I'm not sure if anyone will read this, or for that matter, if anyone will care, but I feel it needs airing.

 

Squad leaders need an attitude adjustment. Some SLs are great; they communicate, they drive assaults and they think about what the enemy is likely to do and then counter it. That isn't everything, but it is, in my humble opinion, a great start and worthy of my time when I join their squad.

 

What I am talking about is the hostility often experienced when you lead a squad, from other SLs. Here are some examples that you might find familiar:

 

"Squad two, what the fuck are you doing over there? Get on B for fucks sake!"

 

"Which fuckwit built a FOB on point!? Are you a fucking retard?"

 

"Why aren't you attacking the point with us? Why are you sitting on a hill? Move your fucking arses!"

 

You get my point, I hope.

 

This is a game that tries to recreate military combat, and along with that comes something called the fog of war. You can't see the enemy that's firing UGL rounds at the squad, you can't know that they are pinned down by a vehicle mounted MG, or any of the other things that happen. Unless you communicate.

 

So instead of swearing at them, insulting them or abusing their lack of foresight, can I suggest switching to a positive?

 

"Squad two, are you alright? Do you need our support?"

 

It's such an easy questions. The SL might be new. He might be ordering his squad during a contact and can't give a sitrep on rednet. Ask him if he needs help. Ask if that logi truck needs an escort from your humvee. Coordinate an attack or a defense, and talk to each other like you would expect to be spoken to by an officer, because that is exactly what you represent to you squad and your team.

 

All I'm saying is that for every time someone goes off their tree at an SL who isn't doing what they like or expect, there is another player that won't start a squad because he's new and doesn't want to cop the abuse. BigD police foul language in chat, they police abusive behaviour, but we as a community need to raise our game; not because it's against some rule on a forum, but because it instils positive behaviour in other players, newer players, and builds the community into something we all enjoy and find reward in participating in.

 

If you think I'm wrong, or full of shit, okay I respect that. But if you know I'm talking about and can see how altering your perspective can be a positive change in the Aussie Squad community, especially here at BigD, then please give it a try.

 

Thanks for reading this.

 

Mak

Dealing with others SLs, good and bad, will always be a part of squad leading. You get used to the idiots, and deal with them in your own way.

 

I find the best way to co-ordinate when leading is to:

. Ignore the scrub / idiot leaders - they just want someone to blame for everything

. Work with the positive leaders only

. Keep my inter squad comms concise

 

You will never change the attitude of tools. If my squad makes a positive contribution and we have a good time, that's my win regardless of tickets.

 

BTW I just realised this is a Squad thread - I play PR. We get the same problems as the OP so I believe my comments stand.

Edited January 8, 20179 yr by Sapper28

100% agree Mak, i consider myself a good squad lead and will always ask wat the other squads are up to. as u know no comms = lose

I consider myself a decent SL, but I admit I've gone off on other SL's like in your examples when dealing with non-responsive and uncooperative SL's.

But I totally agree with your statements, except where it is your responsibility to find out what the off task Squad is doing.

Eg, if they are trying to move to an active point but are taking fire, then that SL should be putting markers down and/or communicating their contacts over command comms.

If they are unable to move to the required position it is their responsibility to make their situation known so the commander (or other SL's) can issue appropriate orders to the other squads.

 

I've been in games where you have a Squad FOBing up and holding a point like champs. But when that point is no longer active, they refuse to move off to support other squads on forward flags.

Or when you have SL's who like to FOB up in totally useless positions. These actions indirectly affect the game for everyone else on that team and this has lead me to getting quite fired up and on one occasion, threatening a kick.

 

Also, I see the abuse and heated banter all too often from many squaddies, more so than from SL's. I'm getting so tired of running a squad and having half of my guys going on about how shit other squads are or why isn't that squad moving to help us, etc, etc. It seems far too many people disregard the Fog of War and expect magic from their fellow team mates in other squads. But all we can do is continue to remind other players that we don't know what is happening on the other side of the map and to let the SL's worry about the other squads, you just worry about doing your job.

 

This is definitely something that needs to be addressed.

I haven't been playing for long, however I'm starting to really enjoy the SL role and while I haven't come across too many unresponsive SL's, there have been a few doozies I've witnessed - e.g. hanging around at inactive attack markers because we've been back capped with said squad refusing to help because it was someone else "fault" it was lost, setting up FOBs at first defense marker and sitting there all game, SL not promoting team work and just letting his squad mates run single file into an objective with them dying and re-spawning constantly (straight off a FOB, which gave away its position, resulting in the loss of the FOB).

 

With all that being said though, my first game involved our SL dropping out leaving me to take over - with no idea what to do, I tried to palm it off to someone else but they convinced me to just give it a shot and stepped me through the process. The other SL's at the time were also quite understanding and helpful, if it weren't them I probably would have steered clear of the SL role for a long while.

 

So while there are obviously some bad eggs out there, all in all, from a new players perspective I've felt the majority of SL's I've encountered have been easy to talk and reason with (at least those with mics that aren't complete newbies who accidentally started a squad without realizing what they were getting themselves into).

 

If my squad makes a positive contribution and we have a good time, that's my win regardless of tickets.

 

I feel the same way too, it's not always about the win if the other squads aren't talking/coordinating.

100% agree and I think most profitable, result achieving squads would aswell. The squads that do not communicate, get frustrated easily and take it out on other SL's are usually the ones that cannot impact heavily on the game. I think most frustration stem from circumstance on most occasions though, if an SL gets a whole squad of new players or feels that other squads are not attempting to assist them. That's were communication and some level of respect comes into it. It also comes down to a little bit of charisma and leading ability of your own squad, as SL you need to take control and ensure your guys will do as you ask(You have every right). This means you are more coordinated and able to communicate and react much more quickly. That may seem offtopic, but I've found good squad members also help to make a good squad leader and vice versa. My 2 cents.

Great write up mak, agree 100%.