AAR AAR Operation Talaria - 11AUG24

[Korfias.F]

DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY
S3 BATTLE STAFF
Headquarters
7th Cavalry Regiment
COMBAT AFTER ACTION REPORT
Name of Combat Mission: Operation Talaria
Game: Hell Let Loose
Server Hosted on: SnS
Date of Combat Mission: 11AUG24
Time of Combat Mission (Zulu): 0030Z​

Mission OIC: Second Lieutenant Korfias.F
Mission Controller: Staff Sergeant Hermes.S
Number of Attendees: 71
7th Cavalry Personnel Involved in Action:
Colonel Budd.D
Major Mix.C
First Lieutenant Anderson.P
First Lieutenant Argentini.E
Staff Sergeant Busch.J
Second Lieutenant Korfias.F
First Sergeant Groves.A
Staff Sergeant Hermes.S
Staff Sergeant Rasmus.M
Sergeant DAmico.D
Sergeant Karr.H
Sergeant Lucas.A
Sergeant Noriega.D
Sergeant Silvis.B
Sergeant Strole.Z
Sergeant Swanson.B
Sergeant Warren.G
Sergeant White.C
Sergeant Whitefish.S
Corporal Ackelson.K
Corporal Curran.J
Corporal Dallas.E
Corporal Hazen.D
Corporal Jinto.H
Corporal Larouche.Z
Corporal Leifried.R
Corporal Lee.N
Corporal Macpherson.C
Corporal Moreau.M
Corporal OCulien.M
Corporal Sokol.Z
Specialist Ackerman.J
Specialist Baldrick.D
Specialist Bell.T
Specialist Caldreas.B
Specialist Choi.S
Specialist Etoh.I
Specialist Fabie.D
Specialist Feathers.A
Specialist Felton.J
Specialist Jat.R
Specialist Johnson.G
Specialist Laui.M
Specialist Markel.Z
Specialist Munch.R
Specialist Parton.D
Specialist Quake.B
Specialist Remy.K
Specialist Rousseau.A
Specialist Sanchez.R
Specialist Shaw.JW
Specialist Wagner.D
Specialist Watters.W
Specialist Woody.W
Private First Class Baker.JB
Private First Class Delosreyes.D
Private First Class Dixon.L
Private First Class Helmick.A
Private First Class Loup.N
Private First Class Mair.B
Private First Class Night.M
Private First Class Patterson.C
Private First Class Smith.ER
Private First Class Von Busch.M
Private Barnes.D
Private Hawthorne.S
Private Mills.M

RET.Corporal Smith.N
Active Reserve - Second Lieutenant Bonder.L

 

[Korfias.F]

Element Callsign: Axis Dog Attack Squad
Element Leader: Second Lieutenant Korfias.F
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
Specialist Munch.R
Specialist Quake.B
Private First Class Patterson.C
Private First Class Smith.ER

Pros:

• We showed up with more than 50 guys.
• Guys had fun, but it was a meat grinder.
• Squad moved well together, did what was asked, had great call outs

Cons:

• Spawning at trucks is great, but we need multiple trucks. Myself and a couple other SLs ended up not being able to get back in the truck after picking up our OPs.
• Comms was so busy. Too busy. I couldn't hear my own squad or footsteps around me because of command comms.
• Felt micromanaged at times, which was distracting to be told what to do when I was already moving my guys in the direction needed

 

[Groves.A]

Element Callsign: Axis Airborne Rear Point Roam
Element Leader: First Sergeant Groves.A
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
Reservist Second Lieutenant Bonder.L

Pros:

• Fun to bring so many 7Cav to these FNF/SNF events, would love to see that continue.
• Good internal comms with Bonder, we were trying our best to find the flanks and address.
• Good shooters will continue to help us get better, as long as we don't get down and negative and learn from these continued matches instead.
• I liked the new nodes rotation, felt nice and clean.

