AAR A/2-7 FTX Operation Holy Smoke

[Komar.T]

DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY
S3 BATTLE STAFF
Headquarters
7th Cavalry Regiment
COMBAT AFTER ACTION REPORT
Name of Combat Mission: A.Co FTX Operation Holy Smoke
Game: Hell Let Loose
Server Hosted on: Training/Event
Date of Combat Mission: 26FEB24
Time of Combat Mission (Zulu): 0015Z​

Mission OIC: First Sergeant Komar.T
Mission Controller: First Sergeant Komar.T
Number of Attendees: 100
7th Cavalry Personnel Involved in Action:
Major Mix.C
First Lieutenant Smith.V
First Lieutenant Longmen.D
Second Lieutenant Huber.B
Second Lieutenant Anderson.P
Sergeant Major West.B
First Sergeant Komar.T
First Sergeant Balazova.S
Master Sergeant Zimm.L
Staff Sergeant Hellious.T
Staff Sergeant Hermes.S
Staff Sergeant Webber.R
Staff Sergeant Avery.D
Staff Sergeant Dietz.H
Staff Sergeant Mueller.H
Sergeant Herber.R
Sergeant Zulu.P
Sergeant Cantrell.J
Sergeant Rhodes.R
Sergeant Rasmus.M
Sergeant Sotelo.R
Corporal Williamson.J
Corporal Karr.H
Corporal Willis.B
Corporal Silvis.B
Corporal Swanson.B
Corporal Meyer.T
Corporal Owens.J
Corporal Moskal.C
Corporal Donato.E
Corporal Carmine.J
Corporal Raine.A
Corporal Martin.R
Corporal Richmond.DA
Corporal Berkowski.C
Corporal Button.J
Corporal Guillermo.C
Corporal Lee.N
Specialist Joshothy.J
Specialist Maca.D
Specialist Cris.C
Specialist Plum.L
Specialist Quake.B
Specialist Kiing.T
Specialist Curran.J
Specialist Wisniewski.A
Specialist Jefferzon.Z
Specialist Grenier.S
Specialist Silvis.C
Specialist Landry.H
Specialist Bean.P
Specialist Evans.J
Specialist Mishchenko.A
Specialist Korfias.F
Specialist Jones.L
Specialist Sokol.Z
Specialist Felton.J
Specialist Eller.J
Specialist Jones.F
Specialist Baldrick.D
Specialist Chay.S
Specialist Wayne.C
Specialist Jayaraman.V
Specialist LaRoche.P
Specialist Canaday.A
Specialist Lust.K
Specialist Blade.B
Specialist Knapp.D
Specialist Walker.S
Specialist McGee.C
Specialist Hendershot.G
Specialist Ashie.L
Specialist Rilian.M
Specialist Riley.D
Specialist Woody.W
Specialist Williamson.JR
Specialist Leifried.R
Specialist Bas.D
Specialist Stenberg.P
Specialist Devito.D
Private First Class Kozera.A
Private First Class Knowles.J
Private First Class Remy.K
Private First Class Harris.W
Private First Class Larson.R
Private First Class Grayson.M
Private First Class Macpherson.C
Private First Class Cub.N
Private First Class Etoh.I
Private First Class Bazzle.J
Private First Class Lewis.J
Private McDonald.N
Private Kona.B
Private Holliday.A
Private Donk.B
Private Lee.E
Private Bogg.D
Private Knapp.J
Recruit Mawzi.B
RET Corporal Smith.N

 

[Komar.T]

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

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


Pros:

• Another 50 V50 Cav Match always great to see a full turn out! A new record for A.Co attendance with 77 Members attending crushing the previous Company record of 67, to go along with Full Company signups ahead of time Well Done All!
• FTX seemed to be enjoyed by the majority involved, all major objectives were completed by BOTH Sides. Felt like neither side won or lost at the end
• Platoon and Senior SL's did an excellent job crafting strategies and executing them to perfection on both sides. Hard fights during each phase
• Squad level execution was amazing, movement and reaction times were on point
• AXIS Communication structure seemed to really work, having Army groups who had set objectives and areas of control, minimal unnecessary command comms chatter
• Allies initial Rocket Barrage, while ineffective was amazing to watch!

