Basic Infantry Communication

Within a Fireteam it is important that personnel are able to communicate clearly and effectively. Most communication in a Fireteam is verbal communication and does not rely on a radio.

Note

Fireteam members should only use the radio when separated from the team leader or when transmitting information that is time critical to the entire squad.

95% of Fireteam communication is verbal and does not require radio use

In general the squad network should be kept clear so that Team Leaders can talk to Squad Leaders

Setting up an AN/PRC 343 Radio

Infantry in the RRF are issued with the AN/PRC 343 radio. This is a secure, extremely short range squad radio. It is designed for intra squad communications and has a small, weak antenna which can limit its transmission capabilities when inside buildings or behind terrain.

The 343 can only be tuned to preset channels and blocks. The OPORD will provide information on the channel and block configuration of the 343 for your element in the operation.

The radio can be opened and adjusted through the ACE menu under Radios.

Methods of Communication

Within a Fireteam there are only four basic communication concepts that need to be undertaken. You were introduced to some of these concepts during BCT.

Sending Radio Traffic

Each position in the unit has a unique callsign that should be used for radio communications.

To send traffic, you must include an address and a terminator. Much like an address on a letter this states who is sending and receiving the traffic.

This looks as follows:

YOU, this is ME, .... Over.

This ensures that your traffic reaches the correct person and that they are aware who sent it. The over ensures that people know when the net is free for them to send their traffic as interruptions interfere with the clarity of the messages.

The Radio Check

This communication is used to verify that a radio frequency is working correctly and both sides are able to Transmit and Receive traffic.

To initiate a radio check, simply say:

Any station, this is CALLSIGN on FREQUENCY, radio check over.

If someone is able to hear you they should respond:

CALLSIGN, this is ME. Roger on FREQUENCY over.

Note

If a frequency is received with poor reception you should respond to their radio check with:

CALLSIGN, this is ME, you are coming in broken and unreadable over.

Warning

You should NOT use five by notation to describe radio clarity. We do not use this mechanism and it does not form part of our COM standards.

ACE Report

The ACE report is an extension of the ACE report you were shown during BCT with the exception that you must now wrap them correctly for radio communication.

Do note that this method is limited to squad nets and more formal procedures exist for platoon and higher networks.

You, this is me, I am Green, Green, Green on ACE over.

You will normally send this to your team or squad leader so that they can maintain a current image of their squad/team’s capabilities. They will also be relaying this up to higher command to maintain visibility and coordinate logistics units for your element. As such it is important that you’re ACE report is clear and accurate.

Note

Do not guesstimate your equipment levels - take time to accurately check your remaining ammunition and evaluate it relative to what you started with.

Contact Report

Reporting that you are being engaged is an urgent communication but you should still use the wrapper format so that people know who made the call.

The format for a contact report is the same as the techniques learnt in BCT, except it is now over a radio:

You, this is Me, Taking Contact Distance, Direction, Description Over

PACE ( Primary, Alternate, Contigency and Emergency Communications ) plans

At the start of any mission your team will be issued with a PACE plan. This details the communication methods that will be used if other fail.

The SOP for the 1st RRF is voice, radio, runner and visual signal - however this may be changed on a per Operation Basis by leadership.

You should only move to the next method of communication once the one before it has proven incapable.

Finishing touches for radio protocols

In general a squad radio frequency is a relatively informal channel and there are no penalties for omitting the formalities. However as you progress to higher stations in the unit you will be penalised for omitting radio formalities on higher channels.

In general you should avoid using the radio and allow your fire team leader to relay information to the squad leader. This helps to improve the speed and clarity of the channel for leadership resulting in greater efficiency.