FPArma Platoon Structure

The FPArma Platoon is a new standardized composition whose primary purpose is to instill a permanent albeit flexible structure to our Sunday missions. It's been designed to provide utmost efficiency and coordination of movement, fire support, and enemy suppression and disposal in infantry warfare with the least required amount of troops, while also retaining a degree of flexibility and discretion which the Mission Maker can utilize to add his own particular spin on the template. It's highly recommended that, for that reason explicitly, people download and familiarize themselves with the new FP Template available on the GitHub. The template itself does not have to be used. It's only essential that Sunday missions adhere to the new Platoon structure as much as possible.

With the new roster implemented, a degree of minimal requirements is now needed for your new missions. This is done to enforce the new Platoon Structure as well as we can possibly do it.
The minimal requirements are as follows:

• A two group Rifle Platoon.
• A Platoon team with a Leader, a Second-in-Command, and optional context-sensitive support specialists.
• Everyone is outfitted with a 343 PR Radio.
• Every Platoon, Squad and Team Leader is to be outfitted with at least a 148 UHF Radio.

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A typical infantry platoon. Totaling 36 people, it is composed of three rifle squads(A-B-C), a weapons squad(D), and the Platoon Team.

The "Core Platoon" itself is formed out of several groups.

• Platoon Team - The leadership group. They contain officers which carry out coordination, orders, and operational level planning.
• Rifle Squads - The core maneuver and combat groups, dubbed Alpha, Bravo, and Charlie. These seven-man, two-team infantry squads form the basis of our engagements.
• Weapons Squad - The Delta Special Weapons Squad is equipped to destroy the enemy's heavy combat vehicles and suppress their defenses or counter-attacks.

Additionally, upon the Mission Maker's discretion, a single or multiple Wildcard Teams will be attached to the Core Platoon. The Wildcards are specialists which are not mandatory but can be of explicit usefulness to the efforts of the players during the mission. Do note that some of these teams are created in an ad hoc fashion; they will not always be present in the FP Template, and thus it is the Mission Maker's responsibility to create them himself.
Here are a few examples of Wildcard teams:

• Golf - Gunship - Two-man crew which pilots a single gunship helicopter, which provides close-air-support to the infantry.
• Hotel - Tank - Three-man tank crew. They control a main battle tank. 'Nuff said.
• Kilo - Logistics & Engineering - A three-man team which conducts refueling, rearming, repairing, and demolitions. They can also establish FARPs and FOBs for longer missions.
• Lima - Helicopter - Two-man crew which pilots a single helicopter, typically of the Utility kind.
• Romeo - Recon - Four or five-man foot recce team, typically tasked with deep operations inside enemy territory. The special snowflakes of the infantry.
• Oscar - De-mining & EOD - A flexible team equipped and tasked with large-scale de-mining and explosive ordnance disposal.
• Sierra - IFV - Three-man crew commandeering a mechanized combat vehicle, primarily acting as direct support and transport of infantry in the midst of battle.
• Mike - Artillery - Three to Five-man artillery specialist team which can cover everything from mortars to self-propelled artillery guns.
• Whiskey - Jet Aircraft - An airplane pilot, typically manning a close-air support or a multi-role fixed-wing jet plane, like an A-10 or a Black Wasp.
• X-Ray - Anti-Aircraft - A typically two man crew which controls an anti-aircraft defense system, typically a SPAAG or a missile carrier, for shooting down jets and gunships.

Platoon Team

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A Platoon Team in the field. In this example, the two Officers are adjoined by a Drone Operator and a Medic.

The Platoon Team forms the Structure's brain, the central leadership element, and acts as a general purpose battlefield support group. It is formed out of various officers and typically single person specialist units which cannot conduct combat operations on their own, but bear the means to extensively provide support to the actual regular forces engaging in battle during a mission. Due to this core function of the Platoon Team, per the structure's standards, it's almost always imperative that the Platoon Team is fully staffed for the duration of the mission.
Typically, a Platoon Team does not bear its own radio network call sign. By default it is referred to as Platoon, although depending on either the Mission Maker's or the Leader's discretion, a Platoon Team can assume a unique and specific non-NATO alphabet call sign and have troops refer to them that way, to distinct from Platoon as a collective and the Leadership as a specific group within the Structure.

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Special equipment an Officer may have. Note the extra radios and HuntIR kit.

The Platoon Team's responsibilities in Operations are:

• Forming a general operational plan for other units to follow.
• Issuing direct orders and control in the midst of battle.
• Establishing coordination between combat groups.
• Collecting battlefield intelligence and sending it through to other players.
• Maintaining a rear echelon general support network, such as basic fire support and logistics.

Besides that, it is also important to note that out of all the Core Platoon units, the Platoon Team is by far the most flexible unit that can be altered to the mission's demands. Its stock four-man composition can be increased to a five-man or even a six-man composition, and all but two units(the Leader and the 2IC) can be swapped for a different type of a support unit. The Mission Maker should take this into account while forming the Platoon Team's roster. The Platoon Team's base composition is as follows:

• Platoon Leader - The head honcho decision making officer. His situational knowledge, organization skills, and authority make him the most important man in the platoon.
• Second-In-Command - The 2IC as They are called provide additional consultation, handling of specialized units, and act as a backup Platoon Leader.
• UAV Operator - A single specialist, equipped with a UAV terminal. He can connect to an existing drone or assemble his own from a backpack.
• Platoon Medic - A standard Medic attache, whose goal is to keep the Team alive without the help of a Squad Medic.

Again, do take notice that this does not have to be the only kind of a roster the Platoon Team may have in the field. Consider implementing some replacements such as the following:

• Platoon Pilot, for an Air-Mobile centric mission
• Mortar Team for providing indirect fire support
• IFV crew for driving an armored Command Vehicle
• Etc.

