Getting Started

Welcome to Sigma Security Group, this guide has been created to assist new Verified & Candidate Members that are looking to take part in our Operations. If you are here, I believe it's safe to assume that you have already read our Unit Information page, and know our Unit Charter and Mission & Goals from front to back. If you are looking for a guide on how to install our mods and Teamspeak 3 click here.

In this guide, we will cover the three fundamentals of designing a kit for operations here at Sigma Security Group. We will also briefly go over the radios we use in the Advanced Combat Radio Environment mod ("ACRE" for short), and how to treat yourself should you suffer any injuries during an operation. As you already know, the two game-changing mods we use here are ACE3, and ACRE. These mods allow us to increase the immersion levels by communicating within the boundaries of authentic radio limitations, as well as enhancing the base game's ballistic and medical simulation.

Pre/Post Operation

At Sigma Security Group, playing an operation can best be separated into five parts.

Briefing - Briefing is given within 5 minutes of the scheduled start time. This is the time the Zeus of the mission will be in character, and give you the mission objectives and mission parameters. This is also the time the team leaders and team members will ask any questions about the briefing.

"Barbie" Phase - The 'barbie' phase is the time allotted to you to build your kits appropriately for the tasks that you may need to accomplish.

Planning Phase - The planning phase is there for team leaders to plan the execution of the operation with the Actual. Usually Team Leads and the Actual gather in a specified area for a "Team Lead Brief". After this is completed, your Team Lead will have a briefing with you and your other team members to assign you your team color, buddy, and the equipment you need to bring.

Kit Assessment & Step Off - Kit assessment is the time your specific team leader will take to ensure your team knows the plan and mission directive, as well as the tasks your team is specifically responsible for. This is also the time when your team leader will ensure you have the correct equipment and if not, will assign you a role to fulfill. Once that portion is complete, you will all step off to begin the operation.

The Operation - Self-explanatory, but this is the time you will actually be playing the operation.

• If you die during the operation, respawn and walk to the arsenal, load up your kit and ping the Zeus with "Y" when you are ready to be teleported back to your team members. If the Zeus does not respond within 5 minutes, please move yourself in Discord from Deployed to Command and ask the Zeus to teleport you before moving yourself back to Deployed.

• DO NOT press ESCAPE and RESPAWN if you go unconscious or see a black screen. Wait to be revived or to actually die due to your battlefield injuries.

After Action Review - Or "AAR" for short, is the time you will enter the discord "Command Channel" to hear how the mission went, and receive and offer constructive criticism for both yourself and your team members. The AAR is mandatory for everyone who attended the operation. If you have any IRL circumstances, please let the Zeus know in #arma-discussion that you had to leave. Again, the AAR should be purely constructive criticism. Additionally, there will also be a portion for commendations, and recommendations for promotion. Lastly, we like to throw in "war stories" and let the community share some awesome moments that they had in an operation. War stories are an optional part of the AAR and you are not required to stay for this. As such, you may leave the AAR when the Zeus concludes the AAR with "AAR over" or anything along those lines.

The structure of the AAR can be found here

The Rifleman's Way

Now that you know all the steps to take part in both before and after an operation, let's talk about actually playing one. Firstly, we will be discussing the ACE3 Interaction Menu. Your ACE interact and self interact menu are what you will use to climb in vehicles, rig explosives, and access your equipment, as well as a plethora of other functions we will not discuss today. To ACE interact on something, press your "Windows Key". To self interact press "Left Ctrl + Windows Key".

Now that we know how to interact with things we will cover loadout building for operation. When building a loadout for operation here at Sigma, I always employ three points that allow me to build a kit appropriate to my mission. The three points are as follows; "Stop Holes, Plug Holes, Make Holes".

"Plug Holes"

"Plug Holes" refers to ensuring your kit contains the medical equipment necessary to sustain yourself, should you become wounded during an operation. For the sake of simplicity, we will not be covering every single bandage type and the differences between each, lest it become too esoteric.

I recommend you carry the following medical supplies:

• 10 Elastic Bandages

• 10 Packing Bandages

• 3 Morphine

• 3 Epinephrine

• 1 Box Painkillers

• 5 Tourniquet

• 2 Splints

• 2 Chest Seals

• 1 Pulse Oximeter

This allows me to be somewhat independent in regards to dealing with my own injuries. Note that I do not carry a stitch kit or personal aid kit as a standard rifleman, as they are of no use to me. At Sigma Security Group, only Medics and Team Leaders can use those items.

Now, how do we deal with injuries on the infantry level? To access your Medical Menu, simply press "H" to bring it up and tend to your wounds. As a rifleman, I have broken up the safe application of my IFAK into three points; "Slow the bleed, Staunch the bleed, Stitch the bleed." For this example, I will be using a wounded arm.

"Make Holes"

"Make Holes" refers to--well,...bullets. In this section we will also discuss how to set your kit in the most useful manner the best benefits your team. When you load into the operations server, you will begin with a default kit that contains the bulk of what you will need to complete an operation, but we will briefly go over the importance of making your kit more multi-faceted and we will also cover mission-essential equipment (MEE for short). Something to always remember as a rifleman, is that it pays to be as light as possible. Always do your best to cut back the weight of your character when designing a kit, as this allows your team to give you more responsibility by carrying items such as spare ammo for your, or filling that extra load capacity with a disposable anti-tank weapon. As a rifleman, you should always carry these items; 1x Vector 21 NITE, 1x AN/PRC 152 Radio, 1x MicroDAGR GPS, 1x GD300 Android, 1x Maglite XL50, 1x Earplugs, and 1x Entrenching Tool.

