Callsign

A Callsign is a name used to refer to a specific person or unit based on their role in the mission. Though a player may be addressed by their nickname under some circumstances (mostly by someone within their unit), Callsigns are used almost exclusively in all Radio communications.

Callsigns are assigned to two different kinds of things:
 * Players with a specific, unique role, such as leaders or specialists.
 * Any group of players, group of groups, or Element containing one player.

Most Callsigns are "standardized", being assigned to the same units / individuals in each mission. For example, "Alpha" is almost always given to the first Infantry Squad; Only rarely will the first squad be given any other name except "Alpha". Most standardized callsigns are letters in the NATO Phonetic Alphabet, with some common exceptions.

Completely non-standard Callsigns are also occasionally encountered in ShackTac. Mission Designers and Commanders have full leeway to name any unit or individual by any callsign they wish, though they will normally only do so in unusual circumstances (such as unusual units, or units operating outside the main command structure). This is a very rare occurrence in ShackTac videos.

Once a unit has a Callsign assigned to it, it will keep that callsign until the entire unit is wiped out or merged into another unit. If that occurs, the callsign may be reassigned to a new unit created to replace the original one.

An individual's callsign (if they even have one) is tied to their role in the mission. Should the individual die, their position may be inherited by someone else, at which point the callsign will transfer to the new individual along with the position. Similarly, an individual may gain someone else's callsign when inheriting their position, possibly losing their original callsign in the process.

Assigning Callsigns
Callsigns are assigned to units before the mission begins. Each entity that is eligible to receive a callsign will have one assigned to it, as well as a Map Marker that includes an abbreviated form of that callsign.

A unit callsign is permanently attached to the unit itself, and will persist so long as the unit continues to exist. It will only be removed if the unit is completely wiped out, or if all surviving members of a unit merge into another unit. This frees up the callsign to be reassigned to Reinforcements, if necessary, though often the reinforcing units receive completely new callsigns.

Callsigns attached to a specific role are permanent for that role. If anyone inherits the role, they typically inherit the callsign along with it, unless there is a reason for them to retain whatever callsign they had before. For example, if a FAC is killed, whoever assumes that role can be addressed as "FAC" and may refer to themselves as "FAC" - at least when speaking on Air Net.

Proper Address
When speaking on the Radio, callsigns are almost always used to identify oneself and to address the recipient. Player nicknames are typically kept out of radio communications, as they can confuse any listener who does not know which unit the player belongs to.

Each radio communication starts with the callsign of the intended recipient, followed by the callsign of the sender. Alternatively, the sender may add "this is" before stating their own callsign, though most Shackers get used to omitting these works.


 * For example: "Alpha, this is Bravo" or "Alpha, Bravo" indicates that Bravo is attempting to contact Alpha.

Once a request for contact is made, the recipient can indicate that they are listening by stating their own callsign, possibly followed by the words "Go ahead" or just "Go". For example, if the call "Alpha, Bravo" is made, Alpha can indicate its attention by simply replying "Alpha".

Standard Callsigns
ShackTac uses a standard array of callsigns for specific types of units or player roles. All player roles and most units in a ShackTac mission will have such standard callsigns, while the occasional unit may have a non-standard one (see next chapter).

The use of standard callsigns allows most players to immediately identify the type of unit by its callsign regardless of any other variables of the mission.

High-Level Callsigns
The following are standard callsigns used for high-level units and player roles.


 * Command: A general callsign for whomever is the top-level commander of the force, typically a Platoon Leader or Company Commander.
 * Ground: A general callsign for whomever is in charge of the ground forces at any given time. Usually only used when Aircraft attempt to contact ground forces and vice versa.
 * Air: A general callsign for all aircraft, or whichever Pilot is coordinating aircraft operations. Any Aircraft may answer to this callsign, if there is no one assigned leader.

Infantry Callsigns
The following are standard callsigns assigned to Infantry units and roles within an Infantry force. Non-standard callsigns are rarer, and typically reserved for Reinforcements and/or Special Forces.


 * Platoon: The callsign of whomever currently has leadership of an Infantry Platoon, usually the Platoon Leader. Typically only used by subordinates of the Platoon's chain of command, especially if there are other Platoons participating in the same mission. If the Platoon Leader is also the highest person on the chain of command, the callsign "Command" (see above) will typically be used instead.
 * Alpha, Bravo, Charlie: The standard callsigns for the first, second, and third Squads in the first (or only) Infantry Platoon, respectively.
 * Delta, Echo, Fox: The standard callsigns for the first, second, and third Squads in the second Infantry Platoon, respectively. May also be used for additional squads in a reinforced platoon, or for Reinforcements added to an existing platoon.
 * One, Two: A callsign suffix added to each Fireteam based on its position within its Squad. On the squad's own 343 channel, it may or may not be preceded by the Squad's callsign; Otherwise the Squad's callsign must always be included.
 * Red, Green, Blue, Yellow: The callsign suffixes added to each Color Team within its Squad, depending on their color in the STHUD. Rarely used outside the squad's 343 radio channel.
 * Lead: A short-hand callsign for a Squad Leader, used only by members of their Squad on the squad's 343 radio channel.

Note that on Infantry Squad 343 channels, individual player nicknames can be used more freely than on any other radio net. Most players in the squad do not have a callsign, anyway.

Weapon/Support Squads
The following are standard callsigns for Weapons squads, whether they travel as infantry or use a mounted weapon on a light vehicle.