7-man Rifle Squad

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A seven-man rifle squad, per FP Platoon Structure. It's composed of two team leaders(one of which is a squad leader), an Ammo Bearer, a Medic, two Riflemen with AT Launchers, and two Auto-riflemen.

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A standard four-man Fire Team created from one half of a Rifle Squad. This one is composed of a Team Leader, a Medic, a Rifleman (AT), and an Auto-rifleman. In function, it would be identical to the other Fire Team. Its men answer to their Team Leader and coordinate with the other fire team in attacks and defense.

The Rifle Squads are the meat and potatoes of the Core Platoon, and the base group which allows it to conduct combat operations and make it through. As such, the Infantry troops composing the Rifle Squads are the most numerous force deployed at any time; Between 16 and 24 people are required to form a full roster of three seven-man Rifle Squads! And such a number is highly necessary no matter how you look at it; Their numerical strength amplifies the amount of ground the Core Platoon can cover, and the losses sustained by fighting are offset by the number of troops that comprise them.
While Rifle squads may not always have the capacity to fend off every attacker, they typically pack their own logistics and defensive as well as fire capabilities that allow them to sustain a reliable offensive. This is played particularly by the structure of a rifle squad's fire team.

Fire Team

The Rifle Squad is further split into two corresponding Fire Teams of equal size and typically equal properties, depending on strength. If the standard squad structure is to be taken into account, then it would also bear a few standard units. Here are a few examples:

• Team Leader - Typically the Fire Team's Leader is either the Squad Leader or the Team Leader working under the Squad Leader. They usually brandish long distance communication devices, advanced navigation equipment, and some kind of surveillance and combat edge that makes them function as a standalone unit. This is typically shown in the form of a HuntIR system, a grenade launcher, and signal devices like colored smoke, flares, and chem-lights.
• Rifleman(AT) - A meat and potatoes boot on the ground. Equipped with a stock generic assault rifle and typically a single-shot light anti-tank weapon, the Riflemen effectively add extra meat, guns, and buffer to their Fire Teams. And they can blow up armored vehicles. Pretty big plus.
• Auto-rifleman - Similar to the rifleman, but instead the Auto-rifleman utilizes a squad automatic weapon or a light machine gun to effectively suppress the enemy with high volume of automatic fire. They lug a bigger main gun than the rifleman, but not as many bells and whistles as the other troops. Without an auto-rifleman however, executing fire and movement becomes highly problematic.
• Support Unit - Due to the stock seven-man squad structure, you will typically end up in a scenario where your support unit of choice will either be a Medic or an Ammo Bearer. Their functions are exactly what it says in their name: medics carry large amounts of medical gear meant for dedicated healing of injured, and ammo bearers restock riflemen and auto-riflemen with ammunition. These two act to prolong the effective longevity of a team, and by extension the squad, in combat.
  

Keep in mind, though, that assembling a fire team is highly situational and dynamic. The squad leader can decide, on a whim, to restructure the Fire Teams in such a way to allow the Rifle Squad to execute combat maneuvers much more appropriately on a case by case basis. Due to this, the players can decide on multiple Squad structuring methods, with some examples shown below.

Type	Commander	Fire Team 1	Fire Team 2
Balanced	Squad Leader	Team Leader, Auto-rifleman, Ammo Bearer	Team Leader, Auto-rifleman, Medic
Light Infantry	Squad Leader	Team Leader, Marksman, Ammo Bearer	Team Leader, Marksman, Medic
Heavy Infantry	Squad Leader	Team Leader, Rifleman (AT), Auto-rifleman	Team Leader, Rifleman(AT), Auto-rifleman
Mechanized Infantry	Squad Leader	Vehicle Leader, Crewman, Crewman	Team Leader, Rifleman (AT), Medic

Again, it is important to state that these are not the only exclusive structures a Squad can be folded into. Always consult one another among the squad and assess your situation before determining how to separate your fire teams. Don't forget that sometimes pieces of the group may be altered according to the mission maker's needs and desires, as is per standards of flexibility in the template. A Rifleman(AT) may be changed into an Ammo Bearer to allow the squad to rearm both auto-riflemen simultaneously, and also to carry more spare ammunition on the field.
An additional thing to consider when crafting a rifle squad is likelihood of survival. If the mission is often configured in a fashion where supplies are abundant or lethal encounters are happening consistently, then it might even be wiser for the mission maker to simply exclude ammo bearers and medics from the equation. It is an important thing to consider when crafting a mission.

Weapons Squad

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The Delta Weapons Squad engaged in combat. Note the special weapons utilized by its members, such as the ATGM Launcher and the GP Machine gun.

The Delta Squad - Weapons Squad is a supplemental and third squad attached to the infantry platoon. Unlike a regular Rifle Squad however, the Weapons Squad isn't inherently built for all purpose combat - They're instead deploying specialized heavy weaponry in battle to provide maximum support and offensive capabilities to the rest of the platoon when on foot.
It is important to note that just like the other infantry squads, there is a degree of flexibility when it comes to configuring Delta Weapons Squad as well.
A common issue that is often exclusive to the Weapons Squad is their often overburdened load-out. It's highly recommended to utilize a vehicle whenever possible.

Type	Commander	Fire Team 1	Fire Team 2
General-purpose Support	Squad Leader	Team Leader, AT Specialist, AT Assistant	Team Leader, Machine-gunner, Ammo Bearer
Tank Hunters	Squad Leader	Team Leader, Marksman, Ammo Bearer	Team Leader, Marksman, Medic
Fire Support	Squad Leader	Team Leader, Rifleman (AT), Autorifleman	Team Leader, Rifleman(AT), Autorifleman