Intro
So you watched Aliens, saw Lieutenant Gorman and thought “damn that’s the coolest guy I’ve ever seen. I want to be just like that guy when I grow up.” Never fear! there are at least like- two of us now I guess.
I’ve done a lot of squad lead and a fair amount of SO. Let me do my best to give you a basic low-key primer on how to do the Gorman LARP without getting the Gorman outcome.
Starting the Round:
At the start of your round. Talk to your fellow SOs and XO. If your XO isn’t bald (this is a big if) they’ll likely get you a basic run-down of the plan. Communicate with your fellow SOs (if you have them) ideally you’ll pick 1-2 squads that will be “Yours”. Introduce yourself in their squad chat overover comms. Talk to the SLs by name and let them know you will be taking accountability of their squad. This establishes early trust and gives them a name to look out for.
From the perspective of an SL main, having my SO call out early helps me feel like I’ll actually get CIC support through the round, which is huge.
Your Responsibilities:
In general. You have three primary responsibilities to your squad. You should be proactive in making sure you are attending to them.
-Provide Supplies:
You have req’s number. Your SL does not by default (though the FLTs do for some fucking reason). Talk to the QM. Make sure you have supplies on standby. Ask your squad what they need. If the front is settling in ask for coordinates. You do not need to do this reactively, be on top of it.
-Providing Air/Orbital Support
Ideally CAS will manage itself. It may not. Keep your squad up to date on what CAS is doing and if there are interruptions. Get on Normandy’s ass if you start to see complaints about Fultons, Fire Missions, or CASEVACs not going through. The XO may be too busy to harass them. You probably are not.
-Provide Information
Holy FUCK you gotta be on this. Ideally- at the bare minimum. Let your squad know when they have isolated casualties and guide them there.
You also have a live TacMap. They do not. Let them know where they are. Let them know where the enemy likely is. Let them know where other squads are. Your SL cannot see the battlefield. There is more information they need than danger that they might be facing. Reassure them when their flanks are secured by squads they may not see. Let them know when other squads are moving for flanks or supporting actions. Squad leads can feel incredibly isolated when they don’t see other squads. Make sure they know when they are or are not in danger.
If comms are down. You are their information. I cannot fucking stress this enough. If you are not talking to your squad when comms are down. You are worthless. Go cryo. Squad messages are the best, most consistent way of keeping your guys informed.
Keep them up to date on significant losses (I like to use the SL message for this, morale is fucking real)
Your Tools
As an SO your console has a ton of shiny gubbins for you to put your sticky cheeto-dusted fingers on. You should know how to use them. Here are my thoughts on how to use them well.
Orbital Bombardments
Your SL should know what orbital is available. If they do not, they are very stupid or you are very wrong. Here is my personal opinion on how to make sure orbital is effective and not dropped on friendlies.
Pay attention to who is calling. I’m not going to tell you to ignore the rifleman whose calling in a cluster without any other instructions but I will heavily imply it. If you suspect the caller is unreliable, tread carefully.
Get the following: (unless you are dropping fire to stop an actively falling front. Then, good luck)
Target description: What kind of enemy is under the target
Target direction: where in general it’s landing
Target distance: Whether or not friendly lines may need to move to make it.
Inform the XO or CO that you’ve got a firing solution. Wait for permission to fire.
The Phone
So what- it’s a stupid phone. The phone is great. Shut your stupid mouth.
If your SL is worth their role. They also have a phone. Your phone gives your SL a persistent ringing that they can only stop by picking up. Call them for important shit (pay attention to where they are when you do this.)
If you are called, especially if comms are out. I cannot fucking stress this enough. let groundside hang up first. They are busier than you are. They likely have a lot of things to tell you. Fucking listen to them. Even if it’s stupid. Don’t assume you have their whole message because they dropped one or two sentences. If I went up and shot up the CIC like I wanted to everytime and SO hung up on me halfway through a message I’d probably have done it more than once.
Squad Messages
Your squad messages are Stronger than the XO/CO’s announcements Use them. Abuse them. They appear in the god-damn center of your whole squad’s screen (or the SL’s). They do not have a cooldown. Parrot the SL’s important orders. Parrot the XO’s important orders. Make up your own orders if you wanna.
Other Thoughts
Play Squad Lead
More than just for getting to know the map. Squad Lead helps you get the tempo of the fight. It helps you predict when the line is breaking- when you need to call the retreat. You can be a good Staff Officer just by supporting the XO and SL and keeping them active and informed. You can be a great Staff Officer by knowing when to advise or order movements on your own.
Listen to the XO
The XO has a plan (hopefully) you are acting to inform the Marines and enact the plan. The more coordinated and disciplined the CIC is the better you can help the Marines groundside. A bad plan done decisively does better for groundside than a good plan argued through command comms.
Except when you know not …
This is sort of the “When you know, you know section” But don’t be afraid to make your own tactical decisions.. Don’t just- pull your squad off the front but if units are having trouble- set a rally point. Organize the retreat. Help your squad lead organize the flank that they’re trying to take initiative on.
Deploying
I’m not going to offer advice on how to man the front as SO. If you roll SO to do this we cannot be friends.
The ARC
Final note- should you get the chance to man the ARC, keep it safe. Keep ears open to orders to move it. Call Bravo squad lead ahead of time and directly let them know it will be landing in the FOB. You absolutely should tell the XO to give you senior command access to properly use the ARC’s announcements. A third (or second) set of eyes giving announcements is an incredibly strong tool.
Take it casually
Look. No one ever blames the SO if they actually try (unless they blow up the front). SO is a super chill roll. Have fun with it. RP. The more seriously you take it they less fun it’s going to be.
Anyway. There’s my train of throughs- I’m sure I’m forgetting things. If they weren’t in there they don’t matter. Feedback and advice regarding this guide will be aggressively ignored.
im still on radio but it just feels so…out of the loop and useless…