AAR A.Co FTX Operation Supply Town: Deaths Road SLD

[Komar.T]

DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY
S3 BATTLE STAFF
Headquarters
7th Cavalry Regiment
COMBAT AFTER ACTION REPORT
Name of Combat Mission: A/2-7 FTX Operation Supply Town: Deaths Road SLD
Game: Hell Let Loose
Server Hosted on: Training/Event
Date of Combat Mission: 27NOV22
Time of Combat Mission (Zulu): 2230Z​

Mission OIC: First Sergeant Komar.T
Mission Controller: First Sergeant Komar.T

Number of Attendees: 81
7th Cavalry Personnel Involved in Action:
Sergeant Major West.B
Captain Mix.C
Captain Rollins.R
First Sergeant Komar.T
First Sergeant Sven.S
First Lieutenant Smithson.R
Staff Sergeant Zimm.L
Staff Sergeant Hermes.S
Staff Sergeant Williamson.J
Staff Sergeant Becks.J
Staff Sergeant Rhodes.R
Sergeant Canuck.J
Sergeant Wayne.B
Sergeant Avery.D
Sergeant Meyer.T
Sergeant OBrien.T
Corporal Groves.W
Corporal Longmen.D
Corporal Reign.A
Corporal Ackelson.K
Corporal Griffin.B
Corporal Thrawn.N
Corporal Anderson.J
Corporal Jinto.H
Corporal Whaley.H
Corporal Smith.V
Corporal Dietz.H
Corporal Donato.E
Corporal Robertson.S
Specialist Mueller.H
Specialist Hampton.D
Specialist Rivard.C
Specialist James.K
Specialist Cooper.N
Specialist Alpine.A
Specialist Wags.D
Specialist Patty.O
Specialist Stenberg.P
Specialist McGee.C
Specialist Knapp.D
Specialist Anderson.P
Specialist Blade.B
Specialist Cantrell.J
Specialist Hall.S
Specialist Webber.R
Specialist Quake.B
Specialist Burgin.J
Specialist Hellious.T
Specialist Jefferzon.Z
Specialist Helms.J
Specialist Willis.B
Specialist Zimm.E
Specialist Williamson.JR
Specialist Steinmann.K
Specialist Hunt.J
Specialist Brick.J
Specialist Choi.S
Specialist Guillermo.C
Specialist Newman.A
Specialist Crow.J
Private First Class OCulien.M
Private First Class Balazova.S
Private First Class Loke.A
Private First Class Buller.M
Private First Class Carter.I
Private First Class Rousseau.A
Private First Class Lashley.E
Private First Class Herber.R
Private First Class Owens.J
Private First Class Berkowski.C
Private First Class OConnell.J
Private First Class Grenier.S
Private Landry.G
Private Kiing.T
Private Winter.A
Private Coutu.M
Private Cunningham.H
Recruit Whitefish.S
Recruit Slagg.J
RET SSG.D'Amico.J
RET SSG.Wolf.G

 

[Komar.T]

S3 BATTLE STAFF
Headquarters
7th Cavalry Regiment
COMBAT AFTER ACTION REPORT​

Element Callsign: Commander Team 2
Element Leader: First Sergeant Komar.T
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element: First Sergeant Komar.T


Pros:

• Great Turnout, in addition to 74/78 A.Co Members signed up, love to see everyone getting involved! Great 40 vs 40 Action
• Awesome Fire Fights for both rounds, Great all around Combat. Even Tank Play, Super competitive infantry action.
• Great Communication on Team two, No cluttered comms, Maneuvering was top notch by all sections to fill in gaps and adjust to contact.
• Great game planning session led to good tactical discussion and awareness from all SLs. As was mentioned during the hotwash the Pre-planning aspect could help cut down on the Rally Brief and help Organize everyone ahead of time.
• Everyone seemed to enjoy the FTX.
• Great Artillery action, seem to have found a sweet spot for number of rounds to not have overwhelming Artillery but still have enough that it is worth it.
• Big Thank you to everyone that came out, and all of the hard work over the last 2 months during SP's that showed up during the FTX. While maybe not solely focused on our TP topics, everything we have worked on showed up in one or the other over the course of both matches.

