Armored Personnel Carrier

An Armored Personnel Carrier (APC) is an armored Vehicle designed to ferry Infantry around the battlefield safely, while also providing them with fire support. APCs come in a variety of shapes and capabilities, but any APC excels only when mutually supported by the infantry. Conversely, without any infantry support they are all vulnerable.

Some APC models are wheeled, while others are tracked. APCs are faster than foot-mobile infantry, but not as fast as Light Vehicles. Their armor is generally strong enough to withstand Small Arms fire, but any explosives (particularly Anti-Tank Launchers) will often defeat them in one hit, and any automatic weapon of medium or large caliber (0.50 Cal. and larger) stands at least some chance of penetration.

Most APC models carry either a Heavy Machine Gun or a light Autocannon, mounted in an armored turret. This makes them highly effective against enemy infantry and light-to-medium vehicles. Once an APC offloads its troops, its combat role is to protect them against such threats.

On the other hand, APCs rarely if ever carry any weapons capable of defeating enemy armor (Tanks and IFVs). Furthermore, an APC is vulnerable to explosives and heavy-caliber weapons, which forces it to withdraw behind the Infantry whenever such a threat appears.

In ShackTac, friendly APCs only appear alongside infantry, as part of a Mechanized Infantry setup - Vehicles subordinated to an Infantry chain-of-command. There are several ways in which APCs might be integrated with an Infantry Platoon or Company, depending on how closely the APCs are expected to work with the Squads. When several APCs are grouped together as a unit, they form a Vehicle Section or Vehicle Platoon.

APCs are exceptionally common in ShackTac missions, much as in real-life warfare. BTRs are by far the most common, especially as AI-controlled enemy vehicles. The next most common are M113s. BRDMs and Vodniks are also sometimes considered a type of APC, although they are actually just Armored Cars. Additional APC-like vehicles include the Stryker, LAV and AAV, and the Soviet MTLB; Though these models are much rarer seen in ShackTac.

Specifications
The term Armored Personnel Carrier is broadly defined. Any Vehicle is an APC if conforms to the following criteria:
 * 1) It is capable of carrying at least a Fireteam (6 infantrymen) inside its armored hull.
 * 2) It carries an infantry-support weapon, typically a Machine Gun of some sort.
 * 3) It has enough armor to effectively withstand Small Arms fire, but nothing much heavier.

These criteria allow for a relatively wide variety of vehicles to be considered "APCs". This includes some heavier models like the BTR-80A and LAV (which use an Autocannon instead of a machine gun), and smaller models like the BRDM (really just a heavy Armored Car). Nevertheless, all APCs are used in a similar manner on the battlefield, having similar advantages and disadvantages compared to other classes of vehicles.

Troop-carrying vehicles covered with heavier armor than an APC (thus capable of withstanding heavy caliber bullets or even shells) are called Infantry Fighting Vehicles (IFVs). They typically also carry a much more powerful weapon than anything found on most APCs.

Vehicles fitted with lighter armor than an APC (and thus cannot effectively withstand Small Arms fire) are called Light Vehicles. This group includes Recon Vehicles (if armed) and Trucks (if unarmed).

Models
By far the most common APC on the ShackTac battlefield is the Soviet BTR. This 8-wheeled APC comes in a few different varieties, but can usually carry a single Fireteam and is fitted with a turret-mounted Heavy Machine Gun as its primary weapon. BTRs appear in nearly every single video when confronting an enemy Mechanized Infantry force, controlled by the AI. Friendly (player-controlled) BTRs are significantly rarer.

M113s are also fairly common, but more-so as friendly player-controlled vehicles than as opponents. These tracked vehicles can carry a variety of weapons, up to and including a Vulcan 20mm Autocannon. They are commonly seen in older ShackTac videos, and especially in Vietnam War-era missions.

AAV and LAV are significantly rarer in ShackTac, but do appear from time to time. These 8-wheeled vehicles are typically used by the U.S. Marines, and are designed as amphibious vehicles capable of crossing large bodies of water with ease.

