AAR ARMA Reforger | 1-7 BTN FTX | Operation Purple Horizon REDUX

[Beiter.A]

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

Name of Combat Mission: 1-7 BTN FTX | Operation Purple Horizon REDUX
Game: Arma Reforger
Server Hosted on: TS1
Date of Combat Mission: 16MAY26
Time of Combat Mission (Zulu): 1900z / 2200z
Mission OIC: Major Lewis.A / Major Rodahl.S
Mission Controller: Colonel Beiter.A / Major Hilberg.A

Number of Attendees: 75

7th Cavalry Personnel Involved in Action:
Colonel Beiter.A
Major Dread.M
Major Rodahl.S
Major Lewis.A
Major Hilberg.A
Major Grgich.A
Second Lieutenant Carr.W
Second Lieutenant Mazinski.H
First Sergeant Westcott.R
Master Sergeant Willson.JA
Sergeant First Class Borenstein.B
Staff Sergeant McAllen.J
Staff Sergeant Brophy.C
Staff Sergeant Crowley.T
Sergeant Giordano.C
Sergeant Flint.J
Sergeant Mackey.A
Sergeant Lee.H
Sergeant Rutkowski.P
Sergeant Turner.L
Sergeant Holiday.T
Corporal Bolte.D
Corporal Macintosh.S
Corporal Colbert.L
Corporal Bull.T
Corporal Yota.G
Corporal Bosley.B
Corporal Garrick.S
Corporal Formola.J
Corporal Taylor.C
Corporal Thompson.L
Corporal Clegg.M
Corporal Lucander.P
Corporal McGahan.L
Corporal Fougere.J
Corporal Howe.T
Corporal Johnsen.M
Corporal Vara.J
Corporal Russell.JG
Corporal Rozhkov.P
Corporal Masnec.G
Corporal Reddick.A
Corporal Law.S
Corporal Nance.T
Corporal Pearl.F
Corporal Davidson.N
Corporal Wagner.D
Corporal Zaren.T
Specialist Richardson.JD
Specialist Coner.J
Specialist Auguste.B
Specialist Miranda.M
Specialist Ware.D
Specialist Weather.J
Specialist Juenemann.D
Specialist Dalton.J
Specialist Cleveland.T
Specialist Boyd.M
Specialist Facklam.E
Specialist McGill.A
Specialist Tanner.J
Specialist Cobb.B
Specialist West.Z
Specialist Chisum.J
Specialist McKinley.K
Specialist Casey.W
Specialist Ford.R
Specialist Grubaugh.E
Private First Class Sarg.J
Private First Class Studs.J
Private First Class Wright.P
Private First Class Bryan.R
Private Birch.J
Private Baker.D
Private Murphy.K
Private Otter.K
Recruit Riley.K

 

[Borenstein.B]

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


Element Callsign: BANDIT-5
Element Leader
Sergeant First Class Borenstein.B​

Pros:

• super fun
• raider was amazing to watch.. watching the battle between raider and the manpads - and listening to it through my amp was absolute cinema.
• fun mission
• did a lot of work despite having only 1 platoon
• Succession of command was great (i.e misfit-4 taking platoon command when needed)
• I know resupply was mentioned as not being needed because of all the black tags - but I personally had a great experience cross loading with different squads and weapons systems.

Cons:

• Seemed like enemies were getting back up after being mag dumped. During the pioneer portion I hit a communist with 4-5 .50 rounds at close range, which should have caused a closed casket scenario, from the stryker, and homeboy got up a minute later like nothing happened.
• Blue on blue.
• need to tighten things up with things like rear security/fireteam control.
• still some radio issues which made things confusing at times.
• We were spread pretty thin on the lanes with only 1 platoon which led to enemies getting between us around PL RED which is no bueno
• I don't think the mines were briefed?? So that was an unpleasant surprise
• The LZ near the second objective had hay stacks all over it... Not really the best idea

Other notes:

I also was the commander for sierra-4 during the pioneer op. I'm not sure what's up with the reticles... It's extremely small - almost impossible to see over the foliage.
Then we had a new one pop down. The first time I entered it, it had a huge reticle which was nice. Then I got out and back in, and it reverted to the small one? Also the first one had night vision. Then the second one didn't have night vision? I'm unsure if the stryker is just buggy or what.

