Force Composition

Force Composition describes both the assets and the organizational structure of any fighting force - how many men it contains, what equipment they have, and how command and communications work between them all.

In each Mission, each Side of players a unique Force Composition tailored specifically to the Scenario being played. Force Compositions can vary wildly between Sides, and between Missions, although there are plenty of basic rules that show up again and again. Learning this basics is a good way to understand what is going on in any given Video, both tactically and strategically.

Infantry
This section lists different units comprised entirely out of Infantrymen - fighting and moving mostly on foot, with little or no direct vehicle support.

Fireteam
The Fireteam is the smallest and most basic organizational unit for Infantry in ShackTac. Each Fireteam contains 6 players, including a Fireteam Leader (FTL) and five infantrymen carrying a variety of infantry-based weapons, mostly Small Arms, and often also Anti-Tank Launchers.

The Fireteam is subordinated to a Squad, which usually contains 2 such Fireteams.

Fireteams are given numbers as their callsigns: "One", "Two", and on rare occasions also "Three". When a Fireteam needs to be identified with more precision, its callsign will be preceded with the name of the Squad to which it belongs, e.g. "Alpha Two", "Charlie One", etcetera.

Squad
A Squad is a collection of Infantry Fireteams operating together under a single commander - the Squad Leader (SL). The Squad works as a single cohesive unit, with all of its Fireteams working together towards a single immediate tactical goal - moving to a location, attacking a target, defending a position, and so on.

In addition to the 6 players in each Fireteam, the Squad also contains a separate Command Element, which includes only the Squad Leader and Squad Medic. A "baseline" Squad containing 2 Fireteams therefore has 6+6+2 = 14 men in total.

Squads are subordinate to a Platoon, which is the largest unit seen in the majority ShackTac videos. Each Platoon usually contains at least two Squads.

Though two or more Squads can operate together to achieve an immediate tactical goal, each Squad usually operates on its own, with other Squads providing cover from a distance or engaged in their own tasks. Thus, a Squad is significantly more autonomous than a Fireteam.

Each Squad is given a name from the NATO Phonetic Alphabet, based on its position in the Platoon. The first Squad in 1st Platoon is called "Alpha", the second is "Beta", the third is "Charlie", and so on. (Note: This rule changes more often than others.)

Weapon Team
A Weapon Team is a small Infantry unit that carries and operates a specialty weapon - such as a Machine Gun or a powerful Anti-Tank Launcher.

This unit can be very powerful, but only against specific kinds of threats. It will be moved to engage such threats when they appear. However, the Weapon Team itself is small, and is not equipped to engage in face-to-face combat with most targets. It is thus more vulnerable than an Infantry Fireteam.

Each Weapon Team is comprised of three soldiers: One to carry and operate the team's primary weapon; One to carry extra ammunition for that weapon; And a third to provide security and/or carry a Tripod. The soldier operating the primary weapon is generally also in command of the unit. All three soldiers carry rifles as their personal weapons.

There are five different types of Weapon Teams in ShackTac. They are differentiated by which weapon they are operating:
 * Medium Machine Gun Team (MMG): The MMG is a rapid-firing automatic weapon that can devastate enemy Infantry and Light Vehicles, and can be used to provide a lot of effective covering fire for other Infantry units.

A Weapon Team's codename is marked in (bold) above. If there are two teams of the same type, they will be referred to by codename and number, e.g. "MAT 1" and "MAT 2", etc. All Weapon Teams on the same Side may be collectively referred to as a single group by the codename "Weapons", a term that could also refer to an appointed liaison who speaks for all Weapon Teams as a group.
 * Medium Anti-Tank Team (MAT): This unit carries a Medium Anti-Tank Launcher, which can reliably penetrate enemy Armor.
 * Heavy Machine Gun Team (HMG): The HMG is an even more powerful automatic weapon. It is heavy enough to engage not only infantry and vehicles, but also Armored Cars and Helicopters.
 * Heavy Anti-Tank Team (HAT): This unit carries a Heavy Anti-Tank Launcher. This is a wire-guided missile system that is extremely effective against armor, particularly Tanks and other heavy vehicles. It can even engage some Helicopters effectively.
 * Mortar Team (MOR): A Mortar is a small artillery piece firing medium-caliber shells. It fires in a high arc, so the shells take time to land, but when they do they can pulverize infantry very easily. The mortar is heavy and extremely ineffective at close range, so it will usually stay well behind other units.

