Operation Iron Bamboo 12 SEP 26

[Conner.D]

DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY
S3 BATTLE STAFF
Headquarters
7th Cavalry Regiment
COMBAT AFTER ACTION REPORT​

Name of Combat Mission: Operation Iron Bamboo
Game: Hell Let Loose: Vietnam
Server Hosted on:
Date of Combat Mission: 12 SEP 26
Time of Combat Mission (Zulu): 2359Z
Mission OIC: Major Cree.T
Mission Controller: First Lieutenant Conner.D
Secondary Mission Controller: First Lieutenant Roderick.S
Number of Attendees: 69

7th Cavalry Personnel Involved in Action:
Major Cree.T
Major Macpherson.C
Captain Sotelo.R
Captain Swanson.B
First Lieutenant Angels.N
First Lieutenant Conner.D
First Lieutenant D'Amico.J
First Lieutenant Roderick.S
Second Lieutenant Freeman.S
Second Lieutenant Lewis.P
Sergeant Major White.C
First Sergeant Herber.R
Master Sergeant Wisniewski.A
Sergeant Banfield.H
Sergeant Donk.B
Sergeant Dozer.JW
Sergeant Fox.F
Sergeant Moff.N
Sergeant Rhamaad.K
Sergeant Rogers.RM
Sergeant Tyszka.C
Corporal Baldrick.D
Corporal Bazzle.J
Corporal Cross.E
Corporal Flick.J
Corporal Harris.W
Corporal Hermes.S
Corporal Jinto.H
Corporal Kenton.W
Corporal Shults.M
Corporal Sorrel.M
Corporal Thrawn.N
Corporal Tilley.B
Corporal West.R
Corporal Williams.S
Specialist Armstrong.AL
Specialist Bartley.M
Specialist Bauvil.C
Specialist Drum.C
Specialist Eri.C
Specialist Farmer.D
Specialist Gruen.G
Specialist Hendrix.J
Specialist Loup.N
Specialist Miller.F
Specialist Stout.S
Specialist Stripes.P
Specialist Suplee.B
Private First Class Boney.B
Private First Class Foxx.R
Private First Class Harvey.L
Private First Class Fenrir.J
Private First Class Hunt.R
Private First Class September.C
Private First Class Smith.ER
Private Austin.C
Private Bouzer.M
Private Goose.B
Private Gutierrez.CE
Private Hall.C
Private Jackson. JW
Private Lindner. S
Private Tanner.L

Attending Without Credit:
First Sergeant Rasmus.M RET
First Sergeant Webber.R RET
Sergeant Lee.JS RET
Recruit Fenix.M
Recruit Steele.MW
Recruit Whitaker.R

 

[Conner.D]

Element Callsign: Recon 1
Element Leader: First Lieutenant Conner.D
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element: Private First Class Fenrir.J


Pros:

• Aggressive use of recon allowed us to kill numerous enemy spawns
• Used helicopters for insertion and movement around the enemy's backlines
• Maintained a presence behind enemy lines the entire match

Cons:

• Command comms was entirely too crowded and loud
• Need to establish assault SOPs that establish two air mobile Squads-they would operate as initial assault and once main body moved in, they would back out to waiting helicopters to quickly move to the next point
• Need to get more aggressive with boats and supply drops from helicopters in preparation for future moves

 

[Fox.F]

Element Callsign: Sergeant Fox.F
Element Leader: NVA SL
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
Private First Class Smith.ER
Specialist Farmer.D


Pros:

• Everyone played well and the squad was super efficient in switching to whatever I needed and were extremely effective on the battlefield.
• With Vietnam there is a lot more "stuff" to build and take care of. While it could definitely improve. There was good communication on building nodes, rebuilding nodes, drop supplies, driving boats, building garrisons and building tunnels.
• Lots of new strategy to learn and figure out, given that we did a really good job coming up with a general strategy and following through.
• Team recognized that we needed a front line to push. Too many tools for sneaky spawns can lead to bad decision making and losing the point.
• Commander did a great job explaining the general strategy and tactics that they wanted to see throughout the match.

Cons:

• We need more AA guns. My squad was one of the only squads that continually did so. Controlling the air is going to be vital for NVA.
• More boat usage. Should never be a boat sitting idle in spawn, specially with the NVA at 5 garrison cap.
• With the tunnel cooldown, somehow squads are gonna have to coordinate to switch between squads to build tunnels like we do with double supply drops.
• Lots of new players, but faster start time would be nice

 

[DAmico.J]

Element Callsign:
Element Leader: First Lieutenant DAmico.J
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element: Corporal Kenton.W

Pros:

• Playing recon in Vietnam is one of the most exciting and awesome experiences, especially in a 7th Cavalry op. 10/10 would do again.
• Vanilla operation is a great starting point. Keeping it simple was a smart play. I'm excited to see what else we can do!
• The NVA had a fantastic comeback to pull out the win. The US team pushed us so intensely and kept in the fight the whole match. We never felt secure. We could never relax. It was an awesome fight!

Cons:

• The sound that the tunnels make is pretty distinct and can be heard from quite a distance. They might as well as turn them into airhorns with neon signs. I built at least six tunnels that lasted no more than 30 seconds. It made for a very frustrating experience.
• The shortage of garrisons increased the challenge we faced. Being limited to 5 with the way tunnels stand at the moment has skewed the advantage strongly in favor of the USA.
• The team had a hard time getting their footing for a lot of the match. We failed to establish a front line off the defensive objective to push towards the enemy, and we barely captured the center. We got a couple of US garrisons to secure the capture, but it wasn't a "clean" capture by any means. After the capture, we did a lot better at establishing the defense.

 

[Tyszka.C]

Element Callsign: Helo 1
Element Leader: SGT.Tyszka.C
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
SGT.Tyszka.C

Pros:
Was able to provide eye in sky for intel on troop/armor/boat movement/locations.
Long flight times lead to lots of intel getting exchanged verbally.
Was able to put weight into both defense and offense points.


Cons:
No co-pilot to pop flares was a huge intel lose for attacking and defending squads.
After initial push calls for pick up extremely rare.
No co-pilot to mark map with pings.
Helo's not utilized properly.
Helo doctrine needs to be established and addressed.

 

[Rhamaad.K]

Element Callsign: US Baker Infantry
Element Leader: Sergeant Rhamaad.K
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
Private Whitaker.R
Recruit Steele.MW

Pros:

• Everyone had fun, easy to play once they got through the sign on process
• A lot of opportunities to experience new things
• Able to pass along tips and tricks

Cons:

• Small squad meant unable to effectively apply pressure
• Did not use trasnport helicopter drops enough as a squad

 

[Rasmus.M]

Element Callsign: Recon NVA
Element Leader: First Sergeant Rasmus.M Retired
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
First Sergeant Rasmus.M Retired
Captain Swanson.B

Pros:

• Well balanced, fun match.
• Really nice to play this game with an entire organized team. Looking forward for the next operations !
• Disrupted enemy nodes, garrisons (7) and outposts (8).

Cons:

• We could have done even more tunnels.

 

[Dozer.JW]

Element Callsign: US Easy Squad Infantry
Element Leader: Sergeant Dozer.JW
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
Corporal Sorrel.M
Sergeant Lee.JS
Corporal Cross.E
Private Gutierrez.CE
Private First Class September.C


Pros:

• Effective at destroying enemy spawns.
• Good defense as a squad, coordinated well and destroyed enemy spawn points.
• Patient and effetctive

Cons:

• Too aggressive on the 4th point
• Recon and heli's needed to notice the cap race at the end and respond according.
• Designation for infantry squad, so that we know who defense is, who is the assault so commander can easily flex the other squads without losing front door or defense.

 

[Banfield.H]

Element Callsign: American Tank 1 "Heresy's voice"
Element Leader: Sergeant Banfield.H
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
Corporal Thrawn.N
Corporal Flick.J

Pros:

• New game cool operation, which was a good opportunity to experience and adapt to the new environment.

Cons:

• Lack of comms discipline: The operation started poorly due to a lack of proper comms discipline. At several points, I had to mute or otherwise limit communications so I could communicate effectively with my tank crew before the operation. I understand that there are new players and members learning the game, but this should be emphasised at the squad level to ensure comms remain clear and manageable.
• Lack of Command pings: The lack of Command pings made positioning the tank extremely difficult. We were effectively pushing both offensively and defensively without sufficient information on enemy positions or friendly objectives, which made it very difficult to position the tank effectively.
• Poor communication and responsiveness: Having to repeatedly ask for information or support throughout the operation was extremely frustrating. Communication between squads and command needs to be more consistent, particularly when coordinating armour and infantry.
• Lack of American AT pressure: The lack of effective American AT pressure allowed an NVA tank to repeatedly move around the middle point with very little resistance. This was a significant issue and should have been addressed much earlier, as it gave the enemy armour far too much freedom to operate.
• Lack of garrisons: The lack of garrisons for both offensive and defensive operations made working alongside infantry extremely difficult. Without reliable spawn points, infantry were unable to effectively reinforce or maintain pressure on objectives, which significantly limited the effectiveness of the operation.

 

[Angels.N]

Element Callsign: NVA "George" Squad
Element Leader: First Lieutenant Nate Angels
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
Corporal Best Tilley
Corporal Joseph Bazzle
Private James Wayne Jackson

Pros:

• Absolute blast tonight. Squad loved the operation and love being on the frontlines and pushing the US forces back, which helped alleviate the pressure a little bit on the middle point.
• Squad comms were on point and precise. We were very good at coordinating during tonight's match.
• A bit kudos to my squadmates, they absolutely killed it out there and I was happy to lead them.

Cons:

• Command comms need to be fixed. There were many moments where we would talk over each other and some important information was most probably missed.
• NVA was a little bit spread thin at the beginning of the operation but we were able to bring back the thunder and push in.

 

[White.C]

Element Callsign: USA Mortar Team 2
Element Leader: Sergeant Major White.C
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
Sergeant Major White.C
Specialist Loup.N

Pros:

• Having the first OP as a Vanilla match was good. Best not to overcomplicate the game as we are still fresh into the release.
• Good attendance.

Cons:

• Comms at rally need to be cleaned up. If we keep things clear while we try to take attendance, it would speed things up greatly. After the initial wave of attendance taking, we are able to sort or help those who are not place or don't know where they are placed.
• Command comms need to remain respectful.

 

[Donk.B]

Element Callsign:TANK 1 Lead Tank NVA
Element Leader: SGT.Donk.B
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
SPC.Drum.C
SPC.Hendrix.J

Pros:

• 1st time tanking ever in an Operation and first time I ever Tank Commanded in Vietnam, was stressful, overwhelming, but a blast. Glad I got past those barriers.
• Drum and Hendrix had good comms and cooperative within the tank.
• A great side effect of having only one tank team was we never had to wait for a tank, and our mistakes were not as discouraging.

Cons:

• We must school newer folks on what Comms Official means.
• Do not say "Me". Do not Say "i": there are over 60 people in the discord channel. The folks trying to orderly set up the operation should not have to deal with 30 low quality interuptions. Put your concern in the open chat, with a ? ! prefix. It will be addressed. The training server will be posted. The pass will be posted. Do not interrupt the flow of information with memes which will cause everyone to ask the same question over and over.

 

[Rogers.RM]

Element Callsign: Helo 2 (Jig)
Element Leader: Sergeant Rogers.RM
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element: Corporal West.R


PROS:

• The match was enjoyable overall, and the teams appeared to be fairly balanced, with the exception of Corporal Tilly.B... He is a stone cold helicopter killer, needs that recognition by his squadmates
• There were several high-intensity, action-packed flyovers conducted to provide support and deliver supplies, which made the experience particularly enjoyable. Flying the helicopter was a great experience and provided a valuable opportunity to become more familiar and comfortable with the controls.
• Leadership communications could have been more effective by being more concise and deliberate. At times, there was unnecessary communication that made it more difficult to focus on the situation at hand.