 

[Lee.H]

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

Element Callsign: BANDIT-2
Element Leader: Sergeant Lee.H
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
Corporal Garrick.S
Specialist Grubaugh.E
Specialist Cobb.B
Private Baker.D
Corporal Vara.J
Corporal Wagner.D
Private First Class Studs.J

Pros:

• Succession of command was pretty solid
• Security outside the bunker complex was very strong
• Comms within the squad was really solid even with an additional gun team on the squad net
• Movements especially during the first half of the op were really solid in 2

Cons:

• Igla rocket strikes on our local area was insane.
• Glowing green light strobes were very very visible during the night
• Having the bravo troops regroup with us after the drop added extra jank trying to sort out the squad and PCC's and PCI's

 

[Nance.T]

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

Element Callsign: Bandit-3
Element Leader: Corporal Nance.T
7th Cavalry Personnel With the Element:
Specialist McKinley.K
Specialist Chisum.J
Corporal Bull.T
Corporal Clegg.M

Sergeant Turner.L
Staff Sergeant Crowley.T
Corporal Specialist McGill.A
Corporal Johnsen.M

Sustains:

• Good succession of command. 4IC for 3 took control and rescued down Raider crew
• Some good work with 4 and attached gun team early on
• Some fun chaotic moments that we wouldn't normally see
• 7 was on top of it

Improves:

• Not great coordination off the bat. Inserted into active firefight at established FOB. Doubled squad size in this time and never had time to properly coordinate with Platoon nor fireteams and had no proper PCI
• Should have consolidated to one Platoons lane to match manpower. Felt like a meatgrinder where we needed more firepower in support
• No LZ set on reinsert, pilot dropped us right behind the front line. Raven landed in minefield at one point.
• Seemed like artillery we took didn't do anything when I watched it hit people or myself took hits
• People transmitting info on platoon after dying sort of shortcutting the ability for platoon to figure out the situation

 

[Lewis.A]

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

Element Callsign: Hitman-6
Element Leader: Major Lewis.A
7th Cavalry Personnel With the Element:
Corporal Law.S

Sustains:

• Good initial planning between companies
• Good communication setup with myself and RTO
• Had a blast coordinating Raider in support of the platoon

Improves:

• There's this constant tension of trying to keep the platoon coordinated, with Zeus sending Arty rounds in, etc., because they want to keep the elements moving... leading to a gradual degradation in cohesion, survival, and sustainment.
• Low turnout.
• More overlap between companies for integrated operations would be cool.
• Law apologizes for shooting Borenstein.

 

[Giordano.C]

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

Element Callsign: PIONEER - 3
Element Leader: Sergeant Giordano.C
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
Corporal Howe.T
Corporal Vara.J
Corporal Johnsen.M
Staff Sergeant Crowley.T
Private Otter.K

Pros:

• Great support between ground troop and Sierra element. Own initiative and direct command calls were followed to a T. At no point did it feel like we were separated in ways to progress the fight.
• MASSCAS and wounded were handled quick and decisively passing along to 7 who were on seen within the "Golden Minute".
• Enjoyed the high friction rate and enemy punishment when security lacked, or when the "keep going" mentality outweighed a proper assessment.
• Succession of command, intrasquad, squad to squad, and platoon communications were at an all-time high
• Loved the "lore" and scene building from GM during entry phase. Led to quicker PCC/PCI's and step off time.

Cons:

• Need to remember spacing when alongside armor elements, were punished for being too close by an RPG that impacted a nearby Sierra element
• Limited fighting packs caused a major hole in security as we had only 4x infantry with 2x crewman. This led to any casualties taken, becoming combat ineffective. However, these troopers did not back down from the fight.
• Closing act of the Bravo FTX felt very chaotic for the transition of troopers wanting to continue into the Charlie FTX, and for those that were needing to step away. No time to allow for SL's to conduct a proper squad AAR. Was not clear on where the exact ENDEX for Bravo would be.
• Need vehicle nets for armor communications. Sierra elements operated blind not knowing status or locations of other elements, ultimately relying on what was heard over platoon and SL.

 

[Clegg.M]

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

Element Callsign: Pioneer 2
Element Leader: Corporal Clegg.M
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:

Major Grgich.A
Corporal Bull.T
Corporal Lucander.P
Corporal McGahan.L
Specialist Dalton.J

Sustains:

• Platoon Level and Intersquad communication was excellent, we understood where the enemy was, who was in contact and who needed support throughout the entire operation. Calls for support to 5 and 6 were responded to quickly, helping the platoon maintain momentum.
• SPOT REPS, 3D's and echoing all on point.
• Succession of command was natural and without hesitation
• With only 1 infantry fireteam, squad performed at an exceptional level considering our tasking as an assaulting force
• Medical support was fire tonight, keep us going throughout the operation

Improves:

• Platoon spacing and movement felt bunched up, definitely improved after crash
• Terrain was a challenge for mechanized movement, resulting in instances of separation between Fireteams and Sierra
• Relief at the frontline was challenging, we were unclear of the transition plan and no time for AAR between operations

 

[McAllen.J]

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


Element Callsign: Pioneer-7/Bandit-7

Element Leader: Staff Sergeant.McAllen.J

7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
Specialist Weather.J
Corporal Yota.G
Private First Class Bryan. R

Pros:

• Managed to save a lot of the casualties we sustained throughout both parts of the operation​
• Good communication/teamwork during the first part of the operation​
• Stayed out of contact for the most part throughout​

Cons:

• This map was not meant for vehicles so Pioneer platoon struggled using the Sierras in the varying terrain​
• The half strength squads was not helping combat efficiency which resulted in lots of black tags throughout the Op that we couldn't respond to​
• Lack of situational awareness when it came to contact and lack of proper clearing of objectives which resulted in black tags from hidden enemies​
• The extra artillery/ gunfire nearby the start of Bravo's step off was cool but it felt very distracting and took away time for us to stage properly​
• Persistent radio issues throughout both parts of the operation resulted in a reduced cohesion from myself and other medical personnel​
• Blue on blue incidents happening every now and again throughout​

Notes: While I understand this is a battalion FTX and we want to ideally be able to fill both the troop and a company of troops at the same time during the transition, it isn't practical whatsoever and everyone from Bravo troop was confused on what to do when C.Co was supposed to start their part of the Op yet they were still in constant contact, we need those lulls in combat to reconsolidate and transfer people over so we don't have number issues for what their objectives are.

In my opinion, stop doing these Ops that run concurrently and give some kind of break in between so we can shift the people around if they decide to stay, otherwise its going to cause frustration both on trooper level and the command level.

For the radios, we should most likely start training people and advising command elements to utilize other parts of the PACE plan for further operations until these issues pass, or if possible revert back to vanilla radios and see if they work better. We could also potentially load a vehicle or object with radios that work and have people pull from there versus the arsenals since these bugs persist even if we pull fresh ones from Bacon Loadout Editor.

 

[Carr.W]

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

Element Callsign: PIONEER-6 / BRAVO-3-6
Element Leader: Second Lieutenant Carr.W
7th Cavalry Personnel With the Element:
AAR BFTX 16MAY26

Success or failure?

Objective: Pioneer was tasked with seizing and retaining 2x objectives in a 2km square AO: OBJ DISCO and OBJ INFERNO NLT MET +3h+00m. Pioneer was successful.

Followed the plan?

Pioneer followed the plan laid out in the execution section of the OPORD.

Actions.

Phase 1: move to contact on the western hill and clear through K1 to set conditions to seize and retain OBJ DISCO. This phase was difficult as it was an uphill climb through woods. Pioneer moved in a platoon wedge, dismounted. Sierra units moved with their dismounted squads. There were moments where sierras were bogged down with terrain as well as loosing 1x Sierra to RPG fire. While difficult, Pioneer exhibited grit and resilience, keeping to their formation, mutually supporting each other, and pressing to clear their AO. A server crash cost time - +/- 10 minutes, but the platoon successfully reconsolidated including PCC/PCIs and radio checks and were able to continue on to their assault positions for OBJ DISCO.

Heavy contact incl. enemy indirect fire made holding the positions difficult and several mass casualty events occurred. Succession was excellent and platoon medic teams were responsive and efficient.

Once SBF was emplaced and able to support effectively, the assault was kicked off. Supporting indirect smoke set conditions and 2nd and 3rd squad pushed through OBJ from west to east. ENY had BTRs and well as QRF PCs that came in from north. 4th Squad (weapon) as well as CAS was effective and timely and neutralized the enemy contact. 2nd and 3rd squad pushed through, supported by 1st squad, who had cleared the southern road black into OBJ.

Pioneer consolidated and rearmed under constant fire and harassment from the enemy.

Phase 2: taking OBJ INFERNO. This was to be a frontal assault on a heavily defended high ground. Pioneer moved in column, dismounted. We utilized the Sierras for frontal fire on approach, clearing Enemy roadblocks. Warhorse coordinated indirect fire softening the approach to the objective, in particular 2x battle positions with cement fortifications, which were a major threat and the first key terrain to control on the approach. We emplaced a Sierra charging the MSR and the rest of the platoon moved to destroy the eastern bunker. Once destroyed, Pioneer 1 entered the tunnel system and destroyed the second bunker battle position from the rear.

We then moved up the hill for the frontal assault. Sierra elements provided heavy frontal fire while the dismounted troops moved, cleared, and took up positions to the south of the fort (SBF) and the east of the fort. (Assault element). On the way, the SBF team (1/3/B and 4/3/B) cleared key terrain to be used for an emergency LZ. On signal, the teams breached and assaulted though the south half of the objective. Pioneer assault team suffered mass casualty and were attended by platoon medic team. SBF team succeeded in fixing the enemy and keeping them from assaulting Pioneer's assault team. Sierras provided guarding at the center line looking north.

Once all elements were combat effective, 2/3/B and 3/3/B assaulted through the north-east quadrant with the support of 1/3/B. Buildings were numbered and responsibly was articulated clearly over net. Finally, 1/3/B assaulted through the final quadrant in the north west of objective.

Pioneer then consolidated and took up defensive positions as briefed on all four quadrants and prepared for QRF and Charlie Coy's arrival. LZ was clear and established, security set at MET 2+45.

Pioneer held the site for 30 minutes before handover to Charlie Coy at approx MET 3+15.

Improves:

Staging plan. We need a more explicit staging plan that included Order of March, Vehicle Assignments, and instructions as to mounted or dismounted ready condition. Since the line of deployment was essentially immediately north of the TAA, mounting was not necessary and it added time without benefit. Ambiguity around vehicle assignment (2HB vs Dragoon) added unnecessary tie and ambiguity for squads.

Squad / Platoon movements with organic Strykers. More time and practice is needed to move smoothly and fluidity with the squad organic Strykers. This will come with time and practice. Note that the platoon has only had the strykers organic for one week.

Stryker Re-insert / Recovery plan. Sustainment plan needs to include Stryker recovery procedures as well as reinsert planning. As these are fragile and important weapon platforms, ambiguous plans make for too much time with down Strykers out of the fight.