In most cases, Weapon Teams are subordinated directly to a Platoon, alongside the Infantry Squads. Under normal circumstances, each Weapon Team has the same level of autonomy as a Squad.

Infantry Platoon
The Infantry Platoon is a collection of several Squads (and possibly Weapon Teams) operating together under a single commander - the Platoon Leader (PLT). A Platoon is often large enough to take strategic goals into consideration, and will utilize its squads to achieve those goals - either working separately (to achieve multiple goals simultaneously) or together (to focus their strength on a single goal).

The Platoon contains at least two Squads, and will very often contain three, especially in CoOp missions. Four is much rarer.

In addition, a Platoon contains a separate Command Element called Platoon Headquarters (PLT HQ) which includes the Platoon Leader, the Platoon Sergeant (and/or FAC), and the Platoon Medic. This is not a combat unit, and will (usually) refrain from engaging in direct combat with the enemy.

In total, a normal Platoon contains 14+14+14+3 = 45 players. However this is subject to a lot of change during the mission, as soldiers die and may (rarely) rejoin the Platoon as reinforcements. Furthermore, any light vehicular support units might be subordinated to a Platoon, increasing the count further.

If a mission features more than a single Platoon on one Side, and/or some other significant support element such as Armor or heavy Aircraft, then all of these units together will likely be subordinated to a Company. The Company is normally the largest possible organizational unit in ShackTac.

When two or more Platoons are featured, they will be referred to as "1st Platoon", "2nd Platoon", and so on.

Infantry Company
An Infantry Company is the largest unit size found in Infantry-oriented ShackTac videos. Commanded by a high-ranking officer, this unit is the highest on the Chain of Command, and thus controls all other units on its Side. The Infantry Company will often be comprised of two Infantry Platoons, one or more Weapon Teams, a Logistics unit for resupply, and often some CAS assets for support and/or large Helicopter Transports for movement into and out of the combat zone.

The Infantry Company is commanded by a Company Commander (COY) of middle officer rank. The COY Commander is part of a separate unit called Company HQ (COY HQ), together with the Company Executive Officer (COY XO), Company Medic, and a FAC or other liaison to the non-infantry units included in the Company. COY HQ is not a combat unit, and will do its best to stay well out of

Altogether, a Company may include upwards of 100 men. This is limited only by the technical constraints of ArmA, and the player turnout for the mission.

There have never been occurrences of two Companies in the same mission, so there is no callsign for the Company as a whole (other than "the company").

Motorized Infantry
Infantry forces may sometimes be equipped with light (and often unarmed) Vehicles from the start of the mission, or they might acquire them during the course of the mission. This includes Trucks, Technicals, UAZs, or even HMMWVs. They are used primarily to transport the Infantry from place to place quickly, and/or to provide light fire support.

For the most part, the people crewing unarmed vehicles are not considered separate elements; they do not have any "special" callsign or map marker - they're still members of their original Fireteam or other element as described in the previous sections. For example, when a Squad is issued a jeep and truck at the start of a mission, drivers and/or gunners will be selected from among the Squad-members to crew these vehicles - but will be expected to use it as part of the Squad. They'll often be called to dismount from their vehicles and come help the rest of the Squad on foot.

On occasion, Light Vehicles will be used as Weapon Teams using a vehicle-mounted weapon instead of a hand-carried one. In this case, a vehicle's crew may in fact be a separate element with its own callsign, obeying the chain-of-command rules outlined below for APCs and IFVs, and subordinated to a Squad Leader or Platoon Leader. Such vehicles will be more autonomous, and may end up relocating often. Vehicle crews that use a mounted Heavy Machine Gun generally take the name of a Squad (e.g. "Bravo Vehicle 2"), while vehicle crews using a mounted TOW or SPG might use the callsign "HAT" ("Heavy Anti-Tank") instead.

Mechanized Infantry
Mechanized Infantry units contain Infantry elements supported and transported by Armored Personnel Carriers (APCs) and/or Infantry Fighting Vehicles (IFVs). Mechanized Infantry forces have largely the same Force Composition as regular Infantry does, as described in the previous chapter, above, with the addition of separate elements for the people operating these vehicles. The structure of the Squads/Platoons/Companys changes as well to incorporate them.