Cons:

• Having to turn 8 people away
• Some OPORD rules could have been better emphasized to avoid some confusion
• Improper Tank Identification leading to some initial frustrations during the match
• Slight bunker mix up during set up phase caused a small delay in its construction but did not end up costing the AXIS in the end.
• Garrison only limitation still needs tweaking for second Phase, but even still Axis were able to hold the point for nearly 40+ minutes with only 3 garrison locations to spawn off of.
• not being able to attack and defend as was originally intended but scrapped late game due to time constraints from an extended time in Phase 1.
• Improving infantry Tank support and AT Gun destruction is a must for the next FTX, AXIS did poorly in this department and it cost us dearly with many tank assets destroyed, leaving gaps and lanes for the enemy to stream through

 

[Leifried.R]

Element Callsign: "Daddy's Belt" Tank Commander
Element Leader: SPC. Leifried.R
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:

SPC Bas.D
CPL Williamson.J

Pros:

• Great FTX
• Opposing force had a great plan and executed well
• Good coordination between very spread out units ( not easy to do )

Cons:

• Allies took full advantage of their ruleset and this ( maybe forseen or unforseen ) amount firepower it allowed them to bring to the fight in a concentrated area ( namely the corridor in between chapel & hill 5 as well as chapel proper ) was slightly one-sided feeling

 

[Swanson.B]

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

Element Callsign: Axis Echo Squad Leader
Element Leader: Corporal Swanson.B
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
Specialist Baldrick.D Specialist Jayaraman.V Specialist Canaday.A


Pros:

• My guys had a very good time overall on all phase. The game was very hard fought.
• I split my squad multiple time to hold position and also push the enemy's flanks and it was very successful.
• Communication on squad level was on point.
• Good rotation of class upon request.
• Our squad took a lot of OP while flanking from the far south.

Cons:

• Our plan south failed in phase 1 but we adapt very fast and kept our position.
• Op limitation and surrendering of Hill 5 were key points on the lost.
• The mid bunker wasn't built and so we had to take some of our planning time to build it when it wasn't planned to be our job so we couldn't place our defence as planned at some spot.

 

[Balazova.S]

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

Element Callsign: Lead Axis Tank
Element Leader: First Sergeant Balazova.S
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
First Sergeant Balazova.S
Corporal Guillermo.C
Specialist Williamson.JR

Pros:

• Planning was thorough and well executed
• Tanks were readily available whenever needed
• Coordination between friendly tanks was good and provided some situational awareness

Cons:

• Seemed to be flatfooted for most of the operation
• Lacked consistent intelligence for location of enemy tanks
• Friendly infantry struggled with enemy infantry such that they were unable to effectively obstruct the enemy tanks allowing the enemy tanks to have free mobility and to assault unmolested

 

[Herber.R]

Element Callsign: SL Axis
Element Leader: SGT.Herber.R
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
SPC.Felton
SPC.Jones
SPC.Eller
PFC.Knowles
PVT.Mcdonald

Pros:
Great communication amongst troopers and from other SL's and command.
Troopers and other squads flexed when needed and filled in gaps when and where they were needed.
Defense was impeccable! Especially being limited to a few garrisons and having no OP's.

Cons:
Lack of OP's. Not sure what the balance could have been with this but felt a bit hamstrung at the end.
Coordination between infantry and armor seemed to lack. If we supported our tanks a bit better we could have had them on the field a bit longer.

 

[LaRoche.P]

Element Callsign: Axis northern unit
Element Leader: SPC.Laroche.P
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:

CPL.Meyer.T
SPC.Jones.F
PVT.Bogg.D

Pros:

• Good layed out played from mission commander.
• Allies were a hell of a tough opponent so they kept us on our toes the entire time.
• Having to retreat a handful of times because we defended too well was good sportsmanship.

Cons:

• Restrictions in terms of garries and OP was hard.
• Not used to communicate only to a SL that will relay it back to command.

 

[Cantrell.J]

Element Callsign: Axis How Squad SL
Element Leader: Sergeant Cantrell.J
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
Specialist Knapp.D Corporal Lucas.A


Pros:
Communication was good squad had fun
Great FTX all around

Cons:
Enemy tanks staying out of the point and we couldn't push out to destroy them

 

[Sotelo.R]

Element Callsign: Allied Armor - "Cheap and Easy"
Element Leader: Sergeant Sotelo.R
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
Sergeant Sotelo.R
Corporal Berkowski.C
Corporal Button.J

Pros:

• AMERICAN CALLIOPE!
• Allied AT guns after taking Hill 5 was clutch, really good job
• FTX objectives were good, some work needed, but good overall
• Tank-to-tank and overall command comms felt pretty disciplined, save a couple moments
• Good assault on AA

Cons:

• Asset ID could be better

 

[Zimm.L]

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

Element Callsign: Allies Platoon Lead 1
Element Leader: Master Sergeant Zimm.L
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
Master Sergeant Zimm.L


Pros:

• Good Coms
• Good pushes done by my sections

Cons:

• Objectives were not easy to know if completed or not, cheap to put AT in crater
• basically same mission as last FTX just different map basically, was also on same side attacking
• a lot of restations makes it hard for commander and PL to make sure they are following them all might be better to have some one on over watch with admin
• the match is just a meat grinder for attackers it seems, why can't we have an attack then a defensive side instead of just attacking the whole time
• what was learned by the sections during this FTX shouldn't just be about fun
• after listing to leadership hotwash, it seems all the troopers and SL are having fun, but as PL i did not have fun
• would love to be with my full platoon for a FTX

 

[Korfias.F]

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

Element Callsign: Axis Dog Squad South
Element Leader: Specialist Korfias.F
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
Sergeant Zulu.P
Specialist Cris.C
Private First Class Kozera.A
Private First Class Knowles.J
Private Kona.B


Pros:

• Guys had a lot of fun, were a bit bored at the beginning defending down south but the action picked up.
• Really appreciate PFC Knowles.J flexing over to SGT Herber's squad when called for to add man power up north at AA Battery.
• Squad did well flexing and utilizing a roving defense.

Cons:

• Could have used more people dropping ammo to use. We ran out of ammo quite often, and found ourselves running towards the enemy with shovels out trying to score a kill and die to respawn with ammo.
• No OPs during phase 2, while I understand for balance, definitely made things more difficult having to run so far to defend from the garrisons that were placed.

 

[Longmen.D]

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

Element Callsign: Axis Center Platoon
Element Leader: First Lieutenant Longmen.D
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
Recruit Johnson.G


Pros:

• Platoon structure really awesome. Helped to navigate the FTX
• Johnson.G fit in really well in his debut. Way to go!

Cons:

• Loss of command and control toward the end (of my platoon)
• Would like a little more feedback for objective accomplishments

 

[Landry.H]

Element Callsign: SL Allies
Element Leader: SPC.Landry.H
7th Cav Personnel in Within Element:
SPC.Bean.P
SPC.Evans.J
PFC.Mishchenko.A
PVT.Lee.E
Pros:

• Use of smokes and movement between cover
• Command comms and inter squad comms were excellent
• Execution of plans and coordinated movement went surprisingly well

Cons:

• Unit communication devolved after 20 minutes or so
• Movement was difficult between points and sweeping up enemies while moving was difficult
• AT guns were placed in odd places that really didn't make sense in the context of the FTX

 

[Lee.N]

Element Callsign: Tank Lead 2, Callsign "Rocinante"
Element Leader: Corporal Lee.N
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
Corporal Lee.N
First Lieutenant Smith.V
Corporal Richmond.DA


Pros:

• GREAT Infantry and tank support throughout, very appreciated by us tankers
• Great callouts by infantry on tanks and infantry (see cons).
• Fun overall, would do this FTX again.
• ~131 infantry kills, 37 officers, 9 vehicles (8 tanks). In the great words of Smith, "W Rizz".

Cons:

• At two points, a P4 was called out as a Panther which affected how we reacted as tankers. Knowing what we’re facing can define what we do for the next few minutes.
• In phase 1, we spent a lot of time looking for the last AT gun in the south and finding the bunker on the middle point. I think this is partially due to those items being hid too well and not enough clarification on exactly what we were looking for.
• Very nitpicky as there were not many cons (which is fantastic!), please don’t place garrisons behind tanks. We can’t escape easily when there is one placed less than 5 meters behind us.
• For future OPORDs, if at any point a heavy is allowed, please have it listed in the “Asset Limitations” portion so we can easily reference.

​

 

[Moskal.C]

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

Element Callsign: SL Allied
Element Leader: Corporal Moskal.C
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
Major Mix.C
Sergeant Major West.B
Sergeant Rhodes.R
Corporal Donato.E
Pros:

• Good Operation
• Good Attack Plan
• Good team communication
• First two points were very coordinated

Cons:

• Last two points were a little less coordinated
• There was some confusion with the execution plan at the start within the section.

 

[Carmine.J]

Element Callsign: ALLIED Jig Squad Engineers
Element Leader: Corporal Carmine.J
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
Corporal Raine.A
Specialist Rilian.M
Private First Class Etoh.I

Pros:

• My squad had a blast , highest combat effectiveness that wasn't a tank squad. 2 of my guys got over 50 kills each and together knocked out 2 tanks and a garrison.
• Gameplay was fun ,but extremely chaotic given that every attack was pretty much a bum rush , the final coordinated Infantry and Armor push won us the day.

