tracers!"
"Follow my tracers!"
"Conserve your ammo!"
"Short, controlled bursts"
"Empty your mags!"
"Right flank is folding!"
"Left flank is folding!"
"Secure left flank!
"Secure right flank!"
"Cease firing!" "Enemy down"
"Target down"
"Enemy armor destroyed"
"Enemy is retreating"
"Friendly is hit!"
"X is hit!" "Advance!"
"Move in!"
"Slow and steady"
"Stay low"
"Don't skyline yourself"
"Stay in defilade!"
"Hold position!"
"Hold position, wait for stragglers"
"Roll up their right flank!"
"Roll up their left flank!"
"Regroup with your squad"
"Pull back to us!"
"Dogpile on X!"
"Get bodies on cap zone!"
"Sweep the area" "Clear those buildings!"
"Clear those buildings top to bottom!"
"Clear!"
"X, you're on point"
"Set weapons to full auto"
"Check your corners!"
"Watch those windows!"
"Watch those rooftops!"
"Building clear"
"Town is clear" "Enemies are capping X!"
"Enemy has capped X!"
"Enemy HAB on (your name here)'s position, mark it!"
"Enemy Radio on (your name here)'s position, mark it!"
"Enemy HAB on (grid reference), mark it!
"Enemy Radio on (grid reference), mark it!"
"Enemy HAB is down!"
"Enemy Radio is down!" "Fall back!"
"Disengage!"
"Break contact!"
"Fall back to Move Marker!"
"Fall Back to Rally!" "Set up a perimeter"
"I want eyes in all directions"
"I want X on overwatch"
"I want guys on rooftops"
"I want people at windows"
"Watch for that X"
"I want eyes looking East"
"Area clear"
"North is clear"
"Man those emplacements!"
"Breach!"
"They're breaching North!"
"Enemies in compound!" "Friendlies in the area!"
"Those are friendlies!"
"Check your targets!"
"Check your fire!"
"That was friendly"
"No friendlies in the area, shoot on sight!"
"Misfire!" "Frag out!"
"Get frags out!"
"Get frags over the wall!"
"Smoke out!"
"Get smokes out!"
"Wait for smokes!"
"Mark with colored smoke"
"Marked with red smoke"
"Grenade, get down!"
"Bad frag, get down!" "Allahu Akbar" "You're hitting low, bring it up"
"You're hitting high, bring it down"
"Adjust 5 meters left"
"Adjust 5 meters right"
"Good hits, good hits"
"Pace your shots"
"Target down"
"MG, get ready to displace"
"MG, displace!"
"MG, deploy on Eye marker!"
"MG, notify me when deployed"
"MG, be ready to return fire"
"MG, commence firing"
"Lay it on them, MG!"
"I want to hear that MG firing!"
"Ease up on that MG!"
"MG, cease firing, cease firing!" "I want LATs moving to intercept"
"What's the ETA on that rocket?"
"LAT, how's your ammo?"
"LATs and HATs, resupply here"
"LAT, can you get a visual?"
"LAT, it hasn't seen you"
"LAT, you're in its blind spot"
"LAT, you are safe to approach"
"LAT, zero for X meters"
"Good rocket" "Mortar team, requesting Fire Mission"
"...on grid Bravo One-Six-Three"
"Fire when ready!"
"Fire for effect"
"Sending"
"Rounds complete"
"Good hits, good hits"
"Mortars, walk your shots."
"Mortars, shift your fire North 100 meters"
"Mortars, shift your fire East 100 meters"
"Mark your targets for mortars"
"Friendly mortars inbound, let us know how they land"
"Mortars are dry"
"They've got us zeroed!"
"Shells incoming in 20"
"Shells incoming!"
"Find overhead cover!"
"Danger close!"
"Mortars, check your fire! You're hitting friendlies!"
"Mortars, switch to smokes."
"Mortars, cease firing, we're moving in" "Comms short and sweet, please"
"Clear comms, please!"
"Clear comms, I'm radioing Command"
"Squad 2, say again?"
"Type it in chat please"
"What's the situation down at X?"
"What's the ETA on X?"
"All squads, be advised"
"Squad 4, be advised"
"Never mind, disregard"
"Wrong chat, disregard" "Squad 2, we're holding, over."
"Squad 2, we're pinned down, over."
"Squad 2, heavy resistance in X, over."
"Squad 2, no resistance in X, over."
"Squad 2, we've got your flank, over."
"Squad 2, we're waiting on you to engage, over."
"Squad 2, we've taken heavy casualties."
"Squad 2, X is hot, over."
"Squad 2, no enemies sighted at X, over."
"Squad 2, enemy squad moving in on your position from the Northwest, over."
"Squad 2, enemy armor headed your way."
"Squad 2, we need reinforcements at X, over."
"Squad 2, we're losing X, over."
"Squad 2, we're on our way to relieve you, over."
"Squad 2, we're falling back." "Engines off until I say"
"Is everyone onboard?"
"Engines on"
"Slow down"
"Speed it up"
"Stay on the road"
"Get off the road!"
"Stop the vehicle"
"Disembark!"
"Disembark at Move Marker"
"Embark at Move Marker"
"Friendly armor inbound!" "Tell me what you see"
"Be my eyes"
"You're assigned to Squad X"
"Reinforce Squad X"
"I want regular updates"
"Let me know when it's done"
"Regroup when it's done" "I want shovels on X"
"I want my squad on shovel duty"
"Shovel that up"
"Shovel that down" "Marked on map"
"Please mark on map"
"Mark your contacts"
"Is X icon still accurate?"
"Is my marker accurate?"
"Clean up your markers"
"Give me a grid for X"
"Grid B-Five-One-Five" - Attack / Secure
- Defend / Hold
- Flank
- Search & Destroy
- Ambush
- Relief
- Reinforce
- Regroup
- Withdraw

- Recon
- Recover Vehicle
- Fortify / Build
- Logistics / Logi Run
- Transport

- Point
- Recon
- Patrol
- Flank
- Base of Fire
- Fire Support
- Guard Duty
- Overwatch
- Tank Hunting
- VIP
- Shovel Duty
- Ammo Resupply
- Standby
- Pair w/ Squad Member - "Good work, squad."

Official SQUAD Website: https://joinsquad.com/
Official SQUAD Forums: http://forums.joinsquad.com/

OTHER GUIDES BY VANCE:
Winning At Squad

CHANGELOG
8/13/18 - v1.0
8/16/18 - IFV ticket value fixed
11/15/18 - Updated for SQUAD v12 (tanks, wave rallies, ammo bags, revive changes)
12/3/18 - Added Fireteams to Article 1
5/3/19 - Updated for SQUAD v13 (combat engineers)
4/12/20 - Updated for SQUAD v2.0 and official game launch (helicopters)
8/30/23 - Typo fix
1/17/26 - Added link to the new guide "Winning At Squad" in Debriefing
1/18/26 - Added the Unofficial Game Soundtrack to Debriefing
7/18/26 - Updated now that SL kits have shovels