Radio comms brevity. With the added content of Stryker commanders on platoon net, in addition to 4 squads, platoon medic, and warhorse element, extremes brevity is desirable. While I feel the platoon operated at over 80% efficiency in this manner, even more improvement could be possible, particularly in sorting the sierra comms and platoon medic comms.

BFTX level "endex" coordination. This is not on Pioneer, as it was above our responsibility, but on Battalion level planning, and is included here for Battalion consideration. It was ambiguous when the handover was going to happen between Bravo and Charlie. We found ourselves holding the hill against an aggressive enemy counterattack for 15+ minutes beyond stated endex while also being asked to re-assign troopers to Charlie Coy. The timing made for troopers not knowing if they were "dismissed" from the BFTX including leadership, which made for a sense of discoordination right at the conclusion of the action. Also, having Bravo need to wait an undetermined amount of time for the final AAR seemed not ideal. Was it to be 3 hours as Bravo's was? That was what was stated. Or was it to be 2? It seem that Bravo was simply expected to show up whenever it was called, or not be included in the battalion FTX AAR. Better planning and explicit timing of both the handover and the full battalion AAR would have made for better coordination and, to speak frankly, respect for the Bravo troopers who opened the operation.

Sustains:

Comms. Comms were excellent and precise, including call ups: "6 this is 1 over." Rather than simply sending messages over the net without knowing if the person was ready to receive them. An enormous amount of excellent coordination was accomplished over the various nets I was on. Excellent reports including SITREPS, SPOTREPS, and LACEREPS (Yes, there's an L in there) were sent in a timely and efficient manner.

Grit. Exceptional grit and perseverance demonstrated by the entire platoon in an uphill battle, highly aggressive enemy force, and brand new weapon system (strykers). Truly remarkable positivity and determination demonstrated by the platoon.

Medical team. Exceptional performance by the attached medical team. They were fast, efficient, and courageous, always near the most dangerous areas ready to provide aid to the forward troopers.

PSG. Excellent work by Platoon Sergeant Brophy maintining net discipline, communicating decisions to the platoon, succeeding in command when I went down, and working with the weapons squad in the SBF coordination.

CAS. Air support was precise and fast. Requests for fire missions were answered with lethal and decisive effects on target.

Indirect Fire. The mortar teams did precise, effective work softening targets and proving obscuration for the assault teams to push through. We could not have succeeded without their work.

Squad Succession of Command. There were excellent, fast succession actions done at the squad level including radio calls into platoon net both for succession and resumption of command. Spot on.

Squad cohesion. Squad leaders reported excellent cohesion in their teams. Remarkable especially because of the recent (one week) integration of Pioneer's sister platoon, Viking.

Adapt and Overcome. Pioneer demonstrated exceptional ability to adapt to a new weapon system, and a new platoon integration, and overcome a series of highly difficult objectives with a highly aggressive enemy force defending them. Hat's off to the troopers and leadership of Pioneer. I'm extremely proud of them. They kicked ass and took names at a Battalion scale FTX in front of senior leadership. In the face of an existential threat, both on the scale of the FTX and in the context of the Battalion, they demonstrated Grit, Excellence, and had a good time doing it. That's how Pioneer rolls.

Thanks to the Battalion team who planned and ran the BFTX.

Carr
2LT

 

[Dread.M]

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

​

Element Callsign: RAIDER-1 for Phase 2 of the FTX
Element Leader: Major Dread.M
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
Specialist Coner.J

SUSTAINS:

• BN FTX built in an attempt to showcase each company.
• Good communication within the crew and other airframes.
• Constant engagements of a mixed variety.
• Copilot is the best gunner I've seen in Reforger. If it was visible it was dead.

