TSMC Training Exercise Part Deuce: Squad Leader Candidacy Saturday 2019/5/4 at 7:00PM UTC (3PM EDT)

[O-Lefty]

NOTICE: IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURSUE THE LIFE OF A SQUAD LEADER OR COMMANDING OFFICER (HELPING RUN EVENTS) PLEASE EXPRESS SO BELOW!!!

Y'all root'n' toot'n' PRIVATES better gear up! We're going to the academy to do DRUGS!

Last weekend we covered some of the fundamental principles of TSMC (TEST Star Marine Corps) during a training exercise around Hurston. This weekend we will continue the exercise in the general area of ArcCorp beginning with the Twitch Pachenko mission!

Our focus this session will be on gathering squad leader candidates and going through some different scenarios so the squad leader candidates can work with their team to develop familiarity with some basic TSMC commands. Expect some Yellow on Yellow action, bring plenty of spare weapons.

What: TSMC Field Exercise
When: Muster Time 19:00 UTC (3:00PM EDT) Saturday 2019/5/4
Where: Stanton System --> ArcCorp --> Area 18
Who: Emphasis on squad leader or commanding officer candidates, but we need lots of people. Lets fill a server!

As you were!


o7
O-Lefty

P.S. Please be in the general area before the event (ArcCorp Spawn). It is very helpful if everyone sets their spawn to the planet we are working off of to minimize muster time.

 

[O-Lefty]

For those that were not able to show up to the last event, here is a digest of the key points from the brief...


*** TEST Star Marine Corps ***

Motto
“The entire universe must learn our peaceful ways, by force.”

Mission Statement
The TEST Star Marine Corps is an expeditionary force to protect org members at home and abroad. Able to improvise, adapt, and overcome any obstacle on land, in atmosphere, or in space. The sentries and the spearhead of TEST operations throughout the verse.

Code of Conduct

• Don't be an asshole.
• No TESTie left behind (unless they want to be).
• No friendly fire (without consent).

Duty/Charges

• Provide FPS protection for all divisions operations as requested.
• Carry out operations to secure and expand org assets.
• Carry out operations to influence org reputation as directed by organizational leadership.

Definitions
TEST Star Marine Corps (TSMC)
The TEST first-person shooter expeditionary force within the Start Citizen Persistent Universe.

TEST Squadron, BEST Squardon! (TEST)
A Star Citizen organization full of drunks.

Command Structure

Three levels of command currently exist for the TEST Star Marine Corps: the Brass, commanding officers, and squad leaders. The Brass consists of TEST organizational leadership (Officers and Moderators) that are charged with providing overall direction and sponsorship for TSMC operations. The Commanding Officers (CO) are selected from TEST membership or leadership to head specific TSMC operations or missions from briefing through conclusion. The COs may change during an operation or may lead a series of operations. Squad Leader positions are provided as directed by the CO to adequately direct the membership participating in the respective operation. The role of Squad Leader may be voluntarily filled or appointed by the CO.
Squads… Play objectives as directed by the CO, but remain independent in how they fulfill the task. Should consist of three (3) to six (6) members including the Squad Leader, and have a squad callsign, i.e. Echo Squad, Delta Farce, Team Ram-Rod. Ideally the squad will have a backup leader assigned to take command in case of the Squad Leader being incapacitated.

 

[Tinker_Bell]

Hi y'all. Heals here.

I'd like to put my name in the hat for this role. I think I could help. I've helped organize only a few small unofficial groups thus far but I'D LIKE to think they went well and that my efforts to organize made a significant impact on the probability of success and my methods of execution allowed everyone to have fun while getting the job done.

I could also be delusional. Maybe vote on it. XD

 

[Knax]

*Prepares grinder for fresh meat*

 

[O-Lefty]

Hi y'all. Heals here.

I'd like to put my name in the hat for this role. I think I could help. I've helped organize only a few small unofficial groups thus far but I'D LIKE to think they went well and that my efforts to organize made a significant impact on the probability of success and my methods of execution allowed everyone to have fun while getting the job done.