Cons:

• We really need to get truck drivers nailed down and established. It is killing us constantly in competitive efforts. I don't know whether it's classes, certifications needed for comp, better assignments from the initial sign up & announcement point, etc.
• I didn't see an effort for an offensive reorganization or innovation, but they bogged us down tight.
• I would really love to stop hearing so much unconstructive negativity following these matches and experiences. This is not how we're ever going to get better. A lot of these groups we have been playing against have been playing and competing at this level for many years. Since it's FNF/SNF, we didn't do as much pre-planning and assigning, which was obvious. That just has to be a known factor.

 

[Macpherson.C]

Element Callsign: Axis Baker Attack Squad
Element Leader: Corporal Macpherson.C
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
First Sergeant Webber.R
Corporal Sokol.Z
Specialist Felton.J
Specialist Wagner.D
Specialist Feathers.A

Pros:

• Squad communicated well together and did the best they could.
• Was able to make some progress to Chapel.

Cons:

• Made a massive mistake at the start with infantry squads spawning Mid - was a very delayed start.
• Were called off from making specific Garrisons which would help to establish a foothold for attack to use - Always on the backfoot when we cannot attack.
• Couldn't establish a line for the whole match unfortuantely and had massive gaps for the enemy to exploit.
• Terrible attitude from some after these losses. We are all here to have fun and improve and its seeming to be a slow burn on that but glad there is improvement nontheless. There's no place for animosity and definitely needs to be attitude improvement from seniority and keep attitude and tempers in check

 

[Laui.M]

Element Callsign: Tank
Element Leader: Private First Class Von Busch.M
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
Specialist Laui.M
Specialist Choi.S

Pros:

• We gave our all. Good strategy and inter-tank communication.

Cons:

• Looks like we just got outplayed on the tank.

We seemed to have an issue with the match setup truck. My suggestion would be to only have squad leaders in that truck driving up to the wall to place the OPs there. If no other infantry gets in there, the truck driver could just reference the total number of squad leaders in the match, and start driving as soon as that number is reached. I believe it would help with the confusion there. Great initiative from 2LT Korfias to hard-lock the assigned node squads. I'd like us to experiment with doing the same with truck drivers.

 

[Smith.N]

Element Callsign: Axis Command
Element Leader: Corporal Smith.N
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
Corporal Smith.N

Pros:

• Realized ways to tweak new start of match strategy for trucks/nodes etc
• Tested new airborne QRF strategy a bit
• Decent comms
• Good response time from many SLs

Cons:

• Off to a slow start with center truck (strategy for start wasnt fully explained (my fault))
• Enemy opposition was extremely experinced (very high rank and scores)
• Light on offensive flares at start through to mid game

 

[Rasmus.M]

Element Callsign : Recon South then Defensive Recon
Element Leader: Staff Sergeant Rasmus.M
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
Staff Sergeant Rasmus.M
Specialist Woody.W


Pros:

• Good experience gain against good opponents.
• A lot of garrisons/OPs destroyed.

Cons:

• The type of Recon i play usually and am good at is all about backline garrisons/OPs hunting, limiting enemy spawning assets, tank spotting and identification before they reach frontline, establishing red zone garrisons, disrupting attack strongpoint with flares and in-N-out skirmishes but I was limited to put flares on defensive point for half the game. I don't think that is where Recon is being used at it's best, reduced to that simple role. This way we aren't making use of those locked territory Outpost placement. It is obvious enemy team is pushing to that defensive point from different approachs and Inf should focus on denying those lanes and execute 4-grid zone of control even if they don't have a flare up.
• Lack of explosive ammunitions placed in order to put more than 1 flare/life.
• They had great shooters and excellent rear security. It was hard going around em' and they had people all around the map hunting backline elements.
• They were great at putting those supply drops/airhead down, great timing and placement.
• They had great Machine Gun placement and area denial.
• They simply did ground and pound offensive, pushing in a cohesive line and keeping the conquered territory yard after yard.
• We need to limit layers of communication and stay clear and concise in game Leadership chat doing so. Recon should definitely give key callouts to every SLs, PLs and Commander.
• Match start...

