S3 Department - Standard Operating Procedures

This is the Document Release Information
Article Number:	7CAV-DR-03
Scope:	S3 Department - Regulations and Procedures
Version:	Version 3.0
Effective Date:	09JUN21
Last Modified Date:	11FEB21
Approving Authority:	S3 Officer in Charge
Point of Contact:	S3 Executive Officer

Minimum Requirements​

• Each game's Operations sub-department is responsible for conducting at least 2 operations per month as the minimum department requirement
• Operations Staff members must at minimum hold the rank of Private First Class (E-3).
• Operations Staff members are required to run at least one operation per two months unless otherwise instructed by their Operations Lead. Operations Staff who fail to meet the minimum requirement will receive a Counseling. Subsequent failures to meet the minimum requirement will result in removal from the department.

Operational Roles and Responsibilities​

Mission Controller​

The Mission controller is the creator of the operation currently being played. They have also constructed the Initial Operations order and will likely provide administrative and interactive support during the operation where required.

Officer In Command (OIC)​

An operation's (OIC) for an official operation is ideally the person acting in overall command of 7Cav in-game forces, regardless of rank or billet. While actual officers or senior NCO billets would be preferred and receive priority for those roles in operations, rank or primary leadership billet are not a requirement to be an OIC. The highest ranked individual on scene is not the OIC of the operation by default, however OIC may be delegated to qualified individuals per Mission Controller's discretion. OIC's and Mission Controllers are intended and encouraged to be different roles fulfilled by different people, however, they can sometimes overlap to be the same person.

Element Leader​

An Element Leader is a soldier who has signed up for and acts as a combat leader, leading a group of individuals in support of the OIC. This is usually identifiable by being assigned a Platoon Level callsign, such as Viking-1, Able or Tincan. Squad Leaders & Pilots are two examples of Element leaders.

Troopers​

If you are neither the Officer In Command, Mission Controller nor an Element Leader, you fall under the Trooper definition. Troopers don't have a lot of responsibilities during operations beyond having a good time and participating. As good practice, sometime within the week after the operation, a Trooper should go to the AAR thread for the operation they attended and ensure their name is listed there. If it isn't, contact whoever your element leader was and make sure they are aware.

Operation Scheduling​

1. Operations must be posted at least 7 days prior to the run date to allow troopers reasonable time to sign up
2. All operations must be added as events to the Events Calendar on the forums as operations are scheduled
3. Operations should not be scheduled that would interfere with upcoming FTXs or classes

Operation Creation & Life Cycle​

Overview​

• All operations must be reviewed and approved by the game's Operations Lead before posting by that operations lead to ensure proper quality and all S3 SOP's have been followed.
• All public and internal operations need to be hosted on an official 7Cav server. Operations with other groups/units may be hosted on said groups/units servers. See Special Event Operations for details on approval process with other groups/units.

Operation Life Cycle​

1. Create the operation or operation concept
2. Create the initial info required for an OPORD or some other format for use in planning by OIC's to conduct the operation as needed as determined by the S3 AO lead.
3. Name the operation. All campaign and operation names must be unique and may not be repeated due to tracking purposes
   1. For weekly/repeatable operations, they should repeat on the calendar and be titled: Campaign Month Year
   2. Example: March Warfare Wednesday 2020
4. Submit it to your Operations Lead for approval with enough time for the operation to be posted at least one week in advance to the planned run date.
5. Once approved, work with your Operations Lead to schedule the op.
6. Your respective AO's Operations Lead or Assistant Operations Lead will then post the event at least one week in advance.
7. If necessary contact S6 no later than 72 hrs before the operation to lock server or upload mission files.
8. Upon the selection of an OIC, the Operation Planning SOP comes into effect.
9. Run the mission as the Mission Controller on the day of the operation.
10. Before the op, assist the mission's OIC to provide a briefing to element leads and answer any mission-specific questions.
11. At the op's conclusion call "EndEx", and alert everyone to conduct an AAR (After Action Review).
12. Directly after, assist the designated operation OIC to conduct an out-of-game Leader's Debrief in TeamSpeak with all element leads.
13. The op's designated mission controller or delegated personnel needs to post the AAR within 24 hours. The Attendance must be finalized within 5 days from the end of the operation.
14. Medal recommendations must be posted no later than a week after the operation has concluded and may be posted by anyone with medal recommendation authority following the Medal Recommendation SOP Policy Guidelines .
15. After the op is run, the Mission Controller is responsible to un-stick the operation posting. in the posting forum

