為任務作準備(原文)

All in-game leadership is ultimately focused at working towards mission accomplishment. Regardless of what the particular mission may be, there are certain common steps taken to go from the slot-selection screen of Arma, all the way into the actual mission itself, with the end goal being a solid plan that has been briefed to all players and leaders.

This section will cover everything involved in the process, from picking slots to planning and ultimately executing the plan. All players should be familiar with the steps involved, and leaders (or aspiring leaders) should pay extra attention to all that is involved.

THE BRIEFING / OPERATIONS ORDER / 5 PARAGRAPH ORDER

THE MISSION DESIGNER AS THE ‘HIGHER HEADQUARTERS’

It is generally understood that the person who developed the mission is acting as the ‘Higher Headquarters’ during the pre-mission setup phase – be that Company Command at lower playercounts, or Battalion Command at higher playercounts.

What this means is that if the mission commander – be they a Company Commander or Platoon Commander – or other leadership elements have a question that is not covered in the written operations order, the mission designer can act as the higher headquarters and give an answer appropriate to what the ‘real’ higher HQ would be able to say in such a situation. This is helpful for anything that the leadership needs to know that may have been overlooked or unintentionally unclear in the briefing.

THE BRIEFING SCREEN

After picking your role, the next pre-mission step is the briefing stage. During this, all players will have access to the in-game map, the briefing, notes, gear loadouts, and will be able to place map markers and text to assist in mission planning.

The mission briefing is designed to give all of the information needed to create a proper plan that can be carried out by the platoon. It is the responsibility of all squad leaders, fireteam leaders, special element leaders, and the mission commander to be familiar with the details of the briefing. Knowing the briefing benefits everyone, as it allows for everyone to be familiar with the ‘big picture’ of what they are expected to be accomplishing within the mission and helps to unify the entire unit. All players are highly encouraged to read it as well.

SMEAC – THE 5 PARAGRAPH OPERATIONS ORDER

Mission briefings generally follow the “Five paragraph order" format – also known as “SMEAC" – condensed to fit in the framework of Arma. In this, information is presented in a standardized fashion, allowing for any player to easily find out what he needs to know about the mission with minimum fuss.

SMEAC breaks down as follows. Bear in mind that it is up to the mission designer to decide what elements are important to be presented in the briefing – the “Keep it simple" rule is employed when writing the actual briefing, while this information is used to help guide that process.

SITUATION

  • What is the premise of the mission? Why is your unit where it is, and what’s happening around it? What is the “big picture"?
  • What kind of forces does your unit have?
  • What kind of forces (if any) are supporting you or attached to your unit? This includes close air support, artillery, armor, or any other combined-arms assets.
  • What kind of forces and support does the enemy have?
  • What is the enemy expected to do?

MISSION

  • What is your unit tasked with doing? Who else (if anyone) is involved in the mission?
  • When and where does the mission take place? What is the time allowed?
  • Why has the mission been given to your unit?
  • What is the desired end-state? Basically – what is/are your collective goal(s)?

EXECUTION

  • Commander’s Intent
  • How will the mission be conducted? Scheme of Maneuver, tasks, etc. How will the unit get to the end state?

ADMINISTRATION/LOGISTICS

  • Is ammo resupply available?
  • Are medevac assets available, such as medical helicopters or ambulance HMMWVs?
  • Are there any special rules for dealing with Enemy Prisoners of War (EPWs)?
  • Is fire support available? Artillery, naval gunfire, et cetera?
  • Is close air support available?

COMMAND/SIGNAL

  • Are there any special rules or considerations that must be made for communications? For example – special radio rules or loadouts, smoke or flare colors and meanings, etc. If there are no special rules, this is simply listed as “SOP", for “Standard Operating Procedure".

SAMPLE OPERATIONS ORDER FOR “CELLE DIVISION"

The following is an operations order (OPORD) for a large-scale combined-arms mission. Note that complexity is not necessary to convey the main points of the mission. Keeping a briefing simple, while conveying the important parts, will result in more people reading it and getting more from it than from a similar but overly-complex briefing. Writing a novel in your OPORD is definitely to be avoided. If you want to include background information, put it in a separate section that is optional reading, and ensure that any important information from it is conveyed succinctly in the OPORD.

SITUATION

Recon Company was ambushed by enemy recon teams in the north. They dismounted and destroyed the immediate threats but now only have a few minutes to get into cover and hold out until reinforced by Hammer and Tango companies.

  • FRIENDLY FORCES:
    • ShackTac Armored Battalion:
      • 1x Recon Company (dismounted with air lift capabilities).
      • 2x M1A2 Company (“Hammer" and “Tango") with attached M88 and M6 vehicles.
    • Air wing:
      • 2x CH-47, callsign ‘Big Bird’
      • 1x AV8B2, callsign ‘Pavement’
      • 1x A10, callsign ‘Hawg’
      • 2x AH64, callsign ‘Ugly’
    • Additional friendly forces are en route from the south but no ETA is known at this time.
  • ENEMY FORCES:
    • Russian Mechanized and helibourne infantry, armor, aircraft. There are more enemy recon teams scattered around which will need clearing out before they can bring in reinforcements.

MISSION

  • Defend Celle 2 from determined push from Russian forces.

EXECUTION

  • Bn Commander’s Intent
    • Air should provide aerial recon of the AO in addition to tasking.
  • Movement Plan
    • Recon company should use the Big Birds to redeploy around the AO. All aircraft should avoid going in the marked region to reduce exposure to enemy AA fire.
    • Air should stay grounded until Tank Companies are ready to move.
  • Fire Support Plan
    • Battalion has 3x MLRS at Celle airbase (which can be rearmed).
    • 2x AH64D
    • 1x Harrier
    • 1x A-10C
  • Tasks
    • Ensure all enemy anti-tank assets are disabled or destroyed.

ADMINISTRATION/LOGISTICS

  • Support:
    • Wheeled vehicles:
      • Can have their wheels repaired by action.
    • Armored vehicles:
      • Can have their tracks repaired to orange status by action.
      • Any hull/engine damage can not be repaired.
      • Can have tracks and gun/turret repaired fully by M88s.
    • Aircraft:
      • Can quickly repair/refuel once landed at the airbase inside the blue circle by action.
      • Can be partially repaired/refueled by action outside of the airbase or by the M88, enough to get back to base at least.
  • Resupply:
    • Recon infantry can resupply from the (broken) Warriors at their starting position.

COMMAND/SIGNAL

  • ShackTac SOP