 * MMG: The callsign for a Medium Machine Gun Squad.
 * HMG: The callsign for a Heavy Machine Gun Squad or vehicle.
 * MAT: The callsign for a Medium Anti Tank Squad.
 * HAT: The callsign for a Heavy Anti Tank Squad or vehicle.
 * Mortars: The callsign for a Mortar Squad.
 * Logi: The callsigns for a Logistics Squad or vehicle.

If two or more squads of the same type are present, each squad gets a number suffixed to their callsign, e.g. "HMG One" and "HMG Two". The squad will always identify itself by the full callsign, including the main callsign and number.

Ground Vehicles
Standardized callsigns for Ground-Vehicles and Vehicle Squads serve to indicate the general type of the vehicles in the unit, as well as their intended role during the mission.


 * Sierra: Support vehicles, typically APCs, which primarily provide fire support for the Infantry and in some cases transportation. Sierras are typically not powerful enough to fight separately from the Infantry, and will not stray far.
 * Mike: Heavy vehicles such as IFVs that can operate both alongside and separately from Infantry. Some may provide transportation in an emergency, but are rarely required to do so.
 * Tango: A standard callsign for Tanks. Uniquely, tanks sometimes receive other, non-standard callsigns.
 * Alpha, Bravo, Charlie: Callsigns for the first, second, and third Tank Platoons within an Armored Company (respectively).
 * Alpha Vic, Bravo Vic, Charlie Vic: Callsigns for vehicles or Vehicle Sections attached directly to specific Infantry Squads "Alpha", "Bravo" or "Charlie", respectively, and intended to provide their respective squads with both transportation and fire support. Alternatively, vehicles or vehicle sections that are generally meant to operate alongside those squads.

If two or more vehicles belong to the same group, they receive a number suffixed to their callsign to indicate their position within that group. For example, "Mike One", "Mike Two".

Occasionally, a "Sierra", "Mike", or "Tango" vehicle group can be split even further, in which case the first number indicates which specific group the vehicle belongs to, while a second number indicates the vehicles position within that group. For example, "Mike One-One", "Mike One-Two" for the vehicles in the first group of Mikes; "Mike Two-One" and "Mike Two-Two" for the vehicles in the second group; etc.

Aircraft
The following are standard callsigns specifically used for Aircraft. Standardization allows identifying the type or role of an aircraft immediately by its callsign:


 * Phantom: A Transport Helicopter, typically unarmed or armed only for self-defense / light CAS.
 * Reaper: A light Attack Helicopter, typically an AH-6.
 * Ugly: A heavy Attack Helicopter, particularly AH-64 Apache or a variant thereof.
 * Hawg: An A-10 ground-attack Jet.
 * Pavement: A fast-moving fighter/bomber Jet, typically a Harrier.

If two or more aircraft belong to the same type or group, each receives a number suffixed to its callsign. The aircraft with the number "One" typically has some extra responsibility and authority to manage other aircraft of the same callsign, though this can easily change according to the situation.

Non-Standard Callsigns
The standardized callsigns listed above only describe the most common callsigns, which always (or nearly always) have the same meaning and can be used to identify a unit/person's type and role instantly. Additional callsigns also exist that are used more rarely, and may or may not have a fixed meaning from mission to mission.

OPFOR Callsigns
Missions where players are on the OPFOR side sometimes include different callsigns than those listed above. These reflect the Russian/Soviet character of the player force.

OPFOR Callsigns are typically assigned to vehicles and aircraft, whereas Infantry retain the same standardized callsigns in the lists above.


 * Bear: Alternative for "Tango", indicating a Tank or other heavy ground vehicle.
 * Hammer: Another alternative for "Tango", indicating a Tank or other heavy ground vehicle. May occasionally be used for Jets or other heavy air assets.
 * Sickle: Alternative for "Sierra", indicating fire-support vehicles. May also be used for various aircraft.

Reinforcement and Special Forces Callsigns
Occasionally, callsigns for Infantry Squads may include letters from the NATO Phonetic Alphabet beyond "Fox". There are two cases where this generally happens: When an infantry squad operates outside the primary chain of command (Special Forces), or when a new squads are created to Reinforce existing platoons or completely new platoons.

Special Forces squads typically receive the callsign Romeo (for "Recon"), though they can technically have any callsign letter. Famously, one video featured a Spetznaz unit with the callsign "Juliette", and another famous video had such a unit with the callsign "Tango". Special Forces units are rare enough that standardization is largely ignored for them.

Reinforcement squads may receive standardized callsigns, especially if they are coming in to effectively replace wiped-out units in an existing Platoon. However they may instead receive whatever the next so-far-unused letter is, ending up with squads called "Echo", "Fox", "Golf", etc. even when only one platoon is present. In some cases, the lettering jumps all the way forward to "Kilo" and "Lima", and there is no indication that further letters down the alphabet cannot be used (so long as they are not standardized letters typically assigned to vehicles, such as "Mike", "Sierra", etc).

World War II Callsigns
In missions taking place in the World War II era, ShackTac uses the historical phonetic alphabet sometimes known as the "CCB Alphabet", which was in use during that period, instead of the NATO Phonetic Alphabet. Thus, the standardized names for Infantry Squads change to reflect this. Alphabet-based callsigns for non-infantry units may or may not change.


 * Able, Baker, Charlie: Callsigns for the first, second, and third Squads in the first platoon, respectively.
 * Dog, Easy, Fox: Callsigns for the first, second, and third Squads in the second platoon, respectively.