IMPROVES:

• Could have used transport airframes for Target Scoping.
• Would have liked to have practiced 5-lines. This really isn't a con, more of a preference. RAIDER was tasked with terrain denial and objective isolation. We fulfilled that role. Those types of missions don't support CAS calls and ends up being a more appropriate Direct Attack mission. Direct Attacks are a lot of fun, but we lose a little bit of the combined arms role in those types of mission.
• No CHAOS in P2 of the mission.

 

[Russell.JG]

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

Element Callsign: PIONEER - 4
Element Leader: Corporal Russell.JG
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
Sergeant First Class Borenstein.B
Corporal Zaren.T
Corporal Reddick.A
Corporal Masnec.G
Specialist Facklam.E
Specialist Dellow.J

Pros:

• Good comms between troopers in the squad.
• Good comms with 5 & 6, always knew what was going on and where other units were and their status.
• Sierra was a continual asset, taking initiative and overcomes issues to support the squad.
• 7 was at their best, 4th took multiple casualties throughout the operation with 7 aways arriving quickly and to getting troopers back up in the fight.
• Succession of command was utilized both in the squad and with higher effectively and efficiently.
• Raven was quick on reinserts, landing under fire, within close proximity to squads in active engagements.
• Overall mission/ story was fun and exciting from start to end.

Cons:

• First time 4th ever worked together, not ideal in a BFTX.
• Limited time for PCC's and PCI's (understandable for the story set).
• With it being the first time the squad worked together tactics, communication, and movements were a bit muddy to start but smoothed out as the mission progressed.
• Obligatory tech issues, DC's, high ping, Radio issues etc.
• Stryker struggled on the terrain, at one point causing a mass cas.
• AAR/index at the end was confusing and was not clear on the expectations following the operation leading into Charlie Co. step off.

 

[Mazinski.H]

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

Element Callsign: HELIOS-1
Element Leader: Second Lieutenant Mazinski.H
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
Sergeant Flint.J
Sergeant Holiday.T
Corporal Bolte.D
Corporal Thompson.L
Corporal Rozhkov.P
Specialist Ware.D

Pros:

• Got to do some breaching and clearance work with the ground squads
• Mortar work was effective and well communicated by FOs
• Great turnout for us, had almost all of the engineers at one point
• Had fun

Cons:

• Felt very detached from both companies, there was never any point where we felt really embedded with anyone. We only really had three dedicated asks from command for assistance over a six hour operation and the fun we had was largely our own
• Multiple blue-on-blue incidents despite while moving with command elements and wearing the big green "don't shoot me I'm friendly" light
• Last half hour felt really messy. Security was non-existent with obvious structures being missed and leading to counterbreaches, multiple attacks from behind, no cohesion, and losing troopers unnecessarily

 

[Bosley.B]

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

Element Callsign: PIONEER - 1
Element Leader: CPL.Bosley.B
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
CPL.Garrick.S
SPC.Harrel.R
SPC.Juenemann.D
SPC.Leon.J
CPL.Taylor.C
PVT.Riley.K
SPC.Doodek.C
PVT.Jacko.J
CPL.Wagner.D


Pros:

• Pioneer one delt with multiple disconnects from FTL's and the willingness to step up on the radios from their 2IC was very impressive as well as stelling up when I went down as well as my 2IC. in short Great succession of command
• As the spearhead of the assault, I thought my troopers acted with great focus and determination to move the platoon forward and effectively complete both objectives
• SPC.Leon.J showed outstanding CLS work keeping both myself and numerous troopers alive during the assault until 7 was able to arrive as well as commanding bravo fireteam after the FTL went down.
• great echoing orders and fireteam comms when there weren't radio issues
• Exceptional "Violence of Action"

Cons:

• Radio bug continues to be a problem in operations that leads to difficult communications between SL and FTL
• Spacing
• Utilizing the SEIRRA element to its fullest potential
• keeping radio messages short sweet and to the point

 

[Rutkowski.P]

S1 Locked.

 

[Rutkowski.P]

S1 Operations Processed.