Squads Roles and Ranks

Squaddies in Squad Mates are assigned ranks and roles based on how they best help the team on the field. They are used not only for administrative purposes but for slotting members into teams and tournaments.

Squad Ranks
The squads, like an organized group of people, have a hierarchy that designates some members over others. Unlike the military, where there can be myriad ranks for any number of tasks, Squad Mates simply has 4 official ranks for squads.

Team Captain
The Team Captain is the highest ranking member of any given squad. They are the designated leader and go to point of contact for any issues or requests involving a squad. Generally the Team Captain has the final say in what a squad's direction is and a good team captain can make or break a squad. Some team captains are so good at their job that they have catapulted their teams into the top levels of championship play. It's commonly understood that a team captain's authority is absolute. Team Captains of professional registered teams have multiple summits per year where they all meet up with the SMC to determine the direction of Squad Mates based on the projected operational needs of the Dragon Alliance military.

General Responsibilities:

 * Management: A team captains primary job is team management.  They manage the rosters, budget, training regimen, when and where the team competes and if they are going to go the championship professional route.
 * Recruitment: The second job of the team captain is member recruitment.  The team lives or dies by it's membership so the captain is always on the lookout for new members.  Recruitment styles vary wildly from captain to captain.
 * Roster Management: Captains are responsible for team roster management.  They are to decide which members to place in the team, when and where based on strengths, weaknesses, game requirements and general health.  They are also responsible for dismissing members from the team.
 * Treasurer: The team captain manages the funds of the team.

Field Responsibilities:

 * Team Battle Plan: The team captain decides the overall battleplan for the team.  They decide what objectives to go for, how to go about it, when and where to push and if a retreat is in order.
 * Communication: The team captain is responsible for maintaining communication with the team's command element along with keeping contact with the SMC during the course of a game
 * Tactical Support: The team captain is authorized to spend team funds and potential prize money during a match to request tactical support on the field.
 * Surrendering: The team captain is responsible for coordinating with their team and calling in surrenders as necessary.

Delegation
Team Captains can decide to delegate authority to other ranks in the team. 9 times out of 10 those delegated responsibilities are given to the assistant captain. Any authority delegated is recognized by the SMC as an authorized request, with or without explicit approval of the team captain. This means that, if the assistant captain is authorized to call in tactical support, they can do this without the team captain's approval. The team captain can still override it however. The only exception to delegated authority is surrendering. The only time a surrender can be called without team captain approval is if the captain is incapacitated or unable to make the call.

Team captains are wise to delegate some of their authority to other members because if they are eliminated in game they cannot support the team anymore.

Assistant Captain
The Assistant Team Captain is the squaddie directly below the team captain. They are the ones who basically take control of the team if the captain is absent or otherwise indisposed. They have almost the same level of authority as the team captain except in limited circumstances.

General Responsibilities:

 * Stand-in for Team Captain in all delegated responsibilities if they are unavailable
 * Can call a vote of "No Confidence" in Team Captain
 * Team Scouting: The Assistant Captain has a responsibility to scout other teams and make notes on their playstyles and members.  They can also open up the avenue of recruiting members from other teams who's contracts have expired or are expiring

Field Responsibilities:

 * Stand-in for Team Captain in responsibilities that are delegated to them
 * Leading action against the enemy team as lead of a fireteam or whole squad leader
 * Be a visible morale booster for the team

Vote of No Confidence
There are times when the Team Captain is unable or unwilling to perform their duties. There are also times when in the course of the captain managing the team that it actively works against the wellbeing of the team itself and the members within. During these times the Assistant Captain can call for a Vote of No Confidence in the team leader. Due to the nature of Squad Mates and how the rosters are set up, players need to be removed through SMC official channels. This prevents the team captain from just removing the Assistant Captain if the vote is called. Once the vote is brought forth to the SMC with backing from at least 33% of the team, they will begin a formal inquiry into the request. All games that are currently scheduled will be postponed and the team will not be able to access their funds or register for any new games. At this point, the SMC will send a different official to each of the members of the team who will individually question them about the performance of the team captain and their own feelings on the vote and if they feel it was justified. Afterwards, the SMC will corroborate their findings and pass their judgment.

If 60% or more of the team feel that the vote was justified and the evidence behind the vote is sufficient then a No Confidence verdict will be passed on the team captain by the SMC and they will be effectively removed from the captain position. The Assistant Captain will then be elevated to Acting Team Captain and assume full responsibility of the team. The ATC can then unlock the team's assets and continue scheduling and participating on the Field as normal.

The Team Captain then has the option of working with the SMC and the Acting Team Captain of their former team to follow steps to be restored to the team captain role or to remain on the team.

