Radio Communications in a Tactical Environment
By Kornkob
Jason 'Kornkob' Robinson
Introduction
Armies have struggled with coordinating their actions, particularly with units not in direct sight, ever since military elements were organized from the club wielding mobs of our distant ancestors.
The invention of man portable radio sets introduced in the middle of the 20th century began to allow some of the larger elements (brigade or company and above) start to communicate. This allowed coordinated action across a very large area, even across continents. Quickly it became apparent that, in the crucible of combat, unless careful protocols were followed communication would rapidly deteriorate into a series of misunderstandings and garbled messages.
This problem became even more critical when radios became small, simple and inexpensive enough to provide communication capability to every soldier. The personal nature of combat at the squad and fireteam level, with little to nothing to insulate the individual troop from the frenetic pace and energy of action, the very act of sending and receiving communication can overload the senses.
Protocol
Over time a protocol has evolved that allows even individual soldiers to effectively communicate over the radio, even during the worst firefight. While the specifics of radio protocol do vary from country to country and even unit to unit, there are some general principles that are fairly ubiquitous.
• THINK THEN SPEAK: Knowing what you want to say before you key the microphone is important.
• KISS – Keep it Simple and Short: Complex, gregarious communication via radio is to be avoided. Messages should be simple and concise.
• USE PERIODS: You need to remember to tell others when you are done speaking to avoid interruptions and prompt responses.
The following portion of this document will describe a basic protocol, based on US Army standards. Each portion of a typical radio communication will be explored as will several ‘special cases’ that one might commonly encounter. For the most part this document will focus on that which is useful for Paintball and Airsoft, so such cases as calling in artillery or close air support will not be covered. Small unit tactical communications is the main point of this article.
Starting the Conversation
When one wants to talk on the radio you need to announce who you are talking to and who you are. Also, once you are done talking you need to indicate that. To indicate you are done with a sentence and are listening for a response you say the word ‘Over’. (Obviously one wants to avoid using that term anywhere else in the transmission, as it could cause confusion.) So a basic, simple transmission would sound like this:
Alpha One, this is Bravo Six. Over.
This example contains all the required elements of a transmission. A, this is B. Over. Generally this particular example is used to initiate a series of transmissions. When Bravo Six needs to talk to Alpha One he needs to make sure that Alpha One is listening. You see, this short phrase also tells other people on the same frequency that they do not need to pay attention to this transmission, allowing them to continue doing what they were doing, only listening for the end of the conversation.
When Alpha One hears this transmission he replies in kind, indicating that he has heard Bravo Six and is prepared to converse.
This is Alpha One. Over.
Now, Bravo Six knows that Alpha One can hear him and he can begin his conversation.
Fast Conversation.
As stated previously one wants to keep one’s transmissions short and to the point. One wants to keep the conversation flowing so that the channel can be cleared as rapidly as possible for other’s to use. Also, seeing as firefights generally are happening at a rapid pace, one needs to convey their information as rapidly as possible, in order to maximize response time.
An example of very poor radio discipline is:
Alpha One, this is Bravo Six. Yeah…um.. I’ve got a bunch of guys over here, they look like the bad guys. They are…………… I’d say, over about like 30 yards to my 11 o’clock, your 12 o’clock or thereabouts. And there are about, maybe, …………………….6 ……….or 10 of them. They seem to be moving your way. Maybe you should, like, kinda move back a little so that we can shoot at them a little to slow them down and stuff. Over.
As you can see this rambling, dead air filled transmission is slow and filled with potentially confusing statements. A better way to approach this would be to wait an extra couple seconds (seconds wasted in the first example) to collect one’s thoughts and frame a rapid fire, easily understood statement. Like this:
Alpha One, this is Bravo Six. Be advised. You’ve got 5 to 10 possible enemy 40 meters to your front moving to you. Fall back 10 meters to my flank so we can cover you. Over.
This said the same thing in an affirmative, no nonsense fashion. The ‘Be Advised’ is an example of an ‘attention getter’. This let’s Alpha One know that they have specific information of immediate importance to the recipient coming down. In the glossary you will find other examples of pointers like this.
Alpha One, having heard this and decided not to argue that maybe Bravo Six should move forward 10 meters, decides to comply with his suggestion and fall back. He might respond thusly:
Six, One. I copy 5 to 10 enemy. 40 meters forward. Fall back to your flank. Wilco. Over.
more about the Army’s radio protocolYou’ll note a couple things here. Alpha One shortened both their names for one. Basically, once the conversation has started and all other units on this channel know they are not being spoken to, the units involved can start to shorten their names to just the unique component. In this case, Six and One are the unique components at their level. Neither wants anyone else on Bravo team or Alpha team to get confused so they leave off that piece.
Also, One made a point of reading back the critical information. Since Bravo Six presumably already understands the situation, all One is doing is letting Six know that One noted the correct details. The phrase ‘I copy…’ is the indicator of this. It says ‘the next things I say are what I understand you to have said to me previously’.
Additionally, One said ‘Wilco’. This term means ‘I received your message, I understand and I will comply’. Another affirmative term (often misused) is ‘Roger’, which means ‘I have received your message and I understand’.
A sidelight: it is notable that ‘Roger Wilco Over and Out’ so often heard in old WW2 movies, is a nonsense phrase. Literally translated Hollywood’s catchy phrase ‘Roger Wilco, Over and Out’ says: ‘I received your message and I understand I received your message and I understand and I will comply I am done sending and am waiting for your reply and I am done sending and no reply is needed or expected’. Obviously this statement is garbage.
Now that Six has heard that he needs to let One know he’s got the right information. He might respond with:
One. Good copy. Out.
Here Six has shortened it further, leaving off the self-identifier. He then uses the phrase ‘good copy’. This means ‘you have correctly heard me’.