Special Event Operations​

1. Defined as events such as joint operations, scrims, tournaments, fundraisers, or any event requiring significant commitment from the AO’s battalion or the regiment as a whole.
2. The process for obtaining approval for these events will be as follows
   1. Scrimmages and/or joint operations with other groups/units must be approved by battalion staff, however, battalion staff may delegate the approval of these events to the respective S3 AO lead.
   2. Participation in tournaments or any event requiring significant commitment from the battalion must be approved by Battalion staff. Depending on the nature of the event, a private message containing the event post and any relevant SOPs specific for the event must be provided to battalion staff when requesting approval.
   3. Any 7CAV hosted tournaments, fundraisers, any monetary event, or any events requiring significant commitment from the regiment must first be approved by battalion staff with final approval from the Chief of Staff and General of the Army. Depending on the nature of the event, a private message containing the event post and any relevant SOPs specific for the event must be provided to battalion staff when requesting approval. Upon approval from battalion staff, regimental staff will be given the proposal for approval.

The Operational Planning & Briefing Process​

1. The S3 Department has finished its Pre-Planning preparation and the operation has been posted, including the Mission Controller name.
2. A member is selected for the Officer In Command Role, more details on this process can be found in the slotting priorities section.
3. The Signed up OIC must then contact the Mission Controller to confirm their slot, and arrange an operation planning meeting. In the event of a player versus player operation, both OIC's must contact the mission controller.
4. The OIC & Mission Controller should then meet to brief the OIC on the mission, the duties of the OIC, and answer any questions they may have and if necessary provide guidance on the finalization of the OPORD. Ideally this will be conducted in TeamSpeak, however, a discussion via Discord or PMs will suffice. This meeting should take place at least one day before the operation is due to start.
5. It is then the OICs responsibility to create a plan for the execution of the mission outlined in the OPORD.
6. The OIC & the Mission Controller are then able to perform a briefing of the operation jointly. The Mission Controller will provide a brief situation overview, as well as specify the mission. The OIC is responsible for the execution of the mission.

S3 & Leadership Planning Meeting​

Once contact is made the OIC & Mission Controller should meet to brief them on the operation they will be planning and leading.

This will usually cover:

• SITUATION
• MISSION
• Any additional requirements/rules or systems in place which may affect the operation.
• Providing the Officer In Command the Execution portion of the OPORD in order to finalize their plan.
• Providing assistance where required on how to fill in the Operations Order.
• Answering any other questions the OIC may have.

Operations Order (OPORD) Finalization​

Operations Order Completion Deadline​

The OIC must finish completing the Operations Order (OPORD) at least one hour prior to the start of the operation.

What The OIC Is Responsible For In Completing The Operations Order (OPORD)​

The Officer In Command of the operation is responsible for the filling in of the EXECUTION section of the OPORD primarily. This includes the Commander's Intent and all phases of the execution. The OIC may choose to utilize any planning or briefing methods, however, the OPORD will be provided for their convenience.

Operational Briefing​

In essence, the operational briefing is where you take your planning, and you inform your Element Leaders of your intent and respond to suggestions made by them.

The briefing is usually done in tandem by the Mission Controller and the Officer In Command.

While there is no SOP in place for the structure of the briefing, good practice is for the Mission Controller to provide context, situation and mission for the operation, as well as be present to answer mission or technical questions. While the OIC usually focuses on his intent, and the execution of the mission itself, answering questions and applying suggestions from staff on those subjects.

