D-Day June 7-13, 2010 May Edition Volume 6 Inside Stars and Stripes: Muddy Water Boys win Texas UWL: Page 2 D-day Schedule: Pages 8-9 Allied TOC information: Page 11 Field Map: Page 12 Unit Cohesiveness: Page 14 Tactics and Movements: Pages 15-18 Tactical Radio Procedures: Pages 20-21 Points chart: Page 22 82nd Airborne Equipment List: Pages 24-25 Contact Steve Risken for more information about the electronic version of Stars and Stripes. [email protected]D-DAY IN LESS THAN ONE MONTH ―Unit choice‖ has ended. ―Side choice‖ is end- ing May 15. Pre-registration is ending around June 1. Rules, dead zones and rally points have been finalized. New boats are being built at Omaha. A new Dead zone is going in at Omaha. The buildings at Caen are done. The game is right around the corner. Larger 2010 Field Map on Page 12
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Transcript
D-Day June 7-13, 2010 May Edition Volume 6
Inside Stars and Stripes:
Muddy Water Boys win Texas UWL: Page 2
D-day Schedule: Pages 8-9
Allied TOC information: Page 11
Field Map: Page 12
Unit Cohesiveness: Page 14
Tactics and Movements: Pages 15-18
Tactical Radio Procedures: Pages 20-21
Points chart: Page 22
82nd Airborne Equipment List: Pages 24-25
Contact Steve Risken for more information about the electronic
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Keep your unit intact. It doesn‟t matter if you are Airborne, Infantry,
or Armor; American, British, Canadian or French .
It‟s almost more important how many Allied players are on the field at
5 PM versus how many are there at 9 AM.
We need you on the field at the end of the day. Your unit is counting
on you.
15
TACTICS and
MOVEMENTS By Randy Crow
British 3rd Infantry
There‟s lots of interest in the new buildings
sprouting up all over the field, and with that
comes interest in military MOUT (Military On
Urban Terrain) tactics. Yet we all know that
not everything military applies to paintball. But
you can take nuggets of information from this
article and apply them to your paintball tactics
and techniques.
Once we land at Sword Beach and push
„inland‟ our next objective is to take Caen.
Caen will be the scene of „house to house‟
fighting. It will be different than how they did
it in WW2. It will be different than the military
does it today. But it will be unique to paintball!
General: As in all paintball (or military) situa-
tions, the clearing teams must move tactically
and safely. Individuals who are part of a clear-
ing team must move in a standard manner,
using practiced techniques known to all.
Individual Movement and Weapons Con-
trol:
1. When moving, team members hold their
weapons with the muzzle pointed in the direc-
tion of travel. They keep the butt of the rifle in
the pocket of their shoulder, with the both
eyes open looking through the optic or down
the sights. Soldiers swing the muzzle with
their head so that the rifle is always aimed
where the soldier is looking.
2. Team members avoid "flagging" or leading,
with the weapon when working around win-
dows, doors, corners, or where obstacles must
be negotiated. Flagging the weapon gives ad-
vance warning to anyone looking in the sol-
dier‟s direction. Soldiers must keep their
weapons under control at all times.
3. Team members should keep weapons safe
(index finger outside of trigger guard) until
hostile target is
identified and
engaged. After a
team member
clears his sector
of all targets, he
returns his
weapon to a po-
sition.
4. If a soldier
has a malfunc-
tion with his
weapon during
close quarters
combat, he
should immedi-
ately drop to one
knee and con-
duct immediate
action to reduce
the malfunction.
Once the weapon
is operational,
there is no need to return to the standing posi-
tion to engage targets unless the soldier must
move to another firing position. Valuable time
is saved by resuming target engagement from
the kneeling position. When other members of
the team see a soldier drop to one knee, they
know immediately that he has a malfunction
and that they should engage in his sector.
Ready Positions: The two weapon ready po-
sitions are low ready and high ready.
Low ready position: The butt of the weapon
is placed firmly in the pocket of the shoulder
with the barrel pointed down at a 45 degree
angle. This is the safest carry position. It
should be used in the fire team stack or when
preparing to clear "High-Low".
