Radio

[GI_Rutger 0]

Hi guys,

As a real Flashpoint fan I want my missions to be realistic. In CWC, you have a spec op mission where you (Gastovski) have to blow up 3 Shilka's on Kolgujev. HQ says over the radio something like: "Operation Iron Fist starts". I was thinking, could the enemy listen to the US Radio frequenties? I they did, it wouldn't be smart i've you give orders, positions etc. over the radio.

My second questions, I'm making a standard mission where you have to capture a village. You're starting in a Pasi, it's 3 minutes driving to the village. Capturing the village is a part of a great offensive, with air/artillery support. When you listen to the radio as soldier, would it be realistic if you hear HQ talk to pilots and tanks, other units talking with each other ( like: "Alpha Eight to Bravo Four, there are Russians coming from the south, get some fucking tanks over here!").

[AdmiralKarlDonuts 0]

The enemy could listen to US radio frequencies, or they could determine your location based on your signals.  I'm not in the Army so 100% sure on this stuff, but certainly they take precautions to safeguard the important stuff.  I would guess that most tactical communications would be broadcast in the clear since there isn't time for the intel guys to get the information up to the front lines in time for it to make any difference in a battle.  The US PRC-126 short-range radio looks very much like a Motorola walkie-talkie with a few extra bells and whistles, so I doubt they've put any sort of encoding on it.

Strategic or command transmissions are, as I understand it, kept pretty safe with encryption, and satellite radio signals are (IIRC) extremely hard to intercept. Rangers and most SF guys use SATCOM satellite radios (a la the BAS Rangers) because they need to be able to communicate orders, positions, etc. without having them intercepted.

As for hearing all that stuff during an operation, it probably varies from Army to Army and year to year.  If you're not carrying a radio or standing near someone who is, you're most likely not going to hear all that.

[jetplane_pete 0]

Guys hi

I served as a signaller for 10 odd yrs in an infantry battalion (British Army)

You never said more on the radio than you had to. Enemy direction finding was considered a big threat ( I was in during the 80's when a Soviet attack into West Germany was what we trained for).

I was a command post signaller and worked down to our companys HQ's and support detachments only (Milan, Mtr etc). If I switched radio set I could talk up to Brigade HQ (US Regiment).

We used "Batco" a simple code system which avoided info being sent in clear, but as the battle got hotter its use would decline.

If we could avoid using the radio (ie use phoneline, runners or DR) we would.

A good radio operator never swore, and always worked to a format.

Contact report

Hello 0 this is C23A Contact

20.21 hours

3x T72

grid ref x,y

attacking my posn

out

HTH

Pete

[GI_Rutger 0]

Thanks Pete.

Are these 'rules' valuable if you are in another kind of battlefield, like Bosnia? In the movie Warriors, they don't talk like you typed in your reply, they just say: "Alpha One to Alpha Two, do you have some information about that officer that was shot last night?", you know what I mean.

[The_Oakster 0]

I am currently serving in the British Army in a Signals Unit and the 'Rules' count all the time. Even during excercises we are constantly made aware of them.

The Electronic Warfare guys train themselves when we train sometimes and they report back all the stuff we say incorrectly that they picked up.

If the radio net was used as in 'Warriors', then it would cause confusion which would cost time trying to work out what was said. Clear and Calm (ish) must be followed.

[jetplane_pete 0]

Guys

GI as Oakster says the rules apply all the time. Having said that I never saw combat, and I know that in those circumstances things would have been different.

The best way to understand how a radio net works is to understand that it exists purely to allow the passage of crucial tactical information.

Only one voice can be heard at a time (usually the strongest signal) and all the procedures exist to allow the most important message to be called in at any time. (To the extent that a long message is broken down into smaller parts, with a pause between parts, sufficient to allow someone with a more important message to be able to but in during the pause, and claim the air)

I was on numerous exercises where things did not go to plan because person B could not tell person A in a clear and calm manner what they knew.

I have no idea how the US Army operates, but I know they were not as good as us

Pete

[GI_Rutger 0]

Pete and Oakster, thanks for helping. I will try to use wait you guys said in my mission. Although it's realistic, I don't think it makes the mission beter, if I would use the way Pete said. Maybe in the West vs. East mission, I could use it.

If the enemy attacks with tanks from the south, the radioman (player) would say in flashpoint "Foxtrot four to alpha nine, enemy tanks and infantry coming from the south, need help, out". Maybe I can do it in another way. If I want to make it realistic, my squad leader can say to me: "Armstrong, send to HQ that enemy thanks and inf are coming from the south" (you see this as a text, not radiomessage), after that Armstrong will send the 'code' like Pete said.

But do have squad members personal radios or other things to communicate with other squadmembers? Like if four guys fire with a MG from the south, four guys charge in from the west, but they can hardly see each other, or they are to far from each other. Can they communicate with personal radios, telephones?

[The_Oakster 0]

Realistic isnt always the best way for OFp for some things.

As far as Individul radios go, they are used but I dont have much knowledge on how they are used although I would assume they are used the same way.

Field Telephones are used but only for static locations. It would be quite restrictive assaulting a position with a telephone that is connected to the HQ with some wire! ;)