More often than not, however, when a vote of this nature actually passes muster the Team Captain is removed from the team. If a Team Captain accrues 3 No Confidence verdicts from the SMC, they are banned from being a team captain for life pending an official course reversal from the SMC VP of Teams Management.

After a period of 2 weeks, or 3 official Squad Mates matches, the SMC will then poll those team members and gauge the performance of the Acting Team Captain in their execution of duties. If 51% of the members vote in favor, then the ATC will be promoted to Team Captain and the team officially becomes theirs. If they team doesn't approve, the reasons for disapproval are collected and presented to the ATC to improve upon. This process will go on up to 3 times with each subsequent time adding 2 weeks onto the trial period. If after 3 times the ATC doesn't get approved then the SMC will gather the team together for them to have have a discussion to eventually reach a consensus on who they feel should lead the team. If no decision is made, the SMC will present the option of them picking someone from a list of team captains that currently do not have a team that are in good standing. If the team accepts then the new captain is moved into the role. If the team declines, then the SMC will begin the process of disbanding the team.

Squaddie
The Squaddie is the base rank in Squad Mates of any player that is assigned to a team. Squaddies are permitted to represent their teams in public by wearing their colors or patches. Squaddies are also allowed to participate in official tournament events.

Recruit
A Recruit is a player that has been scouted by a team. When scouted and if the player accepts they become a recruit until they pass whatever that teams requirements are. Recruits are not permitted to represent the team by wearing their colors or patches until they pass their trials. Recruits also cannot participate in official tournaments or championship events. Unlike Squaddies, which are officially registered with the SMC, a recruit can rescind their recruit status with a team at anytime and go somewhere else.

Roles
Players have a number of roles they can choose from or be assigned during Squad Mates.

Rifleman
A Rifleman is an all-rounder style for players on a team. Riflemen focus on fighting the enemy over most other tasks but can be reassigned at will. They use medium to heavy armor, a mix of weapons based on their tasks and are typically posted up behind cover or concealment with the ultimate goal of closing distance with and destroying the enemy.

Headhunter
Headhunters are players that are specialized in hunting down other players. Usually headhunters go after team captains, assistant captains, machine gunners and other targets of priority.

Machine Gunner
Machine Gunners are players that are trained in the use of light and heavy machine guns. They are paired with assault players a lot of the time as they keep the enemy's head down while the assaults and the riflemen move in on the enemy. If left alone, Machine Gunners can deal tremendous damage to a team or stall entire pushes.

Sharpshooter
Sharpshooters are players that are trained in marksmanship. Most of the time sharpshooters use modified combat rifles equipped with long-range scopes, bipods and longer barrels. Sharpshooters can double as headhunters by striking at targets of importance however unlike headhunters they do so from extreme distance.

Support
Support players specialize in non-combat roles. They usually wear lighter armor and have weapons geared more toward personal or close-in defense. They are more often than not found in the back of the formation or not on the frontlines.

Play Styles
Play styles, also known as specializations, are further refinements of player roles. While roles are a general overview of a players preference, a play style is how they play that role.

Assault
Assault players are the frontline fighters for a team. They are the ones that initiate fights with the enemy or push objectives. They typically have heavier armor, more ammunition and gear, or weapons suited for attacking such as combat rifles and LMGs.

Skirmisher
Skirmishers are riflemen that use lower weight armor and lesser amounts of gear to keep their weight manageable. Skirmishers are the troops who rush the flanks or scale obstacles to get at the enemy. If an enemy breaks into a bunker or room on a flank, it's probably a Skirmisher.

Raider
Raiders are players that close with the enemy and attack them in extreme close quarters. Different from skirmishers, raiders use Sub-machine guns, shotguns and other close range weapons to eliminate the enemy in enclosed spaces. If a player jumps into your trench, it's most likely a raider. Raiders are also tasked with hit-and-runs and ambush tactics as their kit is set up for extreme alpha aggression before they break off.

Chaser
A chaser is a player who's sole purpose is to hunt down a specific player or group of players. This is the specialization that more or less gives headhunter it's name. They have special comms with a team's command element that has a person dedicated to picking out a player for the chaser to go after. Chasers work more with the command liaison than with the actual team itself and are usually away from the team.

Designated Marksman
Designated marksmen use modified combat rifles for long range precision. They can also use purpose built DMRs. They provide precision fire to a squad or fireteam and bridge the gap between the less mobile and more purpose built sniper and the average rifleman.

Sniper
Snipers use long-range sniper rifles to engage targets at extreme range. They typically have much lighter combat loads as most of their effectiveness lies in their rifle. A properly placed sniper can pin an entire team down behind cover. Snipers can also be tasked with HVT elimination or protection.