Fireteam Leader

A Fireteam Leader (FTL) is the soldier in charge of an Infantry Fireteam, and occupies the first slot of the Fireteam roster. His primary task is to relay orders from the Squad Leader (SL) to the Fireteam's members, and ensure that those orders are followed in the most efficient manner. He is also responsible for updating the SL on the Fireteam's status whenever necessary.

An FTL carries a Rifleman's gear, with the addition of a Grenade Launcher (usu. as an under-barrel attachment to his weapon), several Grenades for that launcher (HE, HEDP, Smoke and/or Flare grenades), and a pair of low-magnification Binoculars. In low-tech situations, the FTL might also carry the Fireteam's only radio and/or map.

The FTL has limited control over the men in the Fireteam, and will normally only make on-the-spot low-level tactical decisions. He defers on all broader tactical decisions to the Squad Leader.

An FTL is usually first in line to inherit command from the Squad Leader. If an FTL goes down, the next-highest member on the Fireteam roster will take the FTL position, usually with most/all of the accompanying equipment, if it can be recovered.

Equipment
The FTL is outfitted with Rifleman gear, but is also given a significant amount of extra equipment with which to support the Fireteam.

Primary Weapon
As with the Fireteam's Riflemen, the FTL normally carries an Assault Rifle. This is an automatic weapon suitable for mid-range and close-range combat. The Assault Rifle has a medium-sized magazine, and can provide both semi-automatic and fully-automatic fire. It is useful for picking off enemies at a good range, hosing down enemies at close range, or making controlled bursts to suppress or kill enemy targets at any range.

In lower-tech scenarios, the Assault Rifle may be switched with a Semi-Automatic Rifle or other weapon.

The FTL usually carries slightly less ammunition than a Rifleman, due to having to carry other equipment listed below. However, it is very likely that the FTL will be carrying Tracer ammunition, even when the Riflemen do not, which is mostly used to point out the position of enemies to his team-mates by firing at them. This is especially true in low-light or low-visibility conditions.

Note that in most scenarios, the model of Assault Rifle carried by the FTL will be slightly different - fitted with a Grenade Launcher attachment (see below) - but is otherwise functionally the same as a regular Assault Rifle.

Grenade Launcher
The FTL also carries a secondary weapon, a Grenade Launcher, which is usually attached to the bottom of the Assault Rifle's barrel. The FTL will thus be able to switch quickly to the Grenade Launcher. In low-tech situations, the FTL may instead be fitted with a stand-alone Grenade Launcher slung on his back, which takes more time to switch to.

The Grenade Launcher can launch a variety of different grenades, if available. These are special grenades that can only be fired from this launcher, not thrown by hand. The FTL may carry several dozen such grenades, of types assumed to be required for the current mission.

The most commonly-carried grenade is the HE Grenade. This type of grenade is useful against clumps of enemy infantry, having a blast radius that can catch several of them in one hit, causing serious damage. It is also useful against enemies in hard cover. An HE grenade can also severely damage some lightly-armored vehicles. HEDP Grenades, a common variant, are even more deadly to vehicles, though they are unlikely to seriously hurt Armor.

The next most common type of grenade is the Smoke Grenade, which will billow out smoke after hitting the ground. FTLs will use this grenade to form a concealing barrier, to mask movement or otherwise block enemy line of sight.

Finally, on night missions an FTL may be equipped with launched Flares. These are usually fired up into the sky, and will slowly fall down while shining bright light in a large radius - allowing the Fireteam to more easily spot enemies underneath the falling grenade.

Thrown Grenades
FTLs might also carry additional Hand Grenades, including Frag (anti-infantry), Smoke, and Flare grenades. While having a shorter range the Launched Grenades, these Hand Grenades can be thrown in an arc over nearby obstacles, at nearby targets, or through narrow openings, such as when clearing around a corner or breaching into a room.

Binoculars
The FTL needs to maintain a good situational awareness in order to spot enemies approaching his Fireteam, in order to assist the Squad Leader in his observations of the battlefield, and in order to better direct the fire of the team's Automatic Riflemen. To this end, he will carry a pair of low-magnification Binoculars.

These Binoculars do not have the power of a Squad Leader's binoculars or of most Vehicle-mounted optics, but will serve the FTL well for the needs of his Fireteam - medium/close range firefights.

The Binoculars are a relatively high-value item that other team-members will usually want to recover if the FTL is killed.

First Aid Kit / Bandages
As with all other members of the Fireteam, the FTL carries at least one First Aid Kit, which is meant for quick treatment of superficial wounds, or mitigation of the effects of more serious wounds. A First Aid Kit is usually not a replacement for actual medical treatment by a Medic - it is simply a way to restore some functionality after being hit.

