Angry Enlisted Blog

I’ve ended up being an tryhard sweat in the game of Squad. It’s very similar to Arma but multiplayer driven, typically 95+ players total in an server. Player driven logistics, etc. I spent the first 350-400 hours as either an rifleman or medic while occasionally playing light anti tank. I unfortunately started squad leading one night after I couldn’t find an open squad and now that I’ve played solely on the same server practically every night for the last two years I am now an regular in the community. After 2,000 hours I’ve had some good times and bad times. I am not perfect or without faults but I’d say I’m decent at the game. Squad leading isn’t easy. You have to sweat. You have to pay attention and coordinate. You make the calls that others don’t want to. But seeing an well coordinated plan work is addicting.

I’ve learned a lot over these last few years of digital combat operations. Some of my experience from Afghanistan carries over but not as much as you’d think. Here are some things I’ve learned and some key points.

1. Logistics wins the game. HABs and ammo are vital. Without them you will lose.
2. Communicate and be humble. As new players come to the game unfortunately the level of play degrades and becomes more toxic. It’s the lifecycle. Get to know the people you play with regularly and don’t be an fucking asshole all the time. I have my moments where I’m pissy, frustrated or argumentative. Everyone does but don’t make it an habit.
3. Being an SL doesn’t give you authority or respect. Being competent and professional does. Don’t try to boss around other squad leaders because you are looking at the map and you think you know better or understand what’s going on at there current position.
4. Complex maneuvers don’t work with the blueberries / randoms or even friends unless you’ve been playing for a long time together. Keep it simple. Breaking contact by leapfrogging is great when it works. So is setting up an base of fire and maneuver element. But unfortunately a lot of people don’t grasp even those basic concepts so try to dumb it down as much as possible.
5. You are going to fuck up and lose games. It’s not the end of the world but man will people blame you in an second if you are commander. It comes with the territory. Don’t take it personal and don’t make it personal.
6. Delegate responsibilities especially if you are the commander. This one is hard because you can’t always trust the people in your squad to get the job done. You shouldn’t always be doing logi runs the entire game as commander, you need to use assets or you will lose.
7. Speaking of assets there’s an time and an place. You don’t always need to use 155/152 barrages on the central point to win the game but you should always air on the side of sending it.
8. Squad leading is like herding cats. Commanding an team is like herding groups of cats while herding your own cats. If people don’t listen there’s only so much you can do. Don’t be too hard on yourself.
9. Someone has to defend. I love attacking, maneuvering on the enemy and getting the decisive assaults. But unfortunately a lot of the times you have to be the one doing the boring job of defending and making sure you keep that hab up on the point you just captured.
10. Hab placement is important but not vital. Taking too long to get one down can lose an game while your trying to find the perfect spot. Rally position is vital though. Too aggressive and it gets burned.

Stay Frosty