Armored Personnel Carriers
An Armored Personnel Carrier (APC) is a lightly-armored combat vehicle capable of carrying an Infantry Fireteam and providing them with some fire support.

Vehicles in this category include the M113 and BTR, among a few others. They aren't tough enough to go head-to-head with other vehicles, and are exceptionally vulnerable to enemy Anti-Tank launchers, but can still assist the platoon significantly in most situations - particularly with close fire support at groups of enemy infantry, or at enemy light vehicles.

Each vehicle is crewed by two soldiers: the Driver and Gunner. The Gunner is usually (but not always) also the Vehicle Commander, who has authority over the Driver. Together they make up a separate element with its own callsign and map marker.

APCs generally operate as an integral part of an Infantry Squad. On occasion, they may have more autonomy or operate as a separate group of APCs.

Infantry Fighting Vehicles
An Infantry Fighting Vehicle is a type of light tank that is capable of carrying infantry, but is mainly tasked with engaging enemy targets of all types.

Vehicles in this category include the American M2 Bradley, and the entire line-up of Russian-made BMPs and BMDs. All of these vehicles possess a powerful main weapon that can easily decimate enemy Infantry and light/medium Armor, and some are powerful enough to engage enemy Tanks. IFVs are well-armored enough to survive a hit from a light Anti-Tank rocket, but multiple hits from such weapons will destroy the vehicle. Enemy Tanks will make short work of an IFV if they manage to hit it first.

Each vehicle is crewed by three soldiers: A driver, a Gunner, and a Commander (usu. manning a Machine Gun on top of the turret). Together they make up a separate element with its own callsign and map marker.

IFVs generally have a great deal of autonomy. They'll operate in pairs and have a command structure that is separate from the Infantry Squads. More rarely, they'll be subordinated to a Squad, especially when the IFVs themselves are of a smaller variety (e.g. BMDs).

Squad-Integrated Vehicles
One or two vehicles may be tasked to work closely with a specific Infantry Squad, transporting them and directly protecting them during combat. In this setup, the vehicles will not stray too far from the Infantry to which they were assigned, and will set their radios to the Squad's own separate channel.

The vehicles will be referred to by a callsign composed of the name of the Squad they're attached to, followed by the word "Vehicle" (VIC). For example, a vehicle assigned to transport/defend Bravo will be called "Bravo Vehicle". If there are two (which is often the case), they would be "Bravo Vehicle 1" and "Bravo Vehicle 2" (or BV1 and BV2, for short).

The Squad Leader of the attached Infantry element often (but not always) has direct authority over these vehicles. He can request their movement, ask them to focus on specific targets, or otherwise direct them to better support his Squad. Nonetheless, Vehicles tend to be a little autonomous by their very nature, so it doesn't always end up working that smoothly.

When the Squad's infantrymen are told to mount up on vehicles for movement, they will by default head to their Squad's own vehicles. This is why there usually are two vehicles attached to each Squad, so that they can carry the entire Squad all at once. If one or more of these vehicles is destroyed, the Infantrymen will need to try to hitch a ride on other units' vehicles, or... walk.

APC/IFV Platoon
Sometimes, the APCs or IFVs in a Mechanized Infantry force are expected to work directly with each other, rather than with the infantry. In this case, instead of being subordinated to specific Infantry Squads they will instead be organized into a single separate Vehicle Platoon.

A Vehicle Platoon typically contains up to four APCs or IFVs. These vehicles may work as a team, split into pairs, or even work independently of one another. What makes them a Platoon, however, is that all of these vehicles are subordinated directly to a single Commanding Officer, typically the Gunner/Commander of the first vehicle in the platoon.

The Vehicle Platoon is usually given the collective callsign of either "Sierra" or "Mike" (S or M, for short). The callsign "Sierra" is generally applied to lighter vehicles, while "Mike" is for heavier ones. Additionally, the callsign "Omar" (Om) has been used in the past specifically for M2 Bradley platoons.

Each individual vehicle crew will then be marked with an additional number, e.g. "Sierra 1", "Sierra 2", "Sierra 3", and so on.

