Standard Qualification 2
Standard Qualification 2 (SQ-2) is a certification that builds upon Standard Qualification 1 to provide further information that full members are expected to know.
| Certification Information | |
|---|---|
| Created by | Sirdog |
| Certification Checklist | Link |
| Contributors |
|
| Description | Slightly more advanced information that the Endurance Coalition requires for more consistent play. Required to progress to a full member. |
Arsenals and kit making
Arsenal use
While many operations have kits pre-made, sometimes the intent is for you to create your own kit.
Kits are built using an in-game tool known as the "arsenal". It provides an interface to change your clothing, firearms, ammunition, equipment, and attachments. Interacting with the arsenal is done by using ACE interact[1] (LCtrl+⊞ Win) on the relevant container. A new UI will appear with your view switching to 3rd person.
On the left you'll see a list of firearm types, clothing, backpacks, and other special equipment (e.g night-vision, map, compass). On the right you will see the attachments and ammunition for the firearms, and what can be inserted into the various clothing. For example, if you want to add a grenade to your vest, you'd select your vest on the left, then select the amount of grenades you want from the right.
At the very bottom-left of the UI, you will see a weight indicator:
This is your total weight. On the very bottom-right, when adding items to your clothing or backpack, you will see a white bar:
This is a visual representation of how full the clothing item/backpack is.
When you select a firearm on the left, you will notice a small popup at the top left of the UI.
This lists the specifications of the firearm in question.
Kits
Expand to reveal them.The bare minimum necessities you need in 99% of cases are the following.
| Item | Minimum Amount | ACE Category |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Weapon Magazine | 6 (+1 in the gun) | Magazines |
| Secondary Weapon Magazine | 2 (+1 in the gun) | Magazines |
| Magazine for Auto-rifleman | (Team Dependent) | Magazines |
| Chem-lights | (Team Dependent) | Grenades |
| Frag Grenade | 1 | Grenades |
| Smoke Grenade (White) | 1 | Grenades |
| Canteen | 1 | Field Rations |
| Sunflower Seeds/Small Snack | 1 | Field Ratons |
| Earplugs | 1 (MAX) | Misc. Items |
| Cable Ties | 3 | Misc. Items |
| Radio | 0 (Mission Dependent) | Misc. Items |
| Mag Lite XL50[2] | 1 (MAX) | Tools |
| Entrenching Tool | 1 (MAX) | Tools |
| Bandage (Basic) | 10 | Medical Items |
| Bandage (Quick Clot | 6 | Medical Items |
| Morphine Autoinjector | 1 | Medical Items |
| Splint | 1 | Medical Items |
| Suture[3] | 5 | Medical Items |
| Tourniquet (CAT | 1 (Max 4) | Medical Items |
| Map | 1 | (Left UI) |
| Compass | 1 | (Left UI) |
| Watch | 0 | (Left UI) |
Operation leaders are not obligated to follow this section's guidance so long as the deviation is intentional. However, if it isn't clear that it is, and your kit is lacking in the above, you should speak up.
Many roles — and sometimes it's specified for a whole element — have something called a march load. This is the maximum weight a kit for that role may have. This is set to maintain a balance between firepower and one's stamina consumption. You should meet this load as closely as possible. You may intuitively believe that being very underweight is a positive, but it's more likely you will cause yourself problems later.
The following is the example of a rifleman kit with a march load of 60 pounds.
| Item | Minimum Amount |
|---|---|
| Rifle Magazines | 8 (+1 in the gun) |
| Handgun Magazines | 2 (+1 in the gun) |
| Chem-lights | 6 |
| M67 Frag Grenade | 3 |
| V40 Mini-Grenades | 2 |
| M83 Smoke Grenades (White) | 3 |
| Canteen | 1 |
| Sunflower Seeds | 1 |
| Earplugs | 1 |
| Cable Ties | 3 |
| AN/PRC-343 Radio | 1 |
| Mag lite XL50 | 1 |
| Entrenching Tool | 1 |
| Bandage (Basic) | 16 |
| Bandage (Quick Clot) | 8 |
| Tourniquet (CAT) | 2 |
| Suture | 5 |
| Splint | 1 |
| Morphine Autoinjector | 1 |
This solder is wearing a light plate-carrier and light backpack. With only their clothing and weapons they weigh 37.8 pounds. All of the above added raises it to 59.7 pounds. Note how most of the changes come from adding bandages, grenades, and magazines. If you are confident you have everything but are underweight, it never hurts to carry more of these 3 items.
Note the above kits are examples. Ultimately, what to add in your kit is going to depend on the operation. The above is meant to give you a foundation to learn from.
Recommended rifleman weight
The recommended weight for the basic rifleman, presuming a march load is not set and you are told to make a kit, is 60 pounds. The advised weight for the other roles, such as AT or medic, will be defined in their specific certifications.
Buddy check
A buddy check is when another person — usually your battle buddy for the operation — sanity checks your kit. A check is performed by doing the following:
- Holster your weapon entirely by pressing 0.
- Use ACE self-interact and select the option to surrender.
- Your buddy will then use normal ACE interaction to open your inventory which was made possible with your surrender.
You will then do the same for your buddy.
Advanced weapons
Ranging
All firearms have an effective range. The range of your firearm is shown above your stamina bar (see above image). The range indicates that when you aim with a scope or iron-sight, not accounting for factors such as wind, the bullet is expected to reach that range at the middle of your crosshair before being affected by bullet drop.
An iron-sight is ranged in meters. A red-dot sight, and some low to medium-low scopes, are all set to a pre-determined range which will be indicated as shown above.
Longer scopes, especially sniper scopes, are measured in mils, and the scope can be adjusted to range closer or farther. For such scopes, Page Up or Page Down will adjust vertically and ⇧ Shift+Page Up or ⇧ Shift+Page Down will adjust horizontally. A vertical adjustment is to account for bullet drop; a horizontal adjustment is to account for wind.
For the purposes of SQ-2 you only need to know that ranging exists, why you would do it (to increase your accuracy at different distances), and how to vertically adjust.
Swapping to your sidearm
It is faster to pull out your sidearm than it is to reload your primary weapon.
Radios
BF-888S (Baofeng)
The BF-888S (colloquially called "Baofeng") is a 5W[4] 4-5km portable radio. The radio consists of 2 dials, the one on the left for selecting between 16 channels, and the one on the right for volume. It is equivalent to the AN/PRC-343 in function, just not preferred by EDC. Note that this radio cannot communicate with 343s.
Programmable radios
The following radios feature default channels. Their frequencies can be changed, they can display optional channel names, and they will work with each other out of the box.
AN/PRC-148 (148)
The AN/PRC-148 (colloquially called "148") is a 5W 5-7km range portable radio. On the top is a volume control knob, which will also turn the radio off, and a channel knob with 16 channels. The display will show the channel's name.
AN/PRC-152 (152)
The AN/PRC-152 (colloquially called "152") is a 5W 5-7km range portable radio. On the top you will find a function switch that can be used to turn the radio off or to set 1 of 6 preset channels. The left side has volume buttons. The keypad has a button to go up or down the channel presets.
AN/PRC-117F (117)
The AN/PRC-117F (colloquially called "117") is a 20W radio with 10-20km of range, often mounted in vehicles. On the LCD screen is the preset channel selected. On the bottom left of the keypad is a volume up and down button. On the bottom right of the keypad is a button to go up or down the preset channels.
Older technology
The remaining 3 radios are "odd ones out" and will often be used in operations taking place in the past.
AN/PRC-77 (77)
The AN/PRC-77 (colloquially called "77") is a 4W 1-3km range radio introduced during Vietnam in 1968. It is usually held by a dedicated radioman or mounted in a vehicle.
Use the 2 tuning dials on the left and right of the number display to set frequency. The band switch changes between higher and lower frequencies granting more radio traffic options. The volume knob is properly labeled and works as one might expect.
SEM 52 SL (SEM52)
The SEM 52 SL (colloquially called "SEM52") is a 1W 1-2km radio that was issued to the German army in 1995. There is a channel preset knob on the left for selecting your channel with an accompanying LCD screen showing what the frequency is. The volume knob on the right works as one might expect and also serves to turn it off.
SEM 70 (SEM70)
The SEM 70 (colloquially called "SEM70") is German manpack 4W 1-3km range radio from 1984. It is usually held by a dedicated radioman or mounted in a vehicle. At the top left the black button labeled “ANZEIGE”[5] shows the current frequency. The MHz[6] and kHz[7] knobs flanking the frequency display are used for adjusting the frequency.
Vehicle racks
A vehicle rack is a radio mounted to a vehicle. These are preferred for long-range communication because they have better range than a hand-held. Accessing a vehicle rack is sometimes locked to specific vehicle seats. A vehicle rack can also sometimes be accessed from outside the vehicle, but you usually need to get in and out at least once for it to work.
Multiple radios
Sometimes, especially for leadership roles, a person will operate more than 1 radio. This is usually a combination of short (e.g Baofeng, 343) and long-range (e.g 152, 148) radios. One can hear as many radios as they can carry, but ACRE2 only lets you have a key to talk on 3 at a time.
The keybinds for talking on your radios (PTT1, PTT2, PTT3) are set in ACRE2. The specific radio assigned to each PTT key depends on the order you added them to your inventory. Your inventory screen will typically indicate which number is associated with that radio.
By default PTT1 is ⇪ Caps Lock, PTT2 is LCtrl+⇪ Caps Lock, and PTT3 is LAlt+⇪ Caps Lock.
Advanced communication
Controlled and uncontrolled environments
Certain radio frequencies are controlled or uncontrolled. Controlled environments have strict standards on "procedure words" and brevity, while uncontrolled environments do not. Short-range radios are usually uncontrolled. Long range radios are usually controlled.
Over and Out
For the sake of brief and easily understood communication, on a controlled frequency, when someone communicates a message and expects a reply, they are to end the message with "over". If said person does not expect a reply, they end the message with "out". Generally, the person who initiates a conversation should also end it, but this is not a hard rule.
Consider the following conversation.
Bravo Two, this is Alpha One. We are approaching the objective.
This is Bravo Two. Understood, Alpha One. We're setting up overwatch now.
Let us know when you're in position, Bravo Two.
Roger that. Bravo Two will advise when set.
At any point in this conversation it would be reasonable to assume it had ended. Because neither speaker is ever certain of when a reply is wanted, the speakers become distracted, not wanting to focus on something else and get interrupted. While multi-tasking is part of leading, the issue is that this distraction is avoidable.
Consider the same conversation when "over" and "out" are used.
Bravo Two, this is Alpha One. We are approaching the objective. Over.
This is Bravo Two. Understood, Alpha One. We're setting up overwatch now. Over.
Let us know when you're in position, Bravo Two. Over.
Roger that. Bravo Two will advise when set. Out.
It is clear when replies are wanted, and once "out" is invoked, both participants can confidently begin doing other things.
You, Me, Net
When beginning to speak on a controlled frequency, first identify who you want to reach, then identify who you are, then monitor the "net" — frequency — for a reply. Sometimes the "net" portion of this shorthand means to verbally state the current frequency. Whether doing that is necessary is situational. The example conversation in section Over and Out is a good showcase of this shorthand.
Please note that this is not required for every transmission in the resulting conversation.
Roger and Wilco
"Roger" indicates a message is received. EDC also commonly uses "copy" and "copy that" to indicate this. "Wilco" is slightly different, indicating a message with an order is received and will be carried out.
Unless stated otherwise by leadership, adherence to separating the use of "roger" versus "wilco" is unnecessary. For certification, you are simply expected to know that the 2 responses have different meanings.
ACE reports
You may sometimes be asked to make an "ACE report". This is done by using the stoplight color system, plus black, to indicate your condition. ACE report requests are usually specific, like "how's everyone's ammo" or some such. If not specific, do your best to encompass your total condition with a single color.
The following table provides examples of certain ACE reports and what a particular response would mean.
| Category | "Green" | "Yellow" | "Red" | "Black" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | 100% of starting amount | 50% of starting amount | 1 firefight left | Completely out, combat ineffective |
| Medical Supplies | 100% of starting amount | 50% of starting amount | 1 firefight left | Completely out, cannot treat any future injury |
| Casualties | No injuries or dead, still combat capable | Injuries or losses sustained, still combat capable | No longer combat capable | Everyone is dead |
Advanced movement
In Arma, there are combat stances. One type is a step lean, where your character steps in the specified direction without changing their facing. The other is simply a high and low variation of standing, crouching, and being prone.
To perform a specific stance, press LCtrl followed by W, A, S, or D.
- LCtrl+W will perform the high variation of a given stance.
- LCtrl+S will perform the low variation of a given stance.
- LCtrl+A will perform a step lean to the left and change your weapon to the left shoulder.
- Useful for covering or clearing a left-sided corner.
- LCtrl+D will perform a step lean to the right.
A step lean performed while prone will result in your character shifting to lay horizontally with their upper body in the specified direction. Useful to cover a corner while prone.
Step leans are independent of the typical leaning achieved with Q and E, allowing a farther lean that would be possible without it.
Cover and concealment
Something that is cover will hide you from view and stop a bullet. Something that is concealment will hide you from view but will not stop a bullet. Think a brick wall (cover) versus a bush (concealment). Keep in mind that things can be solid, fully opaque[8], and still be only concealment.
A common idea shown in media is that a car door will stop bullets. Aside from vehicles designed to be armored, a car door will not stop a bullet, and so in that scenario the door is concealment. The same goes even for (non-brick) walls — the walls of modern residential buildings likely won't stop a bullet, and thus they are concealment.
Video games represent these things as cover because it is easy to develop and is expected behavior. However, Arma does not follow this trend. Bullets can and will go through non-armored cars, (some) walls, and other kinds of material.
Cover should always be preferred to concealment when possible. Concealment is more-so used when staying on the move, or bounding, and access to cover is spotty. In a firefight, proper cover should be prioritized immediately.
Footnotes
- ↑ For vanilla arsenals, you'd use the scroll wheel.
- ↑ This is how you light up your map in the dark.
- ↑ Per SQ-1, this is for the medic's use and not your own.
- ↑ Watt; wattage.
- ↑ German. Has multiple translations; in this context it's likely "display".
- ↑ Megahertz.
- ↑ Kilohertz.
- ↑ Not able to be seen through.