I could also be delusional. Maybe vote on it. XD

No voting needed, everyone gets a shot that wants one.


o7

 

[August]

Being a bit shit at stuff is fine at the start. As long as nobody power-trips there’s nothing to stop you doing the job more and getting better at it. FTL is my favourite role, you get to shoot stuff and think about strategy.

 

[Cugino83]

I'll happy to take a shot... hope to still able to manage a team

 

[O-Lefty]

Friendly reminder this is tomorrow. Get your beer fridge restocked tonight!

Also, the event was endorsed on Captain Richard's stream so we may see some non-TESTies there. Please welcome them.


o7

 

[Drykhan]

im there

 

[Rear_Intruder]

I do not want to be a leader, I am willing to be shouted at so I may come along at 1900 UTC.

Mrs Intruder will be asleep so I will not be able to talk.

 

[wmk]

May 4 Training Session.
And yes, that's my character on the last pic.

 

[Cugino83]

Love this game... this a re ture amazing shots... sad I was missing for the group shot (still in QT at that time... )

 

[Cugino83]

Ok, now let me stat a bit a review of yersteday event.

Breaching at SPK (attacker side)

Ok, this was a good asction, we managed to asseble squads quicly and tings work out well on this side: 3 squads with a team leader and a couple of rifleman each.

We agree on the initial tactics, which point of entri use and have a decent coordination.
At this point I have to enlight a flaw on the chain of command: we don't call out the "redy for breach" befour stating the attack. This couse a delay on the assault and few second after initiate the operation I heard somone (sorry don't remenmber who was) asking "we are altready breaching??"
A btter sicronization on the operation start could have avoided that.

Internal movement, at least for my squad was good (can't say for the other), but at some poit I miss a sqaud member and I don't know where it die and how.
This was a lack of comunication.
I was the only one with an HEavy armour (more coonsideration on that to follow), so I take the front position, and this mean I can't see on my back so I don't know a member of the squad as detached.

Consideration on squad moving: unless your quad leader directly instruct you to take a diffent path DO NOT leave your squad.
Leaving your squad and wandering alone leve you isoleted, without fire support for yours squad comrade and with the possibility to being engage form a superior forces (this mean also 2 enemy).
In consideration of the future introduction of the medic gameplay this will oslo leave you expose to the lack of medical support: there qill be no one to pull you out of fire and into cover to being patched up if you fall injuried.

Another think that i feel we need to dramaticcally improve is the comunication beteween the squads: we entered by second floor chamber and we don't have any clue on the position of the occupant since no one reported it. Olso we don't know the situation of ather squad and the loss inflicted, tahere was a total radio silence.


One consideration on tattics for this kind of situation, we could have introduce another layer of complexity to the assault, the "Psicological warfare".
We headed to the designeted entry point but we could have take our time to cirle every chamber to be open on the outside. This would have negate the defender the awarnes of witch entry point we where using. Olso, sice SPK have windows we could have use them during the setup to confuse the defender side about our movemnts, hide them isnstead while regouping on the designed entry point.

 

[Cugino83]

Second part of my consideration...

Reclaimer boarding operation (defending squad).

ok, this i feel was more caotic than the previes one.
Do to the lass of time setting up the stage we do not organise squad, still the enviroments of the Reclaimer doesn't feel like you need them (on the defender side).
We set up a plan to guard hte entry point and we had ann advantage sice the corridor are small and tight (no joke guys...), a perfect bottlenek where stop and assoulting force.
In this case thare was a missplacement of some people: one was stuck on the levator (and in this case there was nothing we can do about it), but there was some one else positioned in the hangar/cargo bay.
That was a bad position: fist that element was alone (see the consideration above), second he was defending an open space where the superior number of an attach team could easly come into play.
Olso to reach the rest of the team they will ahve to pass form the corridor we was guarding so there is no pont (my opinoin) to have and "advange" position there.

The worse error we made this time was to miss ann entry point.
Seth have the attacker on the CC camera so we know they ware coming form the docking entrance, but Seth claim it was form the front on (or at least me and WMK understand that way), so we re-locate WMK to that position and have me take his place at the end of the corridor.

when Isaw a dorr closing I move to check (ERROR: I should have radio for thet movement), opening the door and faceing the entire enemy assault team... Yes the guy who take the whole shit lod in the face was me...