The Vehicle Platoon as a whole is subordinated directly to whomever is leading the entire force - usually a Company Commander. If the force is smaller than a company (e.g. fewer than ~60 men in total), and/or there are fewer APCs present, they may be subordinated to the infantry's Platoon Commander instead.

Despite operating mostly as a vehicular group, APCs/IFVs are still there to support and transport the infantry. Infantry Squads may be given orders to mount up on them, in which case Command will usually have to decide on the spot which Squad will go into which Vehicles. The same goes when the vehicles are supporting infantry in combat - the APCs will be moved around to support anyone who needs them, rather than sticking close to one specific squad all the time.

Tanks
A rare but popular setup for ShackTac involves an entire Company of Tanks, with no Infantry support. More commonly, a Tank Platoon will be assigned as a support element for an Infantry Company, although it generally maintains a high degree of autonomy within the Company.

Tank Crew
A Tank is a heavy tracked combat vehicle, using a main cannon mounted on a turret and several Machine Guns. The Tank is covered with very thick armor, and can withstand hits from most enemy weapons. It is completely impervious to any but the heaviest weapons.

Each individual Tank has its own crew, consisting of a Driver, a Gunner, and a Tank Commander. Although most modern Tanks have a fourth member (a Loader), this position would be boring to play within the context of a game, and is therefore omitted.

The Tank Crew are a separate element with their own callsign and map marker.

Tanks generally operate with a large degree of autonomy, but still have many tactical caveats that they need to consider. They are generally expected to find suitable defensive positions from which they can control a large area around them, and hold those positions against enemy vehicles. However a tank has very limited ability to defend itself at close range, especially against enemy infantry using Anti-Tank Launchers, so it will stick close to other tanks and/or friendly Infantry so that they can help it defend itself when the enemy comes closer.

Tank Platoon
A Tank Platoon is an organizational unit consisting of up to four individual Tanks. It is commanded by a Platoon Commander, who is usually also the Tank Commander of the first tank in the Platoon.

The tanks in a platoon may operate in close proximity to one another, or spread out over a very large area, or split up into pairs, as required by the current tactical situation. However they will keep very close communications with one another, since they rely heavily on each other for support.

If the Tank Platoon is an armored support element within a larger Infantry Company or Mechanized Infantry Company, its callsign will usually be "Tango". Each tank within the Platoon will then have a number suffix added: "Tango 1", "Tango 2", etc. If the tanks are split into pairs in anticipation of fighting in multiple directions, they may be given a second numerical suffix, e.g. "Tango 1-1", "Tango 1-2", "Tango 2-1", etc; where the first number denotes the pair, and the second denotes the individual tank. Russian Tank units sometimes receive the callsign "Hammer" or "Bear" instead of "Tango".

Alternatively, the tanks may be part of a larger Armor Company, which contains at least two Tank Platoons. In this case, the naming scheme for Tank Platoons is similar to that of Infantry Squads: "Alpha", "Bravo", "Charlie", etc.

Armor Company
An Armor Company is a large organizational structure combining two Tank Platoons and/or a combination of Tank Platoons and supporting Vehicle Platoons. An Armor Company contains no Infantry elements.

An Armor Company is headed by a Company Commander, who is part of a small Company HQ element along with a Company Medic, Company XO, and possibly a FAC. They will generally be traveling in unarmed Light Vehicles for mobility, and will avoid the front lines.

The chief component of the Armor Company is its Tank Platoons, of which it will generally have at least two. Any additional vehicle platoons present will be IFVs, which will generally provide extra firepower against lighter enemy assets.

Armor Companies have been rare in ShackTac for most of its years. The first true Armor Company was seen in mid-2016. The exact organizational structure of this unit is as yet somewhat unclear, and will become increasingly better-understood as more videos feature this kind of formation.

In total, an Armor Company likely contains around 12-16 vehicles, totaling approximately 50 men.

Armor Battalion
The Armor Battalion is a rare organizational unit, a functional construct designed to oversee the operations of an Armor Company. It contains the Armor Company as well as an Engineering unit, a Logistics unit, and CAS assets. These will provide support to the Armor Company as necessary.

The Armor Battalion is commanded by a Battalion Commander, who likely does not go out into the battlefield at all, or remains well behind the front lines.

An Armor Battalion was first seen in mid-2016, and was not featured in-depth. Information about this unit is therefore very lacking at this time.

