Tactical Communication, How to communicate like a pro!

I have been video gaming for a long time. One thing that as I’ve gotten into my older years and experienced more things I have noticed is a lack of common language skills used in FPS games. What I mean by that is a common dialect that each person knows and understands.

My intention for this blog is to give you some shared insights over my 7 years in the United States Marine Corps as well as 14 years as a Police Officer. My training as a SWAT Operator and a SWAT Sniper have given me insight that I feel can benefit the gamer community. I have been blessed to work with some of the most high-speed MFer’s you guys would ever meet in your lives. I have been able to sit down with them and pick their brains about tactics and ideas of how to improve on team movements and communications during high-stress high tunnel vision encounters in both the real world and its equivalent in gaming.

This course should be named how to game with with the Nameless crew. It took us 6 years to fully develop this system which I am going to GIVE to you! I will break this down into 3 simple principles of communication which will help everyone improve greatly on their ability to identify targets and be able to speak clearly enough to explain where that target is located. This guide or training session will not be tailored to one game as its application can be spread across many.

Click here to watch the video lesson plan

Here’s the video version of this lesson. Or you can read the text below.

Being able to speak clearly in a high-stress situation. One of the biggest things I have noticed is that people vapor lock when it comes time to tell others about the situation that you are going through. I suffer from the same type of issues when it comes to high-stress tunnel vision type scenario. But its at times like this that is crucial and when information needs to be shared properly and concisely.

When you are in a situation like this where you are setting up a 2v1 or even larger engagements you need to be able to communicate this information to your teammates so they can respond to save you or assist you. It comes down tot he old saying that 2 sets of eyes, 2 hands etc are better than one set. In these scenarios, you HAVE to be able to communicate to your partner effectively to maintain accomplish that mission with minimal loss of life. It might be virtual life but time spent is time spent.

To show a mix of both clear communication and a few unclear statements check this clip. I would say from my own unbiased opinion that this is a properly executed raid. You will notice a break down in communication as the stress level increases.

You can see both the good and bad aspects of the communication with the three-man team we were used to executing this raid. The point is practice and repetition will lead to a well-oiled skill that can be deployed properly when needed. If you guys practice this skill it will become second nature and you will be able to communicate clearly without the extra noise that is often found in online gaming. One thing that we need to remember is that communication that is mission critical should be said. We don’t care about your dog eating your sister’s panties and barfing on your carpet. Save that line of shit as we don’t want to hear it when we are trying to pass critical information that is pertinent to the team securing its objective and eliminating the enemy.

Stay on topic practice saying what you want in the least amount of words possible and know when to turn this skill on and off. You don’t have to be Mr. Roboto all the time. Just know when its Go time and when it’s not.

Video Lesson. Click here

This comes right from the SWAT handbook. Lesson 2 is a common language used to identify sides of a structure. It can be applied to any building or fenced in area. With it comes several terms that are easily understood and used to help communicate clearly what it is that is intended. If we look at this photo its a simple concept. If we were looking at the building from the street. The side that faces the street would be labeled the 1 side. As we know most structures are square in shape and can easily be sliced up with this method.

As you look at this the one side is the street side. The numbers count in a clockwise direction so the left side of the house would be the 2 side, behind the house the 3 side and the right side the 4 side. Watch this video in regards to a better explanation as to how the side system works. Simple terms it can get a lot more advanced then that but if you don’t practice it every day it will not become second nature so I recommend keeping it simple. Train all your guys in this language so that it is common speak to say things along this. Lastly, someone that runs from the building we call “squirters” So if you see anyone break from the building and run away calls them appropriately

• Lesson 3Lesson 3 is probably one of the most important lessons there is in this course of study. Lesson 3 is basic landmark identification so you can quickly talk each other into a suspected target.Here’s a good clip about how to communicate from an overwatch position. You have to be able to talk people on to the target. This is applicable from anywhere, on a hillside looking at an objective of flying a UAV over the target or even being a Helo pilot while your troops are on the ground. It’s an important job that is required of all team members to be successful.

Long story long depending on how much attention this blog gets I might continue this series. This series will bring the gamer closer that he has ever been to real-world tactical training. We will see how it applies to situations you can find yourself in any FPS sandbox style game you are playing.

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Originally published at fpsgamers.co on October 31, 2017.