Zulu Alpha Radio Procedures

Zulu Alpha Radio procedures

With the inclusion of ACRE radio systems in game. It has greatly improved game immersion for all players. With this inclusion comes the need to adhere to some form of radio protocol. This ensures that where groups like ZA, wish to play in a milsim way, they operate proper controls over radio use and have a standard approach to its use.

The aim of this document, is to standardise our radio use and channels, in order to enhance game play. Some of the phrases and words will be military terms but in order to make things easy for those member of the group with no military background we have used non military terms for ease of use.

The core principles of voice communication in a game like Arma are as follows.

Brevity. Brevity is the art of saying a lot with few words. Operators, must always strive to be frugal on the number of words needed to convey a message - there's a lot that needs to be said by many people in a fight, and it's all important. Utilizing brevity allows for all the important things to be communicated as rapidly as possible.

Clarity. In addition to brevity, operators must strive to be very clear in their language. This requires the usage of defined tactical language terms, brevity words, a clear and loud voice, and so forth. Enunciation and repetition of critical statements is helpful as well.

Confirmation and readback. It's important to confirm that you heard orders, so that leaders know that they are being understood. Additionally, it can be helpful to provide a 'readback' of an order to confirm that you fully understand what is being asked of you - this is done by restating what you were ordered to do, so that the person giving the orders can confirm that you heard them correctly.

Alerting and identifying. Alerting is the act of using key words to get the attention of people before you start saying something important. For example, a squad leader might say "Squad, listen up!". Identifying is the act of saying who you are and who you're trying to contact when utilizing the 'channel commander' functionality. This helps reduce confusion and alerts people that someone is attempting to tell them something. For example, a squad leader saying "Alpha, this is Bravo, be advised, you have enemy infantry on your west flank" is utilizing the alert/identify concept.

Usage of standard operating procedures and tactical language. Being familiar with the standard formats of SITREPs, CASREPs, contact reports, etc, as well as being familiar with the wide range of brevity words and tactical terms, helps to ensure that communication is easy to understand by all involved participants.

PURPOSE

The procedure prescribed herein is designed to provide a concise and definite language whereby radio communications may be conducted accurately, rapidly and with the maximum security obtainable on radio circuits. RADIO OPERATORS – CIRCUIT DISCIPLINE a. The attainment of reliability, speed and security depends, to a large extent, upon the operator. It is essential that he/she be well trained, maintain circuit discipline and understand thoroughly his responsibilities. b. Adherence to prescribed procedure is mandatory. Unauthorized departures from or variations to prescribed procedure are prohibited. c. The following basic rules are essential to transmission security and shall be strictly enforced on our radio circuits.

(1) No transmission shall be made which has not been authorized by proper authority, i.e. your Section Commander/fire team leader or the CO

(2) The following practices are specifically forbidden:

(a) Violation of radio silence

(b) Unofficial conversation between operators

(3) The following practices are to be avoided:

(a) Excessive time consumed in setting up radios, changing frequency or adjusting equipment

(b) Transmitting at speeds beyond the capabilities of receiving operator

Basic message format

All messages should be short, concise, transmitted clearly, with sufficient detail, and without delay, at a speed that allows the message to be understood and in English only. They should be acknowledged by the recipient, where required and acted upon without delay, especially in the case of requests for support or medevac.

Correct radio phrases and words to be used on our net at all times during official ZA missions.

Roger - This is a simple affirmative acknowledgement. If told to watch to the NW by your fireteam leader, you should sound off with a quick "Roger" to let him know that you heard him and are complying.

Wilco - Short for "will comply". Typically used in conjunction with roger, so that it ends up as "Roger, wilco" which translates into "Understood, and I will comply with the order". For the sake of brevity, only very important commands should be answered with a "Roger, Wilco". "Roger" by itself suffices for most things. (Note: Technically, "Roger, Wilco" is redundant, but for the purposes of gaming, it's not a big deal) Stand by - This acts as either a wait request or a preparatory command. When used as a preparatory command, it is a warning to anyone listening that an important event is about to happen, typically one which other players will need to participate in. For instance, a squad leader might tell his fireteams to hold their fire while an enemy patrol approaches unaware. He would then say "stand by" to indicate that they are about to initiate the ambush (alternatively, he could say "stand by to open fire"). Upon hearing "stand by", all squad members would prepare to engage the enemy. The squad leader would then announce "Open fire!", at which point the squad would ambush the enemy patrol.

When used as a wait request, it is a way to tell the person asking you a question that you need a few moments to get the answer. If the Commanding officer asks Bravo section if they can get eyes on an enemy patrol near them, Bravo SL might answer back with "Anvil actual, this is Bravo, stand by..." and then try to accomplish that goal before radioing back with a yes/no.

Radio Silence / Break, Break, Break - Typically used by a Section Commander, Platoon Commander to tell everyone in their channel to be quiet while command chat occurs. Also can be used to get everyone to shut up so that faint sounds, such as distant vehicles, can more clearly be heard.

Be advised - Used to indicate important information during a radio communication, typically to another leadership element. "Anvil, be advised, Bravo squad took heavy casualties and is down to one fireteam"

A standard radio message should begin by using the call sign of the operator you wish to contact, i.e. Anvil, and ended by using your call sign and the word over.

E.g “Anvil...... 1, Actual,2,3,4 etc, this is Bravo 1 over” For radio checks with other operators on your net it would be; “Bravo 1 this is Bravo 2 radio check over” the correct response is; “Bravo 2, this is Bravo 1 receiving you 5-5 over” Roger, receiving you 5-5 also, no further traffic. This allows others who maybe on your net know that you have finished your conversation, if there were any further traffic there would be no need to use the call signs again as you have already established who you are talking too.

The use of 5-5 denotes that you have full signal clarity and full volume of the sending station.

Use of the word “over” means that you have finished your transmission and are waiting for a reply from the other operator.

The word or phrase “out” and or “wait out” should only be used where a response is not required at this time or that the operator, will get back to you shortly for example, “Anvil actual this is bravo 1, contact, enemy infantry, wait out”, “Bravo 1, this is Bravo 2, in position out”

Team Movement

On Me - Command by the element leader to tell his element members to form up on him and follow him. Typically prefaced with the element name, ie "Bravo 2, on me!"

Move out / moving / step off / stepping - Commands used to indicate the beginning of a period of movement. Hold - Used to control movement. "Hold" is ordered when a unit needs to make a temporary halt. Oftentimes used to maintain cohesion between multiple elements.

Go Firm -The short version is that once "Go Firm" is ordered, all squads consolidate their position, assume a defensive and secure posture, get a count of their numbers, check their ammo situation, and stand by for orders.

Running- jogging- tactical-walking etc are all used within the fire teams/sections to define the movement speed, of course the CO can also order the speed of movement. The pace is dictated by the lead scout or point man of any advance.

Fire Control

Cease Fire - Used to cause a temporary lull in the shooting. Cease Fire is used when all enemy are seemingly dead and no further shooting is necessary. Individual players can continue firing at living enemy soldiers at their own discretion, under the assumption that the person giving the order did not see that there were still living enemies.

Check Fire - A "Check Fire" command is given when it's suspected that a friendly unit is being fired upon by friendlies. Cease Fire can be used in that situation as well, as long as the person giving the command makes it clear that friendly units are possibly being engaged by friendly forces, but "Check Fire" specifically is meant as a way to cut off potential friendly fire.

Hold Fire - Distinctly different from "Cease fire", this command is used to maintain stealth. When under a "hold fire" order, players do not engage the enemy until the fireteam or section commander specifically give the go-ahead, or the enemy spots a friendly and appears to be ready to fire on them.

The person giving the fire command may also give a fire type, for example “rapid fire”, “Suppressive fire” etc, it is important to understand what these commands mean and should be covered in fire team basics.

Warnings

Should be used before use of certain munitions or when fire is being taken. The following is a non exhaustive list of the types of warnings that can be given in game

Frag Out - Warning call given when throwing a grenade.

Grenade - Warning call given when an enemy grenade has been thrown at friendlies.

Incoming / IDF / Indirect - Warning calls given when enemy indirect fire (grenade launchers, mortars, artillery, etc) is inbound on friendly positions.

Contact reports

Contact reports are intended to be a way for any member of the formation to concisely communicate important information about the enemy in a standard way. Being able to concisely report enemy locations is a critical communication skill to have. The sooner we know about enemy positions, and the faster it is passed to the entire formation, the better our survivability will be and the more effective we will be at reacting to threats. A contact report consists of several key elements that must be presented in a specific order for it to be effective. They are as follows.

Typically the word 'Contact!'. This should be the first thing out of your mouth when you spot the enemy. Saying this gives everyone a heads-up that something important is about to be passed over the radio, and that they need to start scanning the area for more enemy as well as think about where they can move for cover and concealment.

Orient/Direction

Traditionally we haven’t used the command “orient”, this shouldn’t change, what we are trying to achieve is for the entire formation to be looking in the direction of the spotted contact and so we can use one of several ways to accomplish this.

Relative bearing. If a direction of movement has been established, relative directions such as "Front", "Left", "Right", "Rear" are great. In stationary defence, particularly when defending in multiple directions, this is not a useable format.

General compass bearing. Useful at all times, easy to understand. General compass bearings are things like "North", "North-west", etcetera.

Specific compass bearing. Good for high-precision reporting when units are fairly close to each other. This involves reading the exact compass bearing, in degrees.

Clock bearing. Clock bearings can be used to provide a general direction assuming that everyone is moving in the same direction and are clear on its use. Care must be taken when using this method to ensure that all the players within the formation understand where the groups 12 o clock will be i.e. axis centre from lead scout, or by identification of an individual, this works well once the team have learned to recognise each players voice.

Describe

What did you see? Was it an enemy patrol, tank, or a little old lady out for a stroll? Say it in as few words as possible while being very clear.

Examples: "Enemy patrol", "APC", "machinegun nest".

Expound

If time and the situation allow for it, give more information. This can include things like:

Target range. Can be at whatever level of detail time allows for, from "Close!" to "523 meters" and everything in between. Range is the most important thing to expound on, and should always be given when possible.

Specific degree bearing to the target. If you only passed a relative bearing at the start for speed's sake, you can refine it into a specific degree bearing at the end of the contact report. Info about what the target is doing. Such as "They're flanking us" or "They don't see us".

Specific positioning of the target. Such as "two soldiers on the roof, one in the building, the rest are patrolling around it".

For instance, if you spot a patrol that is walking through a patch of woods, step #3 would be "enemy patrol", whereas step #4 would clarify that with "in the treeline, bearing 325".

SitReps

The situation report, or SITREP, is a quick way for a leader to get information on his troops. It is intended to be a very concise and quick way for an entire element to report their status to their leader.

SITREPs can be asked for at the fireteam, section, and platoon level. Calling for a SITREP as a leader is as simple as saying "(element you are asking for), sitrep!" or "(element you are asking for), report in!". "Status report" is also acceptable.

Examples of how this call can be made are as follows.

Platoon-level, via command channel: "Platoon, send sitreps."

Section-level, via section Radio channel: "Alpha section, status report."

Fireteam-level, via 343 radio "Alpha 1, report in."

Sitreps are generally asked for during lulls in the action, at the close of an engagement, or when a higher-level leader asks for them. If a leader wants the status of a specific member or element, he will ask them directly.

When a sitrep is asked for, the elements involved respond in numerical or alphabetical order - for example, squads report in order from Alpha to Bravo and finally Charlie, while fireteams report in as 1st, 2nd, and then 3rd.

It is important that leaders do not constantly ride the asses of their junior leaders regarding sitreps. Waiting for a lull in the action helps to ensure that the need to report in does not compromise the leadership of the junior leader, or distract him from the combat task he's directing.

When being asked for a situation report, a junior leader can reply with "Stand by", "wait out" or a variation thereof to let the senior leader know that he must deal with the situation at hand before he can report in detail.

SITREPs are not intended to be incredibly in-depth, unless necessary.

Further Radio messages

This document is live and as training progresses it will be added with other messages and procedures for example Joint Attack Terminal Controller messages, that’s is to say the use of Close Air Support (CAS) fire missions for heavy weapons support i.e. Mortars and other forms of artillery. References

Dslyecxi’s Guide

Military Radio Guide