This guide offers a list of various squad composition templates using fireteams and roles for a infantry squad. It explains the basic and the fundamentals of designing a squad composition for a infantry squad by going over in detail the strengths and weaknesses for both soldier roles as well as the different types of fireteam concepts that there is. The guide is written from my personal experiences in squad as both a squad leader, fireteam leader and a member of a squad. The content of the guide is therefor not defining the universal "meta" for squad as it may differ from every individuals subjective perspective. If anyone perhaps have other ideas/concepts/compositions for how you should design your squad compositions feel free to suggest them as I am always willing to improve my abilities in squad (and this guide) as well as I hope others who are reading this guide is willing to learn even if this guides content challenges their view of the "meta" in squad.
Introduction
When composing a squad you need to consider two factors: Flexibility and Balance. In other words, what soldier-roles and vehicle assets you have to your disposal, your soldiers capabilities in terms of skills and experience and how you combine those individuals with fireteams. Who you team up with who is based on your intended purpose of a fireteam and the situation.
Flexibility
What is your ability to change what you are doing to or to counter the different threat or situations you may encounter/the enemy trowing at your squad. You should strive to compose your squad with its fireteams and soldier able to take on as many different threats as possible. Here are some examples of situations you need to be able to handle:
Targets at long range (Having scoped weapons)
Targets with armor (Having anti-tank)
Targets using superior shooting positions (Using a grenade launcher with Smoke grenades or MAAWS Smoke)
Having a lot of wounded (Having a Medic to treat wounds)
Running out of bandages or ammo (Having a rifleman with an ammobag)
Balance
Is the relationship between Assault and Support. Assault: Is your ability to be aggressive and to take out enemies while on the move. Support: Is the ability to ensure that your Assault element can accomplish their tasks. You should strive to build your fireteams to have an fairly even balance between the support and assault. But balance can also be how you have distributed your assets in between your fireteams, Have you put all soldiers with optics in one team, all AT's in one, all MG in one? By offsetting the balance between your teams, your team might not be as flexible as you wish and if that is the case, you need to know your weaknesses and avoid to put them in situations they cant handle while instead place them in situations they can handle.
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Task Terminology
This section will be declaring some of the various tasks a soldier, team or even squad could have in Squad. The guide will be using these terms and you can always return to this section to refresh what the term means. There may be more special tasks that is not included in this guide but these are the most common. You can skip this section and move back to it if needed.
Team Leader - Suitable for leading a larger fireteam (3+ members). Interpret the Squad Leaders orders and (with local voice comms as main tool) coordinate and micromanage the soldiers in the fireteam to accomplish the Squad Leaders intended purpose of the orders. Will serve as a "point-man" leading the soldiers in the front of the formation and should have a good chance to quickly fire at enemies if they present themself quickly (at close to medium range). Most suitable roles are those with assault rifles.
Casualty Management - Revive downed squad members and treat wounds. Coordinate your squad members to assist you in this task if the situation requires.
Assaulting - Attacking an objective or FOB by engaging enemies and approaching/moving towards the target.
Flanking - Attacking an enemy, objective or FOB but from the side or behind and attempting to avoid combat until a suitable position in the side or behind have been achieved.
Rally stomping - Roaming around to find enemy spawn points to approach so they disappear or locating FOB's and reporting the finds. Avoiding getting into contact unless a known spawn point have been successfully destroyed.
FOB Hunting - Roaming around to find enemy FOBs to destroy. Avoiding getting into contact unless a known spawn point have been successfully destroyed.
Scouting - Separated from the main unit and moving ether ahead of the unit (in your units direction of travel) or to targeted locations to gather intelligence on enemies locations and also act early warning to prevent a ambush of friendly units.
Early Warning - To ether be moving around an objective or to remain stationary and watching outside the objective with purpose of detecting enemy attack and if possible to tie the enemy down in a firefight outside the objective to delay their attack allowing reinforcements to flank. and neutralize the attack.
Driving/Logistics - To ether transport personnel or supplies from A to B. While all roles can make one or two trips, this task is more in regards of continuous transplantations for a prolonged time.
Static Weapons - Operating Static weaponry and maintaining them in an operational condition. While all classes can temporary hop on a static weapon, this task is more in regards of continuous manning of static weaponry.
Rear Guard - Checking your units rear/six to alert your unit in case the enemy is attempting a flank from the rear.
Quick Reaction Force - “QRF” Also referred as Rapid Response Force "RRF" and "Backup". The purpose is to remain vigil and flexible and reinforce with support where extra help may be needed.
Defense - Eliminating threats that targets a defend-able cap-zone or FOB
Overwatch - Remaining stationary and covering friendlies or a location from being affected by enemy presence or fire. Ready to engage the enemies that may affect the friendlies or location.
Suppression - By fire at/engaging a known enemy location to inhibit the enemy from freely moving and engaging targets by convincing them to take cover and/or attracting attention from other enemy units to steal focus to allow other friendly units to avoid detection or enemy fire.
Armor Hunting - By ambushing or actively moving/searching for armor to neutralize, disable or deter.
Area Denial - Through usage of certain weapons creating a psychological effect that is convincing enemies to avoid a area. Example is mines around bridges & roads or accurate markSmen or vehicle fire covering avenues of approach.
Forward observation - To move to areas of interest for indirect fire and observe the indirect fire effect on the area while also relaying the effect of indirect fire to the gunner.
Directing Fire - Directing fire from automatic weapons. When the gunner have reduced ability to see the effect of their own fire, you can see it for them and tell them how they should adjust to be more effective.
Flank Guard - To protect the main force from being flanked by either using overwatch or setting up a ambush at strategic locations on the side or rear of the main unit.
Vehicle Maintenance - Repairing Vehicles
Vehicle Operator - Dedicate to operate/crew armed vehicles
Close Infantry Support - Moving together with the infantry as a vehicle and providing fire support to infantry as they are moving.
Troop Carrier - Transporting infantry in a armored vehicle from A to B.
Roles Types
There are a multitude of different roles in Squad. They all come with different weapons, equipment and abilities and some of them even have the option to even further change their weapons. This results in that the different roles will inherently be more suitable for different task than other roles. While an experienced player can preform all of these tasks with perhaps any roles , it should not be ignored that with the right person in the right role they can be more efficient while doing their task. Just because the tasks are listed for a role in this list, it does not make automatically okay that you have a free pass to do it. It only makes the soldier more suitable to do it and in many situations you can take your own initiative to carry out these tasks without the Squad Leaders approval but always keep in mind that the Squad Leader have the final word on what you should do. For more information about the roles, visit the Official Squad Wiki[squad.gamepedia.com]
Roles
(R) Rifleman Description: Weather you have a scope, iron-sight, holographic or a submachinegun your abilities stays fairly the same however if you have a scope you might have it easier to accomplish some of the tasks better than if you didn't due to the extra visibility and accuracy. The Rifleman most of the time uses a assault rifle making this role versatile in both accuracy for longer range as well as firepower in close quarters. The Rifleman is the only role who carries an ammo bag which can be used by the Rifleman them self or by other soldiers. This make the rifleman really useful to pair up with other roles that have a high demand of ammo, like AT, MG and Combat Engineers. Due to the Rifleman's extra ammo capacity, the Rifleman can deploy a "Grenade Rain", either with Smoke or fragmentation grenades. This can be useful for crossing dangerous terrain or to clear out entrenched enemies. Suitable Team Assignment:
Suitable Tasks:
Team Leader
Assault
Flanking
Rally Stomping
Scouting
Early Warning
Driving/Logistics (Consider changing to crewman if damage to the vehicle is expected)
Static Weapons
Directing Fire (With Scoped or Binos)
(MED) Medic Description: While in the end the Medic share mostly the same equipment as a Rifleman and can therefor assume the role or a Rifleman, the Medic have exclusively the ability to bring friendlies back to full health thus making the Medic more suitable to support other roles doing their task by managing their health. This will force the Medic in the same situations as any of the other roles and at a moments notice switch to preform the job of a Rifleman to later return to the tasks of a Medic. Due to that the medic have largest supply of bandages, the Medic should have the priority to revive wounded. In order for the Medic to have the best ability to detect and reach downed squad members, the Medic should not be on point as the medic may then have to turn and run back to treat the wounded instead of running forward. Suitable Team Assignment:
Suitable Tasks:
Casualty Management
Rear Guard
Quick Reaction Force
(AR/LMG) Automatic Rifleman / (MG) Machine Gunner Description: Due to the weight of the weapon and the recoil the AR and MG, the ability to acquire a clear and accuracy kill-shot in while on the move makes this role more suitable to be stationary. However with with experience and a lot of practice a good player can learn the weapons deficiency and strategically utilize this weapon effectively both in close quarters and on the move. The LMG is however lighter than the MG and can be a bit easier to acquire targets if you been on the move. This is the go-to role for deploying supressive fire. If you have both a LMG and a MG in your squad then put the MG in your Support Team and your AR in your Assault Team Suitable Team Assignment: LMG
MG
Suitable Tasks:
Defensive
Overwatch
Suppression
Early Warning
Flank Guard
(LAT/HAT) Light/Heavy Anti-tank Description: Provides a hand-portable weapon to be deployed against both soft and hard, light and heavy vehicles by ether deter, disable or destroy. this role can prevent the enemy from employing effective use of their vehicles. While this role is not engaging or preparing to engage a vehicle, this role functions in the same way as a rifleman. Suitable Team Assignment: LAT
HAT
Suitable Tasks:
Team Leader
Assault
Flanking
Rally Stomping
FOB Hunting (If HAT)
Scouting
Early Warning
Armor Hunting
(GR) Grenadier Description: Has a unique ability to launch grenades from a under-barrel grenade launcher (UGL). The grenades vary from: HE "High-Explosive" (Anti INF), HEDP "High-Explosive Dual Purpose" (Anti INF & Light Armor) and Smoke Grenades. The GR can use the grenades to destroy sandbags and Smoke to blind windows and doorways as well as marking targets with Smoke. While the Grenadier is not using the UGL, the Grenadier can assume the same tasks as a Rifleman. Suitable Team Assignment:
Suitable Tasks:
Team Leader
Overwatch
suppression
assault
Flanking
Rally stomping
Scouting
Early warning
(DM) MarkSman Description: Have the squads most powerful optics and carrying a designated markSman rifle. The rifle have a larger caliber than most assault rifles causing the recoil to be increased. A Designated MarkSman is not to be confused with a Sniper. To keep the definition and difference as simple as possible: A sniper would operate mostly as a pair with a spotter or sometimes alone completely detached from any squads operating autonomic and independent from support with the task of gathering intelligence. This is not the same as the in-game MarkSman. The MarkSman is a Squad asset and the markSman actions needs to serve their squad's mission before anything. The MarkSman needs to help the squad from taking long range accurate fire and that means that if the MarkSman is not with the squad, the MarkSman may not even be able to see what or who is engaging the squad. The MarkSman should in many way just be played as a Rifleman (with a scope). Suitable Team Assignment:
Suitable Tasks:
Team Leader
Overwatch
Flanking
Rally Stomping
Scouting
Early Warning
Forward Observation
Area Denial
Flank Guard
Directing Fire
(S) Sapper/Combat Engineer Description: While this role is not busy using the mines and explosives to destroy vehicles and FOBs this role plays much like a rifleman. Suitable Team Assignment:
Suitable Tasks:
Team Leader
Area Denial
Armor Hunting
Rally Stomping / FOB Hunting
Scouting
Early Warning
Forward Observation (if equipped with binos)
Directing Fire (if equipped with binos)
Vehicle Maintenance
(CREW) Crewman Description: If the squad have access to a vehicle and the vehicle will be used in combat or is expected to take damage, this role have a toolkit and can repair vehicles to a degree. This role also possesses binoculars and therefor have a ability to observe an area over great distances. Suitable Team Assignment:
Suitable Tasks:
Driving/logistics
Vehicle Maintenance
Vehicle Operator