High ready position: The butt of the weapon
is held under the armpit, with the barrel
pointed slightly up, keeping the front sight as-
sembly under the line of sight but within the
gunner‟s peripheral vision. To engage a target,
the gunner pushes the weapon out When the
weapon leaves the armpit, he slides it up into
the firing shoulder. This technique is best
suited for the lineup outside the door
UNIT MOVEMENT
General: The preferred technique is to move
using bounding overwatch. Normally the pla-
toon/squad will move as two elements: a
movement element and an overwatch ele-
ment. When necessary, these elements or
parts of them exchange roles. If moving in
small elements, there may be a designated
overwatch element.
Key Points to Consider:
1. Elements moving by themselves or infiltrat-
ing may not have support elements.
2. The platoon/squad leader determines when
to rotate elements during movement.
3. The platoon/squad will use a covered and
concealed route whenever possible. Moving
through or behind buildings, along walls, and
trees. Avoiding open areas, streets, alleys, and
other danger areas unless necessary.
4. The platoon/squad makes the best use of
(Continued on page 16)
16
cover and concealment when moving, moving
in the street only when ROE dictates or the
situation requires.
Movement through a Street:
When forced to move in the street the
squad/platoon has a few options.
Platoon:
Move the two squads/teams abreast, having
each squad/team overwatch the buildings for-
ward and across the street on ground level and
observing the stories above the opposite
squad.
* One Squad Forward, Fire Teams on Opposite
Sides: Use this technique (figure B) when
making contact with a small element is impor-
tant and the number of buildings with more
than two floors is low. It also keeps two
squads free to maneuver.
* Two Squads Forward on Opposite Sides: Use
this option when many multi storied buildings
are present and the risk from above is high.
This technique doubles the number of soldiers
that will focus on the 2nd floor and above.
Squad:
During squad movement the lead buddy
team/fire team covers across the street for-
ward of the lead element at ground level. The
trail buddy team/fire team covers across and
forward from the second story and higher.
Key points to consider while moving through a
street:
1. Use smoke, rubble and debris for cover and con-
cealment.
2. Clear intersecting streets and alleyways in similar
techniques used for the clearing of intersecting hall-
ways.
3. The platoon/squad will cross the urban danger ar-
eas using the greatest cover, concealment, speed,
and overwatch. An element normally crosses as a
dispersed group at the same time but METT-T condi-
tions may cause the element leader to decide to cross
in buddy teams or individually.
4. Always stay at least one meter away from build-
ings. Rounds that strike buildings tend to follow the
walls making the one meter closest to buildings and
walls a dangerous area.
The Squad
A squad consist of two to three fire-teams, with two being the average. Some militaries, like the French
and British call a squad a section. Not all squads are broken down into fire-teams.
A squad usually has a massive amount of firepower at its disposal. However, some squads are little more
than a bunch of soldiers following their squad leader. Some militaries discourage squad leaders, or any non-
officer from displaying initiative.
For the purpose of discussion I will talk about two
and three fire-team squads. With all fire-teams armed
with grenade launchers and machine guns a squad is
not something to trifle with. The reason a squad has two or more fire-teams is because it gives a squad
leader a great deal of flexibility. If one fire-team
makes contact with the enemy and engages in a fire-
fight, the squad leader can send the other fire-team around to flank the enemy. With his squad already
divided into teams, the squad leader doesn't have to reorganize or assign a leader, it's already done. Fur-
thermore, the team is well balanced as far as weap-
onry goes. When rounds are flying a leader doesn't have time to say "You, Jake, Mike, Kevin and Eric go
attack their right flank. You might as well take Jason with you because he has a machine gun. . ."
Organizing a squad into fire-teams also dramatically increases the squad leader's ability to control the
squad. Instead of directing six or more people, he only has to direct two or three, and team leaders in
turn only have to control two or three men. This in-
sures more senior soldiers are in charge, more control is displayed and more initiative is displayed.
Breaking down a squad into fire-teams is not always
practical. If the troops are temporary breaking them
down into fire-teams may not be as effective because they will not gain nearly as much experience to be
very effective. Of course there are always exceptions to this rule.
Another point to note is that in some formations, like US Army or British, the squad leader might lead the
first fire-team and the assistant squad leader might lead the second. Other units, like the US Marine
Corps, will usually have a designated team leader for each fire team.
When the firing starts one fire-team can lay down a
base of fire while the other fire-team gets closer. In-
(Continued from page 15)
(Continued on page 17)
17
stead of having one man cover another man while he
rushes, the squad leader can have fire-teams cover
each other. With three or more fire-teams, a squad
leader can direct one fire-team to assist another,
thereby doubling the firepower at any one point.
Firefight
When a firefight erupts it usually escalates as combat
elements make contact with each other along the bat-tle line. Only in the desert or other open terrain can
two large units suddenly start firing at each other.
In the woods, jungle, hills or whatever, usually fire-
teams start fighting and more units are committed to the battle as the commander makes his decisions. Of
course there are exceptions to this rule. If a unit is crossing an open area and comes under fire they will
have to adjust. A firefight can quickly escalate from an individual firing at the enemy to a battalion, or
regiment firing at the enemy if the two face each
other in a line.
When a squad makes contact with the enemy the squad leader has to make several quick decisions.
These decisions are based on the mission and the
squad's capabilities. He must evaluate what kind of force the squad is facing. Sometimes this can be de-
termined by the how many enemy rifles are being heard and how much of an area those weapons are
occupying. A lot depends on the situation. If the
squad has been ambushed and has taken casualties he can't extract safely, he might order an attack.
What kind of attack varies on the terrain and situa-tion. Most likely he will order a fire-team to try and
flank the enemy, or he might bring up the other fire-
team to help suppress the enemy while casualties are extracted.
Of course he might order everyone to run for their
life. As explained above fire-teams are independent
units and have a great deal of firepower. It is the squad leader's mission to deploy his fire-teams in an
effective manner against the enemy. With all the yell-ing, screaming, gunfire and confusion, a squad leader
has a very difficult job controlling his squad and ma-neuvering it effectively. A squad leader can't always
see his entire squad, or even his team leaders. Squad
radios are a god send to a squad leader and allow him to receive reports and give orders. If the squad
doesn't have radios the squad leader has to yell or use hand arm signals. Usually yelling is of limited
value because of all the noise and hand arm signals
down work very well unless people are looking at him or it is night time. What ends up happening is he has
to run around from team leader to team leader giving
directions or receiving reports. Of course yelling
sometimes works but not always.
This is why standard operating procedures are so im-portant to a squad. SOP's cover most situations and
help overcome much of the confusion. For example, if
the SOP calls for first fire-team to lay down a base of fire when they make contact and for second fire-team
to envelope (flank) then everyone knows what is go-ing to happen when the shooting starts. First team
will automatically move up so they can fire on the
enemy and Second team will look to the squad leader for directions on which way to flank the enemy.
Overall, the team leaders have a great deal of control
and can spell the difference between victory or defeat
if they and their team are properly trained.
Some squads are organized around medium machine guns. For instance, not so long ago British squads
were organized with eight men. One had a medium
machine gun and the other seven had regular assault rifles.
When the firing began, the machine gunner and his
assistant would lay down a base of fire while the six
riflemen advanced. When the squad leader was ready for the machine gun to advance, all six riflemen
would fire to cover the gunner's advance.
Regardless of organization, poorly trained (or led)
squad would operate as one big mob directed by the squad leader. The squad might have a great deal of
firepower in the form of machine guns and rockets, but there would often be a lack of initiative among
the troops. The Soviets were a prime example of this. Sometimes paintball is a prime
example.
All tactics were based on battle
drills or standard operating proce-
dures. The advantage of this method was that everyone knew
what was going on and what was expected of them. Only squad
leaders knew how to read a map or a radio. If something unex-
pected happened then the battle
drill could rapidly fall apart. To overcome this the Soviets used
waves. When wave one fell apart then wave two would move in, or
wave three. Eventually, one wave
would succeed and the waves that failed could regroup and reorgan-
ize. This method of combat was great for the Soviets who relied
on quantity over quality. (sound
like a paintball game you‘ve attended?)
Soviet soldiers were not encouraged to think or act on
their own. In a Soviet type military, the squad leader would be nothing more than a fire-team leader with a
lot more men and weapons than usual. The platoon
commander, an officer, would be the real decision maker and even then he would always defer to a
higher authority.
A Soviet style squad is heavily armed with automatic
weapons. Usual doctrine calls for the squad to deploy on line and while standing or crouching, advance on
the enemy. As the squad advances a high volume of fire would be maintained so that the squad would
have fire superiority and their enemy would be forced
to seek cover. With fire superiority, the Soviet squad would advance on line with their weapon in their
shoulder or at their hip. When a soldier fired he would 'walk' his rounds into the target, adjusting his aim
according to where his rounds hit.
Of course the Soviets did not always do it this way.
They would take cover and use finer tactics, but be-cause they didn't trust their soldiers they preferred to
keep things as simple as possible and trained their troops accordingly. Most of their soldiers were con-
scripts and didn't want to be there anyway. This is
also a reason nearly all Soviet weapons had the auto-matic fire capability.
Patrol
A squad is organized very well for a patrol. It
has enough organic firepower to hold its own
and is small enough to move with some degree
(Continued from page 16)
18
The Defense
A squad in the defense can be a powerful
force. A squad leader, as directed and assisted
by the platoon leader is assigned a specific
area to cover. In turn, the squad leader as-
signs his fire-team leaders specific areas to
cover and they assign individuals specific areas
as described in Fire-team Defense.
The squad leader makes sure the machine
guns are properly placed and can fire across
the squad's front. The squad leader also in-
sures all areas of the squad's front are covered
by one or more weapons. More details on the
Defense will be covered in another section.
Formations
A squad only uses dedicated formations when
it is moving to the attack. During patrols it
may use formations but due to the fact patrols
usually cover large amounts of area formations
are not always practical except in certain
situations. The squad uses many of the same
formations as a fire team, with one additional
one.
Inside the squad formation, the fire-teams are
in their own formations. Sometimes the squad
leader dictates which formations the fire-teams
will use but not always. For instance in a squad
wedge, the lead fire-team might be in a fire-
team wedge and the fire-teams on either side
might be in echelons.
Squad Wedge: When the squad leader does
not know where the enemy is he will likely de-
ploy the squad in a wedge formation. This
gives him protection to the front and flanks. It
only works with three fire-teams however. If a
squad leader does not have three fire-team he
may employ an echelon, or have the lead team
form a wedge and the second team follow in a
column. Like the fire-team wedge, this forma-
tion is easier to control because nearly every-
one can see the lead rifleman and adjust off
him.
Squad Echelon: When the squad leader is ex-
pecting an attack from the side he will likely
deploy the squad in an echelon facing the pos-
sible enemy location. This concentrates fire-
power in that direction and provides protection
to the front as well. The squad echelon can be
used when protecting a larger unit's flank. In-
dividual fire-teams will most likely deploy in
echelons to support the squad formation. The
lead fire-team may deploy in a team wedge or
a skirmishers formation.
Squad Skirmisher/On line: When the
squad leader knows his right and
left flanks are covered and he knows
the enemy is to his front he will de-
ploy his squad on line (also called a
skirmish line). This allows him to
concentrate firepower to the front
but leaves him vulnerable to the
flanks. Deploying the squad on line
is also a good way to search an
area. Fire-teams will likely deploy in
skirmisher formations, wedges, or
echelons depending on the per-
ceived threat. The on line formation
is usually very hard to control even
under the best circumstances and is
used only when contact is imminent
or searching an area. At night this is
a nightmare because people usually
can't see the person to either side very well.
Squad V: The squad V is a reverse of the
wedge. This is used primarily to protect the
rear of a larger unit's column. Firepower is
concentrated to the rear and flanks. One varia-
tion of this is to have the two lead fire-teams
close together. When contact is made, the first
two fire-teams will lay down a base of fire and
the trailing fire-team flanks the enemy.
The Column: The column is used when the
squad is more interested in speed. It is always
easier to follow the guy in front of you than to
make your own trail. At night the column for-
mation keeps people from wandering off and
getting separated. The column is also more
quieter since one person is making a path and
everyone else is following instead of making
their own. The disadvantage of a col-
umn is firepower to the front and
rear is severely limited and the squad
is vulnerable to attack. Firepower to
the sides is good however.
Whenever a squad makes contact
with the enemy it usually tries to de-
ploy in a line facing the enemy. This
way more squad members are able
to fire at the enemy and not risk
shooting another squad member.
When the unit is on line it is very dif-
ficult to control and this is where the
team leaders play a big role. If the
fire-team leaders are incompetent
and not paying attention to the battle they
may fail to support another fire-team or be
completely ineffective against the enemy.
Working with Armor
The ability to conduct combined arms opera-
tions can completely change the dynamics of
your operation. It‟s works for the military and
it works for your paintball team. For Oklahoma
D-day, the British-Canadian Commonwealth
forces have a very capable armor element. But
it‟s critical to have our infantry and armor
working together. Together they are much
more effective and deadly than when used a
separate elements. Use your armor support.
Communicate with them, fight with them, pro-
tect them from AT fire, and move with them.
While military tactics don‟t apply 100% I hope
this article has given you tactics and ideas you
can apply to your paintball skills. Randy Crow
19
A little history; The USO was formed in response
to a 1941 request from President Roosevelt. FDR
determined that it would be best if private organi-
zations handled the on-leave entertainment for the
rapidly expanding Armed Services. By 1944, the
USO ran over 3,000 clubs. Hollywood stars took to
serving and entertaining service men at these
clubs, an activity which became the focus of many
films (Hollywood Canteen, Stage Door Canteen).
The USO truly made history with its campaign to
entertain the troops on the front, with their travel-
ing camp shows. Between 1941 and 1947, the
USO put on 428,521 shows for the members of the
armed forces.
USO Show
Wednesday 7 PM Vendor area
Women, World War Two and D-day During the home front war effort of WW2, more women were working outside of the home than ever before.
Propaganda posters with images like "Rosie the Riveter" promoted the idea that it was patriotic -- and not un-feminine -- for women to work in non-traditional jobs. The 1940‘s were a time of change, growth and adjust-
ment. While WW2 may be two generations removed for some of the players at Wyandotte, it‘s been less than
70 years ago. Still fresh enough in the minds of those who fought both the war and the stereotype: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=123773525
Barely 60 days ago, a long overlooked group of WWII female pilots were finally honored with the Congres-
sional Gold Medal. Just as the contributions of women were instrumental to the success of World War II, the contributions made by the women of D-Day are rapidly changing the face of the D-Day experience
It‘s never the intent to single women out and make them feel as if under magnified scrutiny. We know how
hard they work to be considered a team mate, an equal. Rather, it‘s simply to let them know that they are appreciated and welcomed to participate at many different levels in The World‘s Largest Paintball event. There
truly is a need for more involvement in the D-Day experience and it‘s not just limited to playing in the game. If women don‘t want to play that‘s certainly their choice and as we all know, there‘s more to the week of D-
Day than The Big Game.
Join in the annual costume contest! Work your way up the promotion ladder to become the first female Staff member – Field Marshal, SAC, or COS. It can be done!
Ever at the forefront of what people want in a game, the family atmosphere found at D-Day Adventure Park is
what continues to bring thousands of people from around the globe together in friendly rivalry. I personally would like to encourage more females to take an active role in whatever venue they feel most comfortable in.
Everything from learning how to play the game to dressing up in costumes of the 1940‘s era, you‘re welcomed, appreciated and definitely needed. The Allies would like to take this time to thank each and every female who
attends D-Day. Regardless of your responsibilities, your physical presence is raising the bar for generations to
come. We thank you and salute you.
Want to help but don‘t know where to start? Just email: [email protected]
Pin-Up Girl Costume Contest If researching the different uniforms women wore
during WWII, one will note that there just isn‘t much to emulate as the role of women in the war
itself was minimal at best. In fact, while the Allies did have more women involved in their forces than
ever before, German females were not allowed to
serve at all.
Why then, can‘t we have a Pin-Up Girl costume
contest?
Before you run around yelling ‗sexual objectifica-tion‘ let‘s take a look at the definition of the term
Pin-Up Girl:
A pin-up girl or pin-up model is a model whose mass-produced pictures see wide appeal as pop culture. Pin-up girls are glamour models, fashion models, and actresses.
Pin-up may also refer to drawings, paintings and other illustrations done in emulation of these pho-tos.
So there you have it. Pin-up Girls are the pop cul-
ture of the 1940‘s.
Search for pictures of any pin-up girl and you‘ll see hundreds of photos that are tasteful with much less
shown than what you‘d see on the beach this sum-mer.
A Pin-Up Girl costume contest = Family friendly.
Should this be held at the same time as the other costume contest? More importantly, who wants to
help judge?
In 1942, the United
States was faced
with a severe short-
age of pilots, and
leaders gambled on
an experimental pro-
gram to help fill the
void: Train women
to fly military aircraft
so male pilots could
be released for com-
bat duty overseas.
The group of female
pilots was called the
Women Airforce Ser-
vice Pilots — WASP.
In 1944, during the
graduation cere-
mony for the last WASP training class, the command-
ing general of the U.S. Army Air Forces, Henry "Hap"
Arnold, said, "Now in 1944, it is on the record that
women can fly as well as men," Arnold said.
A few more than 1,100 young women, all civilian vol-
unteers, flew almost every type of military aircraft —
including the B-26 and B-29 bombers — as part of the
WASP program.
They ferried new
planes long dis-
tances from facto-
ries to military
bases and depar-
ture points across
the country. They
tested newly over-
hauled planes. And
they towed targets
to give ground and
air gunners training
shooting — with
live ammunition.
The WASP ex-
pected to become
part of the military
during their service. Instead, the program was can-
celed after just two years.
They weren't granted military status until the 1970s.
And now, 65 years after their service, they will receive
the highest civilian honor given by the U.S. Congress.
Last July, President Obama signed a bill awarding the
WASP the Congressional Gold Medal. The ceremony will
Armies have struggled with coordinating their actions, particularly with units not in direct sight, ever since military elements were organized from the club wielding
mobs of our distant ancestors. The invention of man portable radio sets introduced in the middle of the 20th century began to allow some of the larger elements
(brigade or company and above) to communicate. This allowed coordinated action across large areas, even across continents. Quickly it became apparent that, in the
crucible of combat, unless careful protocols were followed communication would rapidly deteriorate into a series of misunderstandings and garbled messages.
This problem became even more critical when radios became small, simple and inexpensive enough to provide communication capability to every soldier. The
personal nature of coordinating movement at the squad and fire team level, combined with the frenetic pace and stress of action and combat, makes the very act of
sending and receiving communication problematic by causing sensory overload.
Over time a protocol has evolved that allows even individual soldiers to effectively communicate over the radio, even during the worst firefight. While the specifics of
radio protocol do vary from country to country and even unit to unit, there are some general principles that ubiquitous.
THINK THEN SPEAK: Knowing what you want to say before you key the microphone is important.
KISS: Keep It Simple and Short: Complex communication via radio are to be avoided. Messages should be simple and concise.
USE PERIODS: You need to remember to tell others when you are done speaking to avoid interruptions and prompt responses
Basic Concepts
1) Is your TX necessary? Does it add to our intel or help complete the mission?
2) Brevity – to the point, succinct
3) Clarity – avoid contractions, use phonetic alphabet when necessary,
4) Calmness – don‘t over react or add to confusion
The standing "rule of thumb" for net communications is if you can leave a word out without changing the meaning, leave it out. If a description of an item will
not add to the understanding of the subject of the message, leave it out.
Listen before you call. The channel may be in use. Garbles or lost TX may result If more than one station is TX.
Speak clearly – Use your normal voice and do not speak too fast. Hold the microphone close to your mouth but at right angles and talk across the face of the
microphone. This reduces distortion and wind noise.
Handheld radios are designed with vertical antennas. Hold your radio with the antenna pointing straight up. Holding your radio with the antenna horizontal will
decrease it‘s range for both transmitting and receiving.
Think before you speak – Know what you are going to say before you press the PPT switch. Divide your message into natural phrases instead of individual words
so that it flows smoothly.
Wait a fraction of a second after pressing the mic button before speaking, to make sure you don't clip off the first syllable. When the "battery save" is on, your
radio goes into a reduced power mode after several minutes of standby and needs a signal to be present for a second before it "wakes up" to pass any audio
Don't talk louder in noisy environment. It's natural to talk louder when it is noisy around you, but don't do that on the radio. If you speak louder, the radio clips
your voice to avoid over modulating the transmitter, distorting the audio, reducing voice intelligibility.
NEVER use VOX or locking PPT switches because they lead to jammed channels and inadvertent TX.
Be careful what you say on the air. Remember that anyone could be listening. Do not editorialize. Do not use profanity. Stay on topic
Do not exaggerate or embellish. Only TX facts - numbers of troops, resupply needs, situation, etc.