Cons:

• OPORD was barely followed, there was very little flanking and most all of the points turned into a grindhouse.
• We were satchel charging so much that we were constantly questioning whether we knocked out all of our objectives. I found an AT gun in a crater, I thought they would've been used more against us.
• Communications were still all over the place and not completely streamlined. There were a lot of times I had 4 people talking at the same time & just about all of my squad members and I each got teamkilled once.
• The Boundary restrictions really hindered some gameplay. I don't feel like lethal artillery should be involved if Recon isn't in play and allowed to go back and engage it. Our push on the South was stopped by a garrison that we had no ability to take out because it was out of play for us.

 

[Hellious.T]

Element Callsign: Fire team 1 Platoon 1
Element Leader: Staff Sergeant Hellious.T
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
Corporal Willis.B
Specialist Joshothy.J
Specialist Maca.D
Specialist Plum.L
Private Holliday.A


Pros:

• Guys had a good time, lots of good fights in and around assigned objectives.
• Good skirmishing and sweeping lanes, guys were winning the gun fights and supporting each other on movement routes
• Good comms both through leadership and squad comms
• quick shifts quick refocuses of troops
• cant really ask for any more from the guys - they did everything I asked of them effectively and efficiently

Cons:

• bunker building didnt work in time - bit of a mess but all the other building functions went off in time
• hard point taking makes the remaining garrisons rough to rely on when focused on point
• not a lot to put here

 

[Owens.J]

Element Callsign: AXIS - Charlie - QRF/Utility
Element Leader: CPL.Owens.J
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
SPC.Woody.W

Pros:

• Great FTX/Operation
• Platoon level communications on discord is a must with high SL numbers, thought this helped greatly with in game clutter
• Attackers/defenders performed well, despite defense performing to a tee, attackers were persistent and kept us busy even getting chapel at end
• Op mechanics/objectives kept it interesting
• Well planned strategies for both sides
• Full game

Cons:

• Area limitations especially with only 1 spawn DIRECTLY on Chapel, seemed to lead chapel to explosions only severely limiting respawns

*1 last note
Despite the only con here really, thinking somewhere along the line of what Longmen had said as far as FTX's are concerned. I do not necessarily believe FTX have to be perfectly balanced, but perhaps there can be underlying teamwork objectives. Yes, I know thats technically the purpose of the FTX however it often feels as it devolves into a straight up attack/defense especially when that last point was concerned. The mulitple obj in the beginning was perfect way to get hands on various strategies into action. Of course it will never be the same all the time I wish to put a emphasis on things like this that shake up the regular game play. If this is already being implemented at CO level by all means continue as this seemed to be an overall great FTX, and got squads working together very well.

 

[Hermes.S]

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

Element Callsign: Allies - Infantry
Element Leader: Staff Sergeant Hermes.S
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
Corporal Karr.H
Specialist Quake.B
Specialist Wisniewski.A
Private First Class Harris.W
RET-Corporal Smith.N

Pros:

• Strong fighting from both sides
• An effective plan with strong tactics implemented and watching them go accordingly was awesome.
• A constant, unwavering push from the Allied Forces
• Strong discipline to support the overall cause, redeploying, and taking on roles as necessary.
• Logistics is going to be upset with our squad for a total of 385 grenades/smokes were thrown.
• AT guns built to support chapel 5 were highly effective.

Cons:

• The squad needs work on improving staggering smoke throws and advancing.
• Katushka/Calliope was super cool but ineffective.
• Practical placement of mission objectives is preferred given this is a mil-sim community. Hiding mission objectives in places that make zero sense except to hide them takes away from the spirit of the game.
• Given that mission parameter (perks) rely on time-oriented objectives - only reinforces the above.
• Consistently unclear if mission objectives were completed to move to the next point.
• Continued need to improve cohesion between the two sections in a squad.
• Challenging to differentiate between comms as three separate programs were being used, sometimes all three at once.
• Stop narrating in command comms. Also, stop griping/complaining in command comms. Save it for the end.
• The time-oriented factor is fun and does provide some flavor to the overall mission however, it also causes individuals to do their best just to get to a place as fast as possible often ignoring the effort to utilize what was learned. 12 mins to take AA bat, 8 to take mins on WN5, 13 mins to take H5. Perhaps our approach was flawed and would have been better served to split up attacks as opposed to a full team rush.
• I say the above because the previous time this was run, roles being reversed, the other team managed to meet their time objectives and after running it last night, I'm not sure how they did.
• Keep the platoons together, please.

 

[Anderson.P]

Element Callsign: Commander Allies
Element Leader: Second Lieutenant Anderson.P
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:



Pros:

• Great communication
• Great initial attack and planning
• Tankers excelled at calling in enemy emplacements and keeping them busy in the north

Cons:

• Finding objects to destroy can be frustrating
• Teams felt unbalanced at times and some were upset about being on offense two FTX's in a row
• Katyusha was ineffective