Cons:

• Cannot Please Everyone
• People forgetting that this is a training exercise and while some people will get competitive with it, we are here to learn from our mistakes and perceived "failures" on the battlefield to help us with future training. This is something that will be worked on to remind everyone at the start of every FTX that we are here to learn, and while there may be a "winner" and a "loser" we all win if we learn something.
• AT Rockets still need to be worked on.

 

[Robertson.S]

Element Callsign: Team 2: Bravo; Easy
Element Leader: Corporal Robertson.S
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
Private First Class Rousseau.A
Specialist James.K
Specialist Rivard.C

Pros:

• Great FTX well planned and executed
• Lots of fun
• Tough gun fights, great movement and comms

Cons:

• The guys wished more time was allowed for Hospice attack once nodes were destroyed

 

[Thrawn.N]

S3 BATTLE STAFF
Headquarters
7th Cavalry Regiment
COMBAT AFTER ACTION REPORT​

Element Callsign: Allies Team 1 Tank 3
Element Leader: CPL.Thrawn.N
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element: CPL.Thrawn.N
CPL.Jinto.H
PFC.Steinmann.K

Pros:

• Impressive display of training and combat plays
• Call-outs were on most parts accurate and well described to detail
• Infantry did fantastic job assisting tank crews

Cons:

• German defenders stiff defence!
• German nodes first round were in wrong keypad
• Bit of a loss of team stamina after the first round

 

[Balazova.S]

Element Callsign: Team 1, Tank 2
Element Leader: Private First Class Balazova.S
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
Private First Class Balazova.S
Specialist Guillermo.C
Private Coutu.M

Pros:

• Genuine feel of combat; coordinated and emergent strategies and leading to fun gunfights
• Cooperation between tank crew was great. Directions were executed skillfully
• Infantry support and communications with tank was great
• FTX was fun overall and objectives were challenging and engaging

Cons:

• Heavy command comms traffic made squad communications difficult

 

[Longmen.D]

S3 BATTLE STAFF
Headquarters
7th Cavalry Regiment
COMBAT AFTER ACTION REPORT​

Element Callsign: FTL 3 - Team 2
Element Leader:Cpl.Longmen.D
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
Cpl.Reign.A
Spc.Hampton.D
Spc Zimm.E
PFC.Anderson.P



Pros:

• Great Squad Level gameplay
• Great communication
• Good overall teamwork

Cons:

• Time (which is more of a complaint ie not long enoug)
• Balance issues
  • Which could have been due to planning on one team vs the other

 

[Williamson.J]

Element Callsign: Tank Commander Team 2 "The Law Firm"
Element Leader: SSG.Williamson.J
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element: SSG.Williamson.J, SPC.Williamson.JR, PVT.Winter.A

Pros:

• Very well planned FTX
• Balanced competition
• Great fun!

Cons:

• I think team 1 knew our attack plan in the second round. Were waiting for us in EXACTLY the right positions!

 

[Smith.V]

Element Callsign: Lead Tank Commander Team 1
Element Leader: CPL.Smith.V
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element: CPL.Smith.V; SPC.Choi.S; and SPC.Hunt.J.


Pros:

• FANTASTIC TURNOUT!
• FTX was well-planned and generally fun.
• Coordination among TCs was solid.
• Coordination between Infantry and Tanks has improved immensely since the last OP.

Cons:

• Perhaps the match could run a bit longer.

 

[Groves.W]

Element Callsign: Team 2: FTL1 SL TEAM 2
Element Leader: First Sergeant Komar.T
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:

PFC.Carter.I

SPC.Cooper.N

SPC.Mueller.H

PFC.O'Culien.M

Pros:

• Great FTX well planned and executed
• Lots of fun
• Tough gun fights, great movement and comms
• Great marksmanship within the squad

Cons: No cons overall

 

[Zimm.L]

S3 BATTLE STAFF
Headquarters
7th Cavalry Regiment
COMBAT AFTER ACTION REPORT​

Element Callsign: Allies SL comms 1
Element Leader: Staff Sergeant Zimm.L
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element: Staff Sergeant Zimm.L