Aircraft
Many ShackTac missions feature Helicopter or (more rarely) Fixed-Wing Aircraft assets. These are used in support of ground forces, providing Transport, Close Air Support, or Airborne Resupply.

The number and type of aircraft participating in a mission can vary greatly depending on the mission parameters. It is not uncommon to see a few Littlebirds or Blackhawks, while A-10 jets are much rarer.

Aircraft are extremely autonomous. They receive orders from the ground through a liaison called the Forward Air Controller, who coordinates their actions. This soldier, typically attached to a Platoon HQ or Company HQ element, must analyze the situation on the ground and coordinate the activities of the aircraft accordingly. Nonetheless, aircraft have a very high degree of discretion in determining the best course of action, as they have a much broader view and understanding of the battlefield from up above.

Transport/Scout Helicopters
Transport/Scout Helicopters are a very common sight in ShackTac videos, participating in a good percentage of missions. These airborne vehicles are primarily responsible for moving troops into the battle zone, out of the battle zone, or from location to location within the battle zone. Additionally, they may linger in the air above the battle zone, providing intelligence on enemy movements. Some of these helicopters may be armed with door guns, in which case they may be called to provide Close Air Support to ground troops, but this is not their primary task (and they may not be very effective at it).

Transport Helicopters include the MH-6 Littlebird, UH-1 Huey, UH-60 Blackhawk, CH-47 Chinook, and the Russian Mi-8 Hip. Each of these has different properties and will be used slightly differently. The Littlebird, being fast but small, is good for quickly transporting Fireteams across the battlefield and providing recon. The Blackhawk can transport an entire Squad, and may provide light CAS with its Miniguns, if available. The Chinook is the heaviest and most vulnerable of these, but a single can insert a couple of Squads simultaneously into the battlefield, or extract them out of it.

Once insertion of troops into the battlefield is completed, it is common to see some/all of the pilots return to base and switch over to armed aircraft, to provide Close Air Support.

Alternatively, the Transport Helicopters may remain in use as scouts, or return to base to pick up Ammo Crates to be dropped as resupply directly into a friendly-occupied position. This can apparently be done with any Transport Helicopter.

The crew of a Transport Helicopter may include just one pilot. This is especially true for smaller helicopters. Larger helicopters may have a co-pilot, side-gunners, and/or a crew-chief at the back. This can change often during a mission. Scout helicopters, particular the Littlebird, may sometimes be carrying the FAC as a co-pilot, allowing him to observe the battlefield from above.

Transport/Scout helicopters are generally given the callsign "Phantom". When several of them are present, they will have a number suffix, e.g. "Phantom 1", "Phantom 2", etc. The pilot of Phantom 1 may have some authority over the other Phantoms, especially when traveling as a tight formation, during insertion, extract, and/or resupply.

CAS Helicopters
Another important use for helicopters is Close Air Support (CAS). Armed helicopters can rain quite a bit of devastation on clusters of enemies to alleviate pressure on the ground troops, and they are exceptionally suited for engaging enemy Vehicles and Armor.

The most commonly-seen CAS Helicopter in ShackTac is the AH-6 Littlebird. This quick aircraft carries a mid-caliber rotary cannon and unguided rockets, and can dash about in the sky over friendlies in order to intercept and destroy enemy targets.

More rare are Attack Helicopters such as the AH-1 Cobra and AH-64 Apache. These are much better-armed than the Littlebird, and can comfortably engage enemy Armor from a great distance. They are also quite dangerous to enemy Aircraft of all sorts. Attack Helicopters tend to engage the enemy from far away, thanks to their radar and quality targeting systems.

AH-6 Littebirds are generally nicknamed "Reaper". Apaches get the nickname "Ugly". Other attack helicopters have appeared too rarely to have a known standard callsign. When several CAS helicopters are present, a numerical suffix is added to the name, e.g. "Reaper 1", "Reaper 2", and so on.

CAS Fixed-Wing Aircraft
One of the rarest vehicles in ShackTac is the Fixed-Wing Aircraft, a jet used for heavy Close Air Support. Jets are extremely powerful against enemy Armor and enemy Aircraft of all kinds, but not as effective against Infantry.

Fixed-Wing Aircraft include the AV-8B Harrier, A-10 Warthog and Su-25 Frogfoot. Each has different advantages and disadvantages, and will be used a little differently from the others.