In ArmA 2, this would instead be a few packs of Bandages, meant to stop bleeding. This is crucial to prevent passing out from blood loss, dying from bleeding out, or helping a fallen friend avoid these effects. Again, it is no replacement for actual medical treatment, but can help in a pinch.

Flashlight / Laser
In low-visibility conditions, Infantrymen may be outfitted with Flashlights - mounted on their primary weapon. In low-tech scenarios, it is possible that only the FTL will have this sort of equipment, if at all. In this case, it will be the FTL's job to shine the Flashlight at any relevant target, to make it apparent to his team-mates.

Radio / Map
In low-tech scenarios, the FTL might be the only member of the Fireteam carrying either a radio, a map, or both. In this case, both items are exceptionally valuable, and other team-members might risk their lives to recover these if the FTL ever goes down.

In most scenarios however, every member of the Fireteam will be carrying these items, making them trivial.

Role
In addition to his role as one of the infantrymen in the Fireteam, the FTL has several responsibilities mandated by his position of authority, as well as several tasks made possible by all of his extra equipment (see above). The FTL will be expected to strike the right balance between these activities.

Rifleman Duty
As with all other members of the Fireteam, the FTL is expected to act as an infantry grunt, directly assisting his men in every task they perform. This includes engaging enemies in medium-range combat and assaulting enemy positions, just like an infantryman.

An FTL does not have an imperative to keep himself out of harm's way, as other commanders might prefer. He will often be seen taking point, be the first to breach into buildings, and reveal his position by engaging enemies even when they are not a direct threat. He may be somewhat more important in some way than the other Fireteam members, but as one extra rifle out of 6, his firepower is significant enough to warrant taking these actions.

Also note that because FTLs usually carry Tracer ammunition, they may occasionally engage enemies simply to show the others where those enemies are. This is especially true in bad-visibility conditions, or when the team-mates are struggling to figure out the enemy's exact position.

FTL Duty
The FTL's primary function is to serve as a liaison between the Squad Leader and the members of the Fireteam. This expresses itself in several duties that the FTL will need to perform.


 * Relaying and Clarifying Orders: The FTL needs to constantly listen to orders on the 343 Radio. Once orders for his Fireteam are received, he will usually repeat them in Voice to make sure that his team-mates - who are normally within voice distance - do hear and understand those orders. If the orders are unclear, the FTL may request clarification from the Squad Leader. He will also answer questions by the Fireteam members, if necessary, to make sure they understand what their job is.
 * Reporting Fireteam Condition: The FTL needs to keep track of the number of casualties sustained by his Fireteam during combat. He may volunteer this information to the Squad Leader, or provide it when asked. The FTL also needs to keep track of how many Anti-Tank Launchers / Rockets his team have, as well as the level of Ammunition carried by the team. Finally, if any team-member is having Stamina issues, the FTL will want to report this in, so that the SL may decide whether to stop for stamina.
 * Unit Cohesiveness: The FTL needs to ensure that none of his men go missing or get left behind. He will want to track their position and status for this, and may call out on the radio for any person who isn't present. He'll need to keep track of anyone who goes AFK, as well. Finally, he'll need to make sure that everyone knows their orders, and "nudge" them to action if necessary.
 * Low-Level Tactical Decisions: The orders given to the FTL by the Squad Leader may not always be 100% detailed. In many cases, and especially during close combat, the FTL will need to make small-scale decisions for his Fireteam. This includes selecting men for specific duties, such as who will take point, or who drives the Fireteam's vehicle, and so forth. Other decisions may include things like which door to use when breaching a building, which path to take towards a given destination, or cases where the Fireteam should be split into Color Teams.

Utilizing Extra Equipment
The FTL's additional equipment, and particularly his Grenade Launcher, must be utilized to support his Fireteam.

With his grenade launcher, the FTL is expected to try and engage clumps of enemy infantry, infantry in cover, and light vehicles, whenever he deems it appropriate. The use of this weapon can thin out the opposition or take care of a particularly pesky enemy asset which other team-mates may have trouble engaging effectively.

The Smoke grenades are even more crucial in many situations. Using these, the FTL may create a smoke screen to mask the movements of his team - particularly when moving from cover to cover in view of the enemy, or when trying to conceal a fallen comrade so that medical assistants can reach him or so that someone can run over and loot his body. The FTL can also fire a smoke grenade to signal landing aircraft, mark enemy positions, or engulf an enemy position with smoke to make it easier to assault.

Flares, when available, can provide a temporary flooding of an area with light, to reveal enemies who would otherwise be concealed by darkness. The FTL will fire these in a high arc, to prolong the period of light as much as possible, or fire it in a shallow arc to reach a distant area from which enemies are approaching.

Finally, the FTL's binoculars provide him with the ability to scout the immediate area around the Fireteam and Squad. Since his binoculars are not very powerful, he will focus on locating nearby threats that are difficult to see without any magnification. This extra pair of eyes takes some of the pressure off the Squad Leader, but does not replace the SL's ability to see quite a good distance away.