 

[Mix.C]

Element Callsign: Axis Dog Attack Squad
Element Leader:
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:


Pros:

• Good turnout, good organization. Proud of the Cav
• I personally had a pretty good game. Burned a ton of enemy assets and tied up a lot of infantry
• Got to implement some new ideas about nodes ect and expect we will refine them shortly. Good stuff.

Cons:

• We were somewhat over matched experience wise
• Felt like we over committed to flanks and got pushed down the center
• lack of flanking garrisons made it hard to maneuver around the enemy at times

 

[Whitefish.S]

Element Callsign: Axis Echo Airborne Assault
Element Leader: Sergeant Whitefish.S
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:

1. Specialist Parton.D
2. Private First Class Night.M

Pros: We had fun!

• Truck started a bit late with no officially assigned driver. Need to have assigned drivers pre match.
• Reg infantry should not hop in truck until all SL's are seated in truck. I was on the hood as an ornament
• Good turn out!

Cons: We lost

• We should always bring up 3 transport trucks.
• Cluttered command comms.
• Did not establish good ZOC. Allowed the enemy to push deep up the center.
• Should have made a move during the 5 min stalemate after they cap center point. Be aggressive.

 

[DAmico.J]

Element Callsign: Golf Airborne North Defense
Element Leader: Second Lieutenant DAmico.J
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
Corporal Moreau.M
Specialist Maikranz.J
Private First Class Baker.JB
Pros:

• Always a good time playing with the boys

Cons:

• The salt was real in the command chat. No one cares if you're having a hard time. It's a clan vs clan match. It's supposed to be hard.
• I think we hesitated after we lost the center objective. We completely conceded the ground between Sunken and WN4.
• We were defending Sunken up north, but there was no one covering the fields to our south. The enemy was able to get enfilading fire on us because we had no established line. Had we pressed the fields a little bit or contested those hedge rows, we would have been able to hold the north longer. Just some tactical stuff we need to work on. Nothing too crazy. Still had fun!

 

[Hermes.S]

Element Callsign: Axis Infantry Platoon Sergeant
Element Leader: Staff Sergeant Hermes.S
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
-

Pros:

• Attempting a few new concepts/roles within leadership.
• Getting the opportunity to try out being a platoon sergeant, a role not often seen in comp matches. To assist in keeping infantry working together, and on task, but also alleviate extra work for the commander.
• First Operation under the belt. (big thanks to Warren and Smith for helping out)
• Strong fights - improving as a team.
• Strong defense work by those involved. It allowed for multiple hard and long attempts at creating an offensive.
• Strong initial garrison work.
• Felt Command comms were appropriate.
• Discord Comms were appropriate as well.
• Good coordination and response from artillery when called upon. It got the assault force into a good position to move toward the church.

Cons:

• Need to hone in on the concept of line fighting. Creating a solid line to hold but to allow others to move off of.
• Giant Gaps were created and never refilled.
• Had difficulty keeping assault squads working together, in the same area, spawning at the same location, which caused what felt like more "micromanaging." The goal was an overwhelming force. Unfortunately, a lot of direction was missed.
• Some hotheads this time around. Hot heads lead to poor comments being made, especially in command comms. Not the place especially in the game. We can do better.
• Please get over the idea of having to sprint like you're in the Olympics towards the waypoint or objective at hand. Slow down. This isn't a pub. You cannot get away with barrelling wherever you go. These teams will us at every push.
• Cover each other's movements.
• Offensive Infantry maneuvering a flank that is too far to carry any kind of weight. Again, to reiterate, 600+ off the point is too much.
• Again. There seems to be the same very upset and vocal individuals with each loss. The heat is demotivating and frustrating to hear. Perhaps this is an opportunity to re-evaluate if playing higher-level teams is for you.
• Not enough flare usage

 

[Sotelo.R]

Element Callsign: Axis Armor TC 1
Element Leader: Sergeant Sotelo.R
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
Sergeant Sotelo.R
Corporal Ackelson.K
Specialist Watters.W

Pros:

Cons:

 

[Rutkowski.P]

S1 Locked.

Assigned Groves.A for processing.

 

[Groves.A]

S1 Operations processed.