Operations & Campaigns Exempt From The Leadership Planning Process​

This section serves as a maintained list of the campaigns and operations which are exempt from having to follow this process: Each AO is allowed to exempt one, recurring event from the leadership planning process; generally, these operations are public with the goal of recruitment. For example:

• Warfare Wednesday.
• Let Loose Tuesday.
• Wednesday Night Squad.

Slotting and Slot Priority​

Due to the wide variety of MOS's and a number of troopers available in the Cavalry, a slotting priority and claim system is in place to ensure that slots are staffed by those most qualified for those positions, whilst still allowing the opportunity for other junior staff to fill those positions upon request, or when required. Only leadership and speciality specialty slots are under this purview.

Operational Signups​

To assert your "claim" for a specialty or leadership slot in an operation you must: Sign up in the mission thread containing your desired leadership role ahead of the operational briefing at least 24 hours prior to operation start to guarantee placement. All levels of leadership (including pilots) must be in the appropriate Briefing/Debriefing TS channel in time for briefing or are subject to losing their spot at least 30 minutes prior to the start of the operation. If you fail to complete any of the above requirements, your claim on the slot is forfeit and the next individual according to the below slot priority can take your slot.

Officer In Command Signups​

If the member is applying for the OIC position for the operation, in addition to the above requirements, the member must reserve the role three days in advance to the start of the operation and contact the mission controller at least one day prior to the operation for leadership briefing. Failure to comply may result in loss of OIC role. In the event multiple individuals request to be OIC before the three day cut off period, priority will be given to the highest billet individual in the respective operations AO, only exception to the 72 hour rule is if an OIC has signed up and already met with the mission controller thus locking in their role. In the event no one signs up for OIC 72 hours in advance to operation start, the first to volunteer for OIC will be given the role.

Slot Priority List​

Slot priority is based upon (in combination):

• MOS matches the slot they are applying for.
• Qualifications or certifications from classes which support the role.
• Order of sign up.

Slot Priority Matrix

Signed up	Correct MOS	Qualified	Priority
Yes	Yes	Yes	1st
Yes	Yes	No	2nd
Yes	No	Yes	3rd
Yes	No	No	4th

OIC Prerogative​

The OIC is the arbiter and end-all for slotting within the operation. For example; two individuals sign up for the same leadership slot. The OIC can adjust who is slotted in each role based upon the priority above, the order of slot claiming and who is in attendance at the briefing.

In the event that there are still slots left over, be civil, be kind. If you are the OIC, take up your responsibility to guide the other troopers to slot in a civil manner. Where possible, if slots or specialist roles are unclaimed, encourage junior leaders to take the position of those who have not had the opportunity to do so.

Be civil, respect your fellow members and have fun.

Attendance Tracking​

Persons Responsible For Attendance Tracking​

The Mission Controller or delegated personnel is in charge of recording overall attendance and maintaining the master AAR list in the AAR thread. AAR SOP can be found at 7CAV-POL-011.

Element Leads are charged with recording attendance of troopers within their squad and maintaining their sub-unit AAR response in the AAR thread.

Operation After Action Review​

It is the Mission Controllers responsibility to post an AAR within 24 hours of the end of the operation, Mission controllers may delegate this responsibility to the OIC, other S3 Staff, or any Officer/NCO. While it is not always the OIC's responsibility, the OIC should still be knowledgeable of the process and assist S3 Staff by sending a reminder to all Element Leads to respond to the AAR Post. All AAR guidance can be found at the After Action Report (AAR) SOP page.

Operational Credit​

A Soldier is eligible for credit for attending an Operation if all of the following are true:

• Their name is on the AAR Post
• They have attended at least one hour of this operation. The only exception to this rule is during 1 life operations, and being killed before playing for one hour.
• The soldier is not currently under a No-Favorable Action (NFA) period.
• The soldier not currently on Extended Leave of Absence (ELOA)
• The member is not retired or discharged or an active reservist.
• If the member is a recruit, they must have completed boot camp.

Best Practice​

Best practice for all levels of leadership involved in attendance tracking is for a screenshot of TeamSpeak to be taken at the beginning, during and at the end of each operational setting.