[McKee]

This section actually has a really good article stickied at the top by MadMorbius. It's worth a read for sure.

The big issue I have with radio communications in airsoft though is not everyone is going to understand what you're talking about if you use proper procedure. I have my comms course so i'll use the fancy radio procedure, but not everyone else is going to understand the etiquette or procedure and it becomes pretty useless and you might as well use plain talk to expedite things.

On top of that, military radio procedure is really designed for company+ sized nets with several callsigns including atts and subunits on it. The main problem though is a lack of leadership and organization. If someone comes on the radio with the callsign 1A in the military, you can assume they are the 1st section of the 1st platoon in a company sized net. You know there are 8+ guys attatched to that callsign, not just one dude on his own doing god knows what.

Radio nets exist to speed up the chain of command and the dissemination of orders from a commander. So really in order for comms to be used effectively, it is crucial your team is organized effectively. You need predetermined groups with predetermined callsigns. You need to come up with effective codewords and nicknames because rarely if ever are your comms not being listened to by the enemy. You also need a decent way of transmitting your location so everyone understands, such as a map of the field with a good grid layout. Rather than saying "uhh we're in a ditch with the enemy to our left" you can say "we're in a ditch at grid 1234 5678 50m southwest of enemy position, taking fire!".

What can you do about being a good radio man individually? Just remember to be speak clearly, be clear and concise about what you're saying as possible. Keep things short and brief, and always be listening to your radio. Make sure you send occasional position reports, that way if you get hit, your team has a general idea of where you went down so they can either help you, or reposition other people to expect enemy in a certain position.