Pros:

• good comms between everyone
• good fight

Cons:

• nodes were in the wrong key pad when we were on the attack
• should not be able to plan before FTX before the FTX
• Teams based off experience were uneven

 

[Griffin.B]

Element Callsign: Tank Commander Team 2
Element Leader: Corporal Griffin.B
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element: Corporal Griffin.B, Corporal Anderson.J, Corporal Whaley.H


Pros:

• Great FTX was well planned. Gave us a great opportunity to showcase our skills.
• Tough tank battles, both sides were very evenly matched

Cons: None to report

 

[Avery.D]

Element Callsign: Team 1 SL 2 King US and Jig German
Element Leader: Sergeant Avery.D
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
Sergeant Major West.B
Sergeant Meyer.T
Specialist Newman.A
Specialist Crow.J
Private First Class Loke.A
Private Cunningham.H

Pros:

• Was very fun
• Very strong push when match started

Cons:

• Enemy nods were built in the wrong keypad

 

[Webber.R]

S3 BATTLE STAFF
Headquarters
7th Cavalry Regiment
COMBAT AFTER ACTION REPORT​

Element Callsign: Team 2: PL1 - FT4 (George and Item)
Element Leader: SPC.Webber.R

7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element
SPC.Burgin.J
PFC.Herber.R
RCT.Whitefish.S

Pros:

• Great hold on Defense
• Shifted positions quickly when enemy concentration shifted
• Great comms work
• Able to bounce back fairly quickly after our initial offensive push did not work and envelope the enemy from north and south simultaneously

Cons:

• Work on covering bounding movements at a squad level, times where we were taken out together because no one was covering an advance
• Artillery Smoke was unfortunately not able to cover our initial advance on offense leading to both transport trucks being taken out immediately

 

[Wayne.B]

Element Callsign: Lead Tank Commander - Team 2
Element Leader: Sergeant Wayne.B
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
Corporal Ackelson.K
Specialist Brick.J

Pros:

• Outstanding maneuver to eliminate two enemy tanks allowing infantry to push onto the objective!
• Excellent communication inside and out of the tank between other armored units and infantry.
• Successfully defended the main objective in Round 1.
• Completed the main objective in Round 2.
• Great attendance!

Cons:

• Initial push failed in Round 2, but recovered quickly.
• Setup time inadequate for tank spawns.

 

[Canuck.J]

Element Callsign: C/1/A/2-7
Element Leader: Sergeant Canuck.J
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element: Specialist Jefferzon.Z, Specialist Helms.J, Private First Class Lashley.E


Pros:

• Good FTX, good objective.
• Arty was used effectively. Good number of rounds.

Cons:

• I think the planning needs to be fair. Both teams should get an equal planning time. Not everyone as the time or ability to do so outside of FTX time. Release Op ord only on FTX time and give planning time during the FTX. 15-30 min Roll call/ OP brief, 15-30 min team planning, 60 min Live, 15 min Hotwash.
• I am not sure the hospice Objective was necessary. After losing the nodes it felt like it was just adding on.
• Could've used more arty smokes rounds.
• Dont like splitting the platoon. Breaks the team and core spirit, but I understand.

 

[Hermes.S]

Element Callsign: B/1/A/2-7, "Charlie Squad"
Element Leader: Staff Sergeant Hermes.S
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
Specialist Quake.B
Specialist Hall.S
Private Kiing.T
Recruit Slagg.J

Pros:

• Strong fighting from the squad
• Excellent communication all around (everyone called the warm/hot Garris/op)
• Effective support by fire
• Strong defense holding heavy pushes from both the North and the East.
• Great overall Structure and implementation of the FTX
• Thank you to all the extras that showed up to support a great time.
• Effective and immediate role changes
• Unplanned but surprisingly effective behind-the-lines push (Sacking the garri on the AO)
• Solid squad work that pulled multiple enemy squads from the AO (offensive)

Cons:

• I disagree that nodes were incorrectly placed as confirmed by multiple people post-game.
• The main buildings that required smoke to allow truck movement, had zero smoke, which caused both trucks to go down almost immediately. That entire truck rush was completely dependent on the smoke hitting the area requested.
• Should've pushed the trucks far south with the tanks as the tanks made it to the MSR
• I disagree regarding the planning. I think planning is part of the fun. I think the time given was more than fair. I think the opportunity was more than available as I know that all parties had the ability to spend some minimal time planning (3 days) but chose not to (as evidenced by playing other games) Knowing that individuals reached out to all parties and were met with almost total silence is disheartening. Planning may not be for everyone however I don't think it's fair to rain on the planning parade because individuals choose not to put that effort in.
• Hospice was a fun idea but unnecessary
• Don't like splitting the platoon. Breaks the team and core spirit, but I understand.
• Signing the roll call for the FTX should count for the weekly roll call requirement. If it meets the need for attendance then the signing should too. I feel it's a double standard.
• The third tank was left behind on the initial push by almost 50-75 meter.
• The initial push started before any artillery smoke was even fired. Was there a call made to push?

 

[Smithson.R]

Element Callsign: Team 2: Single squad
Element Leader: Smithson.R
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:


Pros:

• Great FTX well planned and executed. Good balanced teams.
• Lots of actions. Hard to plan 80 people ftx so very well done!
• Strong opponent

Cons:

• none

 

[Becks.J]

Element Callsign: Team Rollins, FTL4
Element Leader: Staff Sergeant Becks.J
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
Sergeant First Class Gibbs.B
Staff Sergeant Becks.J
Corporal Donato.E
Specialist Patty.O
Specialist Stenberg.P
Specialist McGee.C

Pros:

• Great section attendance
• Made effective use of AT gun and with tank support on south flank able to start pushing.
• use of smokes
• great section comms on the defence
• great position as section having many arcs covered on the node point on the defence. Until we were driven out by their armoured push.

Cons:

• Continuous tank presence with strong infantry support on south flank proved very difficult to counter. We did not have much cover there as infantry to hid from the tanks while also being pushed by infantry in wheat field. Would have liked to see armour support sooner. When we flipped they again had strong armour in that area and pushed through and flanked the point.
• Were not able to get into a position to provide SBF for main assault until latter stages because of that.
• Defence went well until we were overun by armour fairly suddenly at one point. Did not have enough Anti tank capability to the south.

 

[Hellious.T]

Element Callsign: Fire Team Leader 3, Team 1
Element Leader: Specialist Hellious.T
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
Specialist Willis.B
Private First Class Grenier.S


Pros:

• For the attack phase of the operation troopers performed above their punching weight when taking the important three story building north of checkpoint and the nodes, described by enemies after combat as what was thought to be more than a three person squad
• Troopers performed appropriate coverage of moving tanks and kept the northern most tank free of infantry on the push.
• The non hard-cap points of control, ie "nodes" continue to perform as optimal objectives.
• The combination of a hard-cap and nodes both being important as stepping stones was well put together was an interesting secondary objective
• Comms were decent for the most part
• Tanks played a pivotal roll establishing the early base of operations on first push - even if it collapsed from a nice flank
• watching the truck rush go up into a torrent of flames had the team mad giggling

Cons:

• A couple tanks were flanked early on the push may have been able to been avoided by some lagging troops to watch rears
• The planning portions seems to have caused some issues and is not everyone's thing - nothing is everyone's thing
• some comms in the middling portion of offense lost cohesion

 

[Dietz.H]

Element Callsign: Team 2 SL 2
Element Leader: Corporal Dietz.H
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
Specialist Blade.B
Specialist Cantrell.J
Specialist Knapp.D
Private First Class Buller.M
Private First Class Owens.J

Pros:

• Great Turnout
• Strategy meeting for team 2 seemed to have done an excellent job at preparing us. I felt very comfortable in my role.
• excellent call outs by my squad and the team as a whole
• imo my squad did a good job at being QRF and reacting to contact/repositioning where needed. They even managed to help retake the enemies foothold on our right flank.

Cons:

• in my squad, unit cohesion on attack could be improved
• overall coordination after the hail mary play failed was a little lacking. But Komar managed to rally everyone and give assignments.