Finally, both the Stryker and MTLB have appeared in past ShackTac videos, but are by far the rarest models. The Stryker (a land-based model of the LAV) may be fitted with a variety of different weapons, but is actually more common as the Stryker MGS, carrying a powerful 105mm cannon. The MTLB is barely armed at all, and in its very few appearances was pretty much used as a field ambulance.

Organization
The purpose of an APC is to support infantry, not to fight on its own. In fact, most APCs are quite vulnerable when operating alone. Instead, APCs rely on mutual support with the infantry, and the organization of the fighting units typically reflects this. When infantry are grouped together with APCs, the entire force is classified as "Mechanized Infantry".

In a Mechanized Infantry force there are two primary ways to organize the APCs, depending on how the APCs are expected to behave during the mission:
 * Vehicle Group: In this setup the APCs are formed into a separate group from the Infantry. The group mostly moves together, only splitting up to occupy different combat positions if necessary. Being grouped this way allows the APCs to support one another, with the whole group acting as a backbone to the rest of the force. The Infantry then serve to provide flank-security for the APCs. An APC group gets its own callsign (usu. Sierra or Sickle), and is subordinated directly to an infantry Platoon Leader or Company Commander. The commander of the first vehicle in the group serves as a sort of coordinator.
 * Dedicated Support: In this setup, each single APC (or pair of APCs) is directly attached to a single Squad, and is tasked with transporting and supporting that specific squad. Each APC coordinates its actions directly with a Squad Leader in order to provide the most effective support to that squad, and can therefore be considered an integral part of that squad. To reflect this, each APC receives a callsign based on the name of the squad it is attached to, e.g. "Alpha Vehicle".

Notable Appearances
APCs appear in virtually every ShackTac videos, although in most cases they are enemy vehicles to be destroyed. Videos featuring friendly APCs are somewhat rarer, as the majority of ShackTac videos are Infantry-only (with occasional air support). Nevertheless, ShackTac is no stranger to Mechanized Infantry, and many videos featuring APCs in direct or indirect support roles are not uncommon.

''Please add below any notable appearances of Mechanized Infantry videos featuring friendly APCs in any role. Most importantly, please add any videos in which APCs play an unusual or unconventional role.''


 * First in Flight by Dslyecxi: A large-scale infantry assault supported by a single AAV commanded by Dslyecxi. In this old ShackTac video, the AAV had no callsign (nor a map marker), and was addressed on the radio simply as "Amtrack" (a military nickname for the AAV).
 * Vulcan in the Trees by CHKilroy: The Shackers go on patrol through a dense jungle in a Vietnam-era scenario, using a convoy of several different M113 variants. Kilroy himself begins the mission in an unarmed ambulance M113 trailing the convoy, but halfway through he gets to switch into an M113 Vulcan.
 * The Road from Yak Ghar by Dslyecxi: At the end of this video, 6 BTRs arrive to rescue the platoon. They are arranged into Vehicle Sections, with each section tasked to rescue one of the squads. Dslyecxi rides in one of these for a good portion of the ending, and even operates the commander's gun.
 * Trail of Fireworks by Dslyecxi: Dslyecxi commands an M163 Vulcan, and operates the gun. The APCs in this video are grouped together, but unusually given a callsign normally reserved for an infantry squad (Fox).
 * Advanced Assault Swan Divers by Dslyecxi: Dslyecxi commands a group of three AAVs deploying from a ship out at sea, assaulting up onto a beach, and unloading their troops for an advance inland. The AAVs are codenamed Sierra, and operate as general support for the infantry throughout the mission.
 * Last Out by Dslyecxi: A single BTR supports the Shackers during their Defense in Depth. It has the callsign Sickle-1 (S-1) and is charged with general mobile support, but spends the majority of the mission protecting Alpha Squad's flanks. Dslyecxi rides as a passenger inside the BTR at one point.