ShackTac ArmA2 TTP2 Guide/Tactics/Prisoner Handling

EPWs

EPWs - Enemy Prisoners of War

While it can be rare, there are times in adversarial player-vs-player missions where you will have an opportunity to capture one of the enemy. This is particularly true in .

This tends to result from one of the following situations:

• A wounded enemy who cannot defend himself (ie: unconscious)
• Flanking a lone enemy
• A surrendering enemy (tip: always treat this as an ambush and use great caution!)

A captured enemy can provide a number of benefits to the capturing force. Some scenarios even start off with one side having a number of captured enemies in their custody, based on the story of the mission. Knowing how to take and handle prisoners is important for all players to understand in advance of being put in that sort of situation.

Note, too, that there are downsides to capturing a prisoner as well. They tend to slow you down, reduce your situational awareness, and the noise of capturing them can attract nearby enemies. Always use extreme caution when capturing an enemy is a necessity.

Taking a Prisoner

When the opportunity presents itself, the following guidelines must be followed to prevent a negative outcome, based on whether you are capturing an armed & unaware player, or an armed & incapacitated player.

How to Capture An Armed & Unaware Enemy Player

1. Ensure that the area is secure, and that you can start the prisoner-capturing process without hostile interruption. If it is not secure, and does not seem like it will become secure anytime soon, "handle" the situation in a fashion that makes it unnecessary to need to capture any hostile enemies.
2. Take a commanding position behind the enemy, preferably utilizing cover and concealment, and place your sights on them.
3. Using a voice volume appropriate to the tactical situation, tell the enemy to "Freeze! Don't move!" on direct-speaking VON while maintaining a sight picture on them.
   • If the enemy attempts to turn to face you, shoot them without hesitation.
   • If the enemy goes prone or kneels, shoot them without hesitation, as they are likely attempting to place a satchel charge to "take you with them".
4. Immediately dominate the enemy. Direct the enemy to remain facing away from you and tell them that if they turn or look at you, you will shoot them. If they face towards you, warn them sternly once to face away. If they do not comply, shoot them without hesitation. Forcing them to comply with your orders gives them less of an ability to resist.
5. Communicate to your team leader that you are capturing an enemy soldier, and where you are. This allows the team leader to pass it higher as necessary, and start thinking about how to deal with the captive.
6. Designate your buddy to continue covering the enemy with a rifle. It is critical to always have one person whose sole purpose is to keep a rifle aimed at the enemy, in case they attempt anything funny.
   • The cover man has authorization to shoot the enemy if they do anything that threatens the life of the capturing player. They are given the benefit of the doubt at all times.
   • The cover man maintains a position that gives him clear view on the enemy, without being masked by the capturing player.
   • The cover man maintains a safe distance from both the enemy and the capturing player.
7. Direct the enemy to go into their gear menu and drop their weapons and notable pieces of gear. This includes their rifle, pistol (if they have one), and any grenades they are carrying, as well as their watch, compass, GPS, radio, and map. Taking away their navigational and comm abilities will make it harder for them to try to escape.
8. Once the enemy has dropped their weapons, tell them to back up slowly in the direction of your voice. You never want to go to the enemy when capturing them - instead, force them to come to you. This helps to avoid tricks and traps on the part of the enemy, takes them further away from their dropped weapons, and keeps them "in the dark" as to the specifics of how many friendlies are nearby, where they're positioned, etc.
9. Once the enemy is within reach, tell them to place their hands on their head ("surrender" key) and prepare to search them. This option is only available in , and allows you to ensure that the enemy is not holding onto any weapons.
10. Once secured, announce to your team leader that you have successfully captured the enemy, and await further directions from them. In the meantime, move a safe distance away from the EPW and direct them to keep their hands on their head and continue to face away from you.

How to Capture An Incapacitated Enemy Player

1. Ensure that the area is secure, and that you can start the prisoner-capturing process without hostile interruption. If it is not secure, and does not seem like it will become secure anytime soon, "handle" the situation in a fashion that makes it unnecessary to need to capture any hostile enemies.
2. Communicate to your team leader that you are capturing an enemy soldier, and where you are. This allows the team leader to pass it higher as necessary, and start thinking about how to deal with the captive.
3. Designate your buddy to cover you. Even though the enemy is incapacitated, it is important to maintain a high level of security during the capturing process, as you may be busy or distracted by the prisoner and thus unable to react to other threats that might appear in the process.
4. Approach the enemy slowly, scanning around the area as you do. You are looking for any signs that the incapacitated player is 'faking it', any indications of other enemies nearby in ambush positions, satchels, or other explosives or traps.
5. Take a knee at the enemy's side, go into their gear, and retrieve their weapons and helpful gear (). You want to take their rifle, sidearm, and any explosives they have with them, as well as their watch, compass, GPS, radio, and map. You can sling their rifle in addition to your own, but the pistol will generally need to be 'thrown away'. If necessary, retrace your steps a few meters and place any enemy gear on the ground away from their position.
6. Once the enemy has been disarmed, check their medical condition. Provide stabilizing treatment if necessary - epinephrine and bandages - but do not administer morphine. You are only interested in keeping them from outright dying at this point.
7. Once secured, announce to your team leader that you have successfully captured the enemy, and await further directions from them. In the meantime, move a safe distance away from the EPW. If they are still incapacitated, simply maintain observation on them and ensure that the cover man continues to cover them. If they recover, direct them to stand, place their hands on their head, and face away from you.

Handling EPWs

Capturing an EPW is only part of the story. Keeping them from fighting back, escaping, or compromising friendly security requires constant vigilