Tactical Briefing 04: Movement to Contact

by Chuck “Magnum” Ankenbauer

Series Introduction

Welcome to the fourth in a series of articles discussing different aspects of squad and team level virtual combat. All of this information is taken from real world sources and modified for gaming purposes.

If you have any interest in playing tactical shooters on either a next gen console and / or a personal computer then I hope this and subsequent articles will help you get the most out of your gaming. Sure, you can continue to play a shooter as a run and gun, you paid for it, but if you’re like me you prefer to play tactical shooters with an emphasis on tactics and teamwork. These articles are geared toward that type of gamer.

– Magnum

Tactical Briefing 04: 
Movement to Contact

Introduction

OK virtual soldiers, we got the basics down, right?

We know the role of each member in a squad and fire team, right?

We know the basic combat formations and when to use them, right?

We know how to move from point A to point B using one of the three common military movements, right?

Now it’s time to get into the meat and potatoes of virtual combat.

Today we are going to talk about our first actual combat scenario. We’re going to discuss and demonstratemovement to contact. What I mean by that is, what you as a virtual squad or fire team do when you run into the enemy.

I could go into great detail about all the steps and procedures of an ambush or an assault like forms of movement, sequence of operations, assembly areas, line of departure, movement, deployment, and then eventually the assault. But I want to concentrate on the basics so you can act and react with at least a minimal amount of tactics and teamwork. I know there is a lot more to this stuff than the simple steps presented here, but that’s not the purpose of these “tactical briefs”.

There are two types of enemy contact that we will discuss. The first is mutual contact, where you see the enemy and the enemy sees you. The second is non-mutual, where you spot the enemy but they don’t spot you. You then set up a hasty ambush (or a retreat, if it’s not winnable). By the way, if the enemy sees you first and you don’t see them, that’s an ambush on you and that’s not good.

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Related posts:

Tactical Briefing 01: Meet the Squad Tactical Briefing 02: Formations Tactical Briefing 03: Squad and Fire Team Movements Tactical Briefing 04: Movement to Contact Page 2 Tactical Briefing 04: Movement to Contact Page 3 Tactical Briefing 04: Movement to Contact Page 4 Tactical Briefing 04: Movement to Contact Page 5 Tactical Briefing 05: How to Plan and Execute a Squad Sized Assault