Chain of Command
The Fireteam Leader has some command authority over the members of his Fireteam, but is mostly there to make sure that the team understands and executes the orders of the Squad Leader as optimally as possible. He has little leeway in terms of interpreting those orders, but can issue low-level tactical orders himself when the situation requires them.

Upwards Inheritance
If a Squad Leader is killed or incapacitated, one of his FTLs will take over. He will need to acquire the 148/152 radio to re-establish contact with the Platoon, and may retrieve additional specialty equipment from the SL's body if necessary.

If both FTLs in a squad are alive, the leader of Fireteam One typically inherits command first. If he is killed, the leader of Fireteam Two will take command. If both are dead, command may pass down to one of the Automatic Riflemen or Riflemen, usually based on experience, seniority, or even whim.

Downwards Inheritance
If a Fireteam Leader dies, he will usually be inherited by one of the Automatic Riflemen in his Fireteam. If both are killed, are unexperienced, or are unwilling to take command for any reason, it will pass down to one of the Riflemen.

In most situations, the FTL's body contains several important items that could be useful to retrieve, often including his weapon, GPs, ammunition, hand grenades, binoculars, and in low-tech scenarios even a map and radio.

Map Markers
The FTL has two separate markers for his position: An STHUD marker displayed to each member of the Fireteam, and a map marker displaying the position of the Fireteam as a whole.

Map
On the map, an FTL has a marker attached to him that signifies his location - and vicariously the location of his Fireteam, who are almost always at his position. The marker looks like this:

xy


 * The central symbol is the NATO symbol for Infantry, topped by a single dot marking a team-sized element.
 * X is a letter representing the name of the parent Squad: A for Alpha, B for Bravo, C for Charlie, and so on.
 * Y is the number of the Fireteam itself, within its Squad (1 or 2).
 * The entire symbol will be colored the same as the corresponding color of the parent Squad: Red for Alpha, Blue for Bravo, Green for Charlie, with a repeating cycle for any subsequent letters.

Should someone else take command of the Fireteam and become its new FTL, the marker will now follow them.

Communications
An FTL communicates almost equally by Radio and by Voice, with different players and for different purposes. Radio communication is often (but not always) necessary for receiving orders from the Squad Leader and reporting back. When speaking with his own Fireteam, however, the FTL will commonly use Voice.

Voice
The FTL is expected to remain within physical proximity of the rest of his Fireteam, and as such will constantly be within hearing distance of them. He will converse with his team by Voice whenever possible, to reduce traffic on the Radio.

First and foremost, the FTL will usually repeat in Voice any orders that were given by the Squad Leader on the radio. Despite the fact that all Fireteam members are likely listening to the radio, this repeat of the orders in Voice serves to make them clearer, and to ensure that everyone has heard and understood them.

Beyond this, the FTL uses voice communications for other Fireteam-related things, such as pointing out contacts to his team-mates, calling out to anyone who may have been killed or incapacitated, and coordinate any other activity within the Fireteam.

Within Voice communications, the FTL will call his team-members by name, and they will call him by name as well.

Radio
The FTL carries a 343 radio, set to the dedicated channel for his Squad. He will receive most of his orders by Radio from the Squad Leader. The FTL is expected to be listening to the radio at all times, so as to not miss any orders. He will need to maintain awareness of those orders, as well as the orders given to the other Fireteam in the squad, to have a good understanding of what the Squad as a whole is trying to achieve.

Furthermore, the FTL will often be required to report the condition of his team, which he will do on the radio.

FTLs in the same Squad may also occasionally need to converse with each other. They'll commonly do this via Radio, if not close enough to use Voice.

Finally, whenever the Fireteam is split into Color Teams which have moved away from one another, the FTL may need to give orders by radio to the Color Team that's further away. To reduce radio chatter, these will usually be terse and precise.

Callsigns and Terminology
Communications between specific members of a Fireteam, whether on Radio or Voice, will usually refer to each other by their own names rather than any callsign.

When addressing his Squad Leader, an FTL will call usually him by the short name "Lead". When referring to the Squad Leader in the third person, he might use the terms "SL" or "Squad Lead" instead.

When addressed by the Squad Leader, a Fireteam will be referred to collectively by using the team's numerical sequence within the Squad, e.g. "One" or "Two". The Squad Leader may also use this appellation to refer to the Fireteam Leader specifically, but will more often just call him by his name.

When the FTL is refering to his Fireteam as a whole (such as when relaying orders to them, or reporting their condition), he uses the Fireteam's sequential number ("One" or "Two"). The same holds true when one FTL is attempting to communicate with the other Fireteam in the squad.

Finally, whenever addressing a specific Color Team, the FTL will simply state the color of that team, e.g. "Red", "Green", etc.