Firstly, ammunition. I recommend you carry 8-12 magazines for your primary weapon, and 1-2 for your secondary weapon if you choose to carry one. If you're using a weapon that fires 5.56 NATO, Mk 318 Mod 0 or Mk 262 Mod 1 is an excellent choice. If your preference tends towards the AK family of rifles, 7N10 or 7N22 works well.

The Vector 21 NITE is a rangefinding binocular that allows you to quickly tell the distance between two points. To range-find something you are looking at, simply bring up your binoculars and place the crosshairs of your binos on the target area and hold " TAB + R" then release. The Vector 21 will then display the distance from your position to the object or area you are looking at. As the name implies, the Vector 21 NITE has a night vision setting. To switch to the night vision setting, while looking through the binoculars, press "N".

The MicroDAGR GPS allows you to path to your objectives and find your team leaders more quickly, as both the map and GPS will allow you to track the exact position of those individuals. To navigate to the MicroDAGR, simply press the "Home" key on your keyboard twice and click the map icon at the bottom right. Once you have selected the map function and it displays, simply press "ESC" and it will seat at the bottom right of your screen.

Alternatively, the GD300 Android allows you to see the location of other members of your team as well as other features. To use it, press "Shift + H". It also gives you a vanilla HUD-style GPS that you can access with the square bracket keys on your keyboard.

The Entrenching Tool, or "E-Tool" for short, is your most overpowered piece of equipment. It allows you to dig trenches on any soft ground quickly and easily to better provide cover for yourself and your team. To access your E-Tool, simply self interact and select "Equipment", and then, "Entrenching Tool", followed by which trench you would like to construct. You may also assist others in digging larger trenches by approaching the ground they are digging and ace interact on it and select, "Help Digging".

Earplugs will be the most common tool you use during operations. As the name implies, they assist in preventing your character from developing tinnitus, and offer some solace from loud noises in-game. They can be accessed by self-interacting and navigating to "Equipment", and selecting "Earplugs In". To remove them, simply repeat that process and select, "Earplugs Out".

The Maglite XL50 will allow you to see your characters map at night. To use this, open your map and ACE interact to turn the light on.

Mission Essential Equipment (MEE)

Mission essential equipment pertains to tools or sensitive items that are a necessity to mission completion. MEE can range from plastic explosives, intel, Night Optical Devices(NODs), to infrared strobes. IR strobes emit a beacon of light in the infrared spectrum, which is invisible to the naked eye. IR strobes will allow your team to find you at night under the perspective of NODs and IR optical viewing devices. To equip an IR strobe, you may find it in the miscellaneous tab in the arsenal. Once you have one in your inventory, self-interact and select "Equipment", and "Attach IR Strobe". During the night, you will also have the option on your scroll-wheel menu to turn on an IR strobe, which you can use without having an IR strobe in your inventory.

Basic Infantry Tactics

When in an operation, you will almost always be attached to a five-man fireteam. This team is comprised of a Team Leader (TL) and a team medic, along with three Operators who will hold various roles, e.g. marksman or anti-tank. Typically, this role will be assigned to you by your Team Leader after briefing, and he will request that you carry mission-specific equipment.

When moving with your team, it is important to maintain approximately fifteen meters of spacing from other team members at all times, unless circumstances dictate otherwise (e.g. trading gear, assisting with medical.) This is due to the high likelihood of entire buddy-teams or fireteams being easily wiped out or made ineffective by explosive munitions when clustered together.

If moving in any sort of formation, it is important to note that each team member is responsible for a sector. The Operator at the front of the formation should be sweeping roughly a 90-degree field to his front-left, front, and front-right. Similarly, the Operators at the right and left of the formation should be constantly sweeping their right or left, and the man in the rear of the move order should be periodically looking behind the team to ensure they are not being followed. When stopped, team members should be watching all sides of the formation, not simply the direction they had been moving. Maintaining security is paramount at all times, as one properly executed flanking maneuver can easily decimate an entire five-man team.

"ACEREPs/CASREPs & Everything In Between"

A common phrase you will hear repeated over your radio during operations is "ACEREP". ACEREP stands for "Ammo, Casualty, and Equipment Report". In crayon talk, it means; "How much lead you lugging?", "Are you or anyone else asleep or dead?", and "Do you still have the MEE?". It is primarily used as a method to tell whether a player or team member(s) have succumbed to their injuries. Dead men don't talk. If someone does not respond to an ACEREP on the radio, they are likely dead, or unconscious. You should always immediately notify the rest of your team that this person might be dead/down. Additionally, always be sure to know your condition before responding to an ACEREP. If you are completely uninjured, you're green. If you're just lightly injured, you're yellow. If you're very injured, then you're red. Finally, if you're injured but all bandaged and just need stitched, then you're blue.

In Closing

I hope you all enjoyed this guide, and that it serves you well during your operations here at Sigma Security Group. Remember, you are only as strong as you choose to be, and that this wall of text is only a summation of what I found to truly help me as a new member. With that, I have nothing further to say but; Keep trying, keep improving.

-E.

Last updated: 17 February, 2021