CONS:

• One specific issue was being repeatedly instructed by an SL to drop supplies while we were already in the process of doing so. This occurred while we were actively taking fire from a rocket launcher. Rather than directing fire or attention toward the immediate threat, the SL appeared to focus on our helicopter in the air. In situations like this, prioritizing the active threat and maintaining clear, concise communication would help improve coordination and overall effectiveness

 

[Roderick.S]

Element Callsign: USA Squad 3
Element Leader: First Lieutenant Roderick.S
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
Specialist Eri.C
Specialist Stripes.P
Specialist Gruen.G
Specialist Stout.S
Private Bouzer.M

Pros:

• Hard fought match

Cons:

• I felt like after capturing the 4th point, I think we could've focused on defending the point instead of fortifying the previous point as the payoff for buildables aren't there without heavy coordination
• Comms need a lot of practice.
  • Pings and map markers need to be utilized better
  • Use of squad comms to get troopers to mark your position instead of crowding command comms.
  • Clear concise comms needed

 

[Sotelo.R]

Element Callsign: NVA Mortar Squad #2
Element Leader: Captain Sotelo.R
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
Captain Sotelo.R
Sergeant Moff.N
Corporal Jinto.H

Pros:

Cons:

 

[Macpherson.C]

Element Callsign: NVA Charlie
Element Leader: Major Macpherson.C
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
First Sergeant Herber.R
Specialist Armstrong.AL
Specialist Bauvil.C
First Sergeant Webber.R (retired)


Pros:

• Great first Op to kick off Vietnam
• Amazing squad communication and Cohesion
• Herber going nuts
• Freeman did great as commander for the first game of Vietnam

Cons:

• Command Comms were okay, but could be cleaned up

 

[Williams.S]

Element Callsign:
Element Leader: NVA Mortar
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element: PVT.Foxx.R


Pros:

• Good comms, great coordination be commander, and Victory!

Cons:

• Lack of effectiveness by myself and the need for further mortar training and testing.

 

[Shults.M]

Element call sign:US side.fox
Element leader:CPL.Shults.M 7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element: FC.Hunt.R, SPC.Miller.J, Pros: good communication and teamwork
Cons: command chat need to be quick and and short

 

[Freeman.S]

Element Callsign: NVA Commander
Element Leader: 2LT Skeets Freeman
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:


Pros:

• Great job by defensive focused squads (Wis and team) on stabilizing early game counter and defense.
• Great job by Hermes squad for taking control of center point defense and Garrison reestablishment
• Herber and Tilley sent many folks to the gulag.
• D'Amico's squad adjusting constantly to reestablish battlefield control and place KEY garrisons in critical moments.
• Donk adjusting on the fly and commanding first Vietnam tank
• Very fun game, command comms were clear and effective, but fun spirited, made the game very enjoyable.

Cons:

• Slow to adjust when recognizing how effective Helis were for gathering recon
• Slow to rebuild nodes after US destroyed
• Some squads non-responsive / cooperative in command coms

 

[Wisniewski.A]

Element Callsign: NVA - "Delta" Squad
Element Leader: Master Sergeant Wisniewski.A
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
Second Lieutenant Lewis.P
Private First Class Boney.B
Private Tanner.L

Pros:

• NVA Recovered well from a slow start
• NVA did a solid job adjusting to a quickly changing battlefield. Americans did an impressive job finding and destroying spawn points as quickly as we could put them up
• Very fun operation, glad to be getting back into them!

Cons:

• Command Comms were a bit to hectic, people were being talked over quite often
• Sloppy start, people were running around and letting off rounds pre-match. If troopers spawn in, they should have bandages out and be awaiting orders.