Do not use ―10 codes‖ or Ham radio ―Q‖ codes. LE ―10 codes‖ vary across the county. Not everyone is in law enforcement or Ham radio.
Relinquish channel (stop TX) for urgent or emergency traffic
Numbers: 310 is ―three - one – zero‖, not ―three ten‖ nor ―three one oh‖
Shield your microphone from the wind. Wind blowing across the microphone makes it more difficult to understand.
Use only the power necessary for your location. Low power will extend battery life. Fewer TX will extend battery life
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Your radio won‘t work as well attached to your waist. Close to your body will block a significant portion of the signal. Try to get the antenna as high as possible
for the best reception and range when transmitting.
Fully charge / discharge battery is best way to maintain rechargeable, non Li-Ion, batteries.
VHF and UHF radios are FM, which is LOS (line-of-sight). LOS is severely affected by ravines and hills. If your TX is not getting through try a new, higher posi-
tion, if possible.
Line of Site (LOS) at 5 feet elevation, over flat ground is about 2.7 miles. This is approximately the maximum range of a signal from a person standing to another
person lying on the ground. If both people are standing the LOS would be doubled to 5.4 miles. LOS from a 26‘ tower is approximately 9 miles. This is assuming
flat ground. Hills, ravines, mountains can drastically affect this. If you have trouble receiving or sending a signal try a new, higher location.
. Voice Procedures
Radio communications carries an established language. These phrases have a distinct meaning, and the use of these phrases shortens transmissions times, reduces
confusion and improves clarity. Everyone should become familiar with these procedural phrases starting with the phonetic alphabet. There is no need to make radio
communications difficult or complex. Keep TX short and to the point. Do not ―talk around‖ the subject or use improvised code. This only confuses matters.
Due to any number of variables, including radio static, noise, guns firing, or similarity in the phonetics of different words, a critical piece of information can be mis-
heard or misunderstood. For instance, a unit being ordered to grid location C11 might misunderstand as D7. To reduce ambiguity, critical information may be broken
down and read as separate letters and numbers. The grid location number reads visually as C eleven. When read over a radio it becomes Charlie One One.
Basic procedure for contacting the TOC or another person. - “You, this is me, over”
―November One, this is Charlie One, over‖
This example contains all the required elements of a transmission. A, this is B. Over. Generally this particular example is used to initiate a series of transmissions.
When Charlie One needs to talk to November One he needs to make sure that November One is listening. This short phrase also tells other people on the same fre-
quency they may not need to pay attention to this transmission, allowing them to continue doing what they were doing.
When November One hears this transmission he replies in kind, indicating that he has heard Charlie One and is prepared to converse. ―This is November One, over‖
Now, Charlie One knows that November One can hear him and he can begin his conversation.
Standardized Phrases
Over — I have finished talking and I am listening for your reply. Short for "Over to you."
Out — I have finished talking to you and do not expect a reply.
Roger – ―I understand‖
Wilco – I received your transmission, I understand and I will comply
I Copy — ―I received the following message….‖
Be advised – ―You should be aware the…‖
Say Again - repeat your last message (Repeat is not used. It is a specific artillery command)
Break – announcing a brief pause in your TX; completion of sentence.
Wait one – I will take a pause and TX in one minute
Correction – An error was made and the correct message is…
Last station calling – I am addressing the last TX of unknown identity
Negative – cannot comply or answering no to a question
Communications are a critical part of our success at D-day. Regardless of what type of radio you use; (FRS, GMRS, VHF, UHF, 800 MHz, etc) using proper
procedures and techniques will help insure your transmission is received, and you hear the reply. The techniques you use will impact the range of your radio. Get to
know your radio, make sure you understand it‘s functions and controls. And follow these guides lines.
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Alpha
Bravo
Charlie
Delta
Echo
Fox
Golf
Hotel
India
Juliet
Kilo
Lima
Mike
November
Oscar
Papa
Quebec
Romeo
Sierra
Tango
Uniform
Victor
Whiskey
X-Ray
Yankee
Zulu
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Area Objective 10:00 10:30 11:00 11:30 12:00 12:30 13:00 13:30 14:00 14:30 15:00 15:30 16:00 16:30 17:00 Total