Due to their high altitude of orbit, diverse threats and concerns, and the limited awareness resulting from high-speed flight, CAS jets have one of the highest degrees of autonomy of any unit. A jet can cross kilometers in seconds, and takes a while to line itself up with any target, which means that orders coming from the ground (the FAC) may take some time to be executed. Mostly, jets simply use their radars to locate and attack targets of significance on their own, or report approaching enemies to the ground force.

Each CAS jet gets a callsign based on the type of aircraft used. A-10s get the callsign "Hawg" (pronounced "Hog"), and Harriers get "Pavement" (PVM on the map). Su-25s have not appeared often enough to make for a rule, but in one of Dslyecxi's prominent Su-25 videos his callsign was "Chiora".

Logistics / Engineers
In some of the longer or larger-scale ShackTac CoOp missions, one or more special units are tasked with resupplying the forces with additional ammunition, and/or to repair damaged vehicles. These units are called Logistics (Logi) and Engineers (Engi), respectively. These are essentially non-combat units who spend much of the mission jockeying themselves and/or their ammunition/repair vehicles around between friendly units, while trying to keep themselves out of harm's way.

Note that in many of the missions, Logistics and Engineers are not present at all - the men are expected to conserve ammunition whenever possible, and protect their vehicles to the best of their abilities. They may even permanently run out of ammunition and vehicles altogether, and have to improvise other solutions. This is particularly true for Adversarial missions, where no logistics whatsoever is present.

Logistics and Engineering units are often under the direct command of the Company Commander or Platoon Leader, who will instruct them where to go, and where to set up their resupply/repair stations. This superior will need to keep track of the ammunition/repair levels of the assets under his control, so that he can determine the right time to call in resupply/repair.

Logistics
There are many different kinds of compositions for Logistics teams. Their size and the assets available to them will change depending on the size of the force they are expected to support, as well as a myriad of other factors.

Generally, however, a Logistics team will be a very small unit consisting of perhaps 4 men. They will drive around in some unarmed vehicles, particularly Ammo Trucks. They will normally drive behind the rest of the force, setting up a resupply station some distance behind the lines (or well inside a defended area), whereupon friendly units nearby will be instructed by their commanders to run over and grab ammunition as required.

The Logistics team is often also required to load their supply vehicles themselves, selecting exactly what types of ammunition to carry in it. In this case, they will receive reports from the combat unit commanders as to which types of ammunition they need, and will have to distribute that between the supply vehicles.

The Logistics unit is marked on the map with its own marker, and has the callsign "Logi". There is rarely if ever more than one Logi team, but when this occurs, they will be marked "Logi 1", "Logi 2", and so forth.

Airborne Logistics
Airborne Logistics are carried out using a Chinook or other large helicopter, which will hoist Ammunition Crates at base, and carry them into the battlefield. The Logistics unit itself is in charge of loading the crate with the correct types of supplies required, but will not actually be responsible for the helicopter itself. That is handled by the FAC, who will relay commands directly to the helicopters regarding when to go pick up the crates, and where to set them down.

Engineers
A unit of Engineers may accompany a force that relies heavily on Vehicles or Armor, such as a Mechanized Infantry Company or Armor Company. On occasion, where Motorized Infantry needs to cover a lot of ground, Engineers may accompany it to ensure that the vehicles can continue to operate after being damaged.

The members of the Engineers unit have a unique ability to repair vehicles. When an Engineer performs this action on a damaged vehicle, any of the vehicle's damaged systems will return to "Yellow" status, which means the system will be operable but vulnerable to further damage. This is only possible if the vehicle has not been completely destroyed. Engineers can fix tires, tracks, malfunctioning turrets/weapons, and so forth.

Repairing a vehicle can take a little time, which means that Engineers will rarely venture out into the front lines to repair a vehicle. Due to this vulnerability, engineers will usually set up a repair station in a secure location behind the lines, close to Platoon/Company HQ. Damaged vehicles will then retreat to the Engineers, if they can move at all. If a damaged vehicle cannot get to the repair station, the combat forces will arrange themselves to protect the vehicle while the Engineers go out to repair on it in the field.

Rarely, Engineers will be provided with a repair vehicle, which speeds up repair work (particularly on tanks) and gives them better mobility and protection as they move around to service various units.