From my ponit of view the lack of knowlage of the ship and, on conseguence, the lack of knowlage of the possible attack vector had play a major difficult on our side and this sum op with the "not optimal" coordination and comunication we have at this stage.

 

[Cugino83]

Ok, I promise this is my final rant for this session!

Some of my consideration on armour and coloure scheme.

First of all: the heavy armour is bugged.
It really feal it performs well in the first operation while I was moving slowly to check every damn corner of SPK and it defenelty save my ass when I take a couple of sniper rifle shot, but on the Reclaimer it was combersome and just move and crunch to take fire position on the corridor a couple of time skyrocket my heartbeat.
Really to reconsider the use of heavy armour on confined space: on myopinion is better to rely more on cover than armour protection if you are defending sicne you will be for the most of the time still.
To be TESTed on attack side of boarding operation.

Concerning the color code for different squad I suggest to adopt an organization like the follow:

Offical TEST armour color (to be use on PvE and when play not against ather TESTies): black/yellow
This is to be used for "Official" TEST event to provide a uniform color scheme for members, it looks cool and we can appear as a badass group (like we are not...)

Squad identification ccolour (specific colour to bo choose by TSMC organization): full black with at least the torso on colour scheme.
This are to be used of training event like this, black base provide a mode neutral/subtle base color and the torso is the bigger part of the armour suite, so color on this part should be easier to recognise.
I suggest to have at least 4 colour like black, yellow, white and bright red that are far apart form each other and easy to distinguish even in low light eviroments.
Also better to choose the more common used one, so new member could save some money and use the color thery probably already have.

Since we are having trouble with the name marker in game I also sugger that squad leader wear an helmet on the same colour of the squad so they could be easy to identify on the field and a sqquad member could find his leader quicly then looking the, possible missing) name tag.

One we set up the colour scheme we should take advante of it olso in comunication referring each squad as "yellow team", "red team" and so on, this should simplify comunication, even in the mess of a single voice chat for faction.

 

[Gr33nh0use]

Wow nice screenshots!

 

[O-Lefty]

Thank you everyone for attending the TSMC second training event last night! I think it was another great success following up on last weeks training. We definitely have room for improvement (always) and I would like to take a moment to go over a few of what I saw as the key lessons from the event.

Lessons Learned

• Team Uniforms: We need clearly understood team uniforms for our Yellow on Yellow battles. This is going to be an ongoing issue as we incorporate TESTies into events without prior experience, but we need to make sure that everyone starts buying a Yellow/Black and a Pure Black outfit. Without two clearly differentiated outfits we had a good bit of Yellow on Yellow damage/kills that lessened the fun for everyone.
• Team Damage: Following up on the last point, we need to do everything we can to avoid Yellow on Yellow damage/kills. If it does happen, please recognize what happened, apologize, and we can move on. It's never going to be fun getting shot by a friendly, but life goes on and we'll learn from it.
• Bugs: We definitely had quite a few bugs that affected our playtime. We did a great job of rolling with the punches and nobody got too bent out of shape, lets keep up that attitude. When we crash, please make sure you let the launcher issue a crash report.

Let's take a moment and commend everyone that stepped up to try out the Squad Leader position. There was a lot of learning going on and everyone did a great job contributing to our overall success.

As promised, I have briefly described the Squad Leader role in the text below. At a minimum I expect Squad Leaders to read this, and make an attempt at understanding how it applies to missions as we do events.

Squad Leader Role Description
The Squad Leader (SL) typically leads a three (3) to six (6) man team as part of a larger fighting force. SLs are tasked with receiving objectives from the commanding officer and providing guidance to the squad to perform the task effectively with minimal injuries. The following are key elements to successful SL performance:

• Clarity of Mission: Know the objective and effectively communicate it to your squad.
• Situational Awareness: Know your squad members locations and status. Reinforce clear communication of threats, assets, movements, health status, and other squad needs/happenings.
• Preparedness Accountability: Ensure the team is prepared for the task and arrives at muster points in a timely fashion. Minimize delays in setup by thinking ahead. Communicate delays upwards to command.

Thanks again everyone, and I look forward to seeing you all again this coming Saturday. Look for more in the upcoming event post.


o7
O-Lefty