Squad Roles Guide - Combat Infantry

It is vital in any team that everyone has at least a basic knowledge of how to operate in the roles of their teammates. Everyone obviously has their preferred roles and might not think they need to know how to operate an AT for example because they're always an MG gunner. However, if for example you team is attacked by a tank and your AT man is killed, when your squad leader tells you to pick up the AT, you need to instantly know how to use it, rather than having no clue and your squad being wiped out.

Combat Infantry make up the backbone of any army, fulfilling multiple roles all with the overall purpose of seeking out and neutralising the threat presented by the enemy.

Rifleman
The rifleman is the backbone of any infantry unit and will be the spearhead of most assaults. The rifleman needs to be highly versatile, able to work in both offensive and defensive combat situations, and must be familiar with his weapon. A rifleman will be part of a fireteam and is commanded by their FTL. The phrase 'everyone is a rifleman first and foremost' is quite apt, all units will almost certainly be enagaged in small arms infantry fighting at some point or another, pilots can be shot down, tanks can be disabled and cars can break down, therefore everyone needs to be familiar with how to use a rifle and operate as part of a fireteam and squad as a whole. The job of the rifleman includes scanning, spotting and reporting any contacts to his FTL, whilst exercising patience before engaging, in order to establish correct PID and not comprimise his team. A single rifleman with an itchy trigger finger can comprimise an entire operation with one ill conceived shot. A rifleman will usually be armed with an assault rifle, possibly a grenade launcher, along with frag and smoke grenades. A rifleman may sometimes also be assigned a specific role such as ammo bearer or AT rifleman, in which case he may carry extra equipment. The primary role of the rifleman is to ensure his equipment is in good working order, follow his FTL's orders and engage the enemy to the best of his ability, the rifleman's job is to essentially kill the enemy when and where he/ she is told to.

AT/ AA specialist
These units are essentially riflemen armed with specialist equipment for neutralising ground or air vehicles. Their role is much the same as the rifleman's, however the AT/ AA specialist may be considered a more valuable asset in the field due to their anti-vehicle capability. It is the AT/ AA man's job to ensure that his AT/ AA weapon is in good working order at all times, and that he is ready to deploy it at a moments notice (also ensuring his sights are properly adjusted). A specialist must also know his own limits, he must know when he can or cannot make a shot without a good chance of a hit, in order to avoid wasting precious AT/AA rounds. It is therefore also the specialist's job to only take shots with his AT/AA launcher a. when instructed to by his FTL, and b. When he believes he has a good chance of hitting his target (a high probability shot). It is also his responsibility to ensure that the weapon is fired safely, with backblast clear (ACE2) and no friendlies in the blast radius. An AT/ AA specialist may operate as part of a Fireteam, or part of a separate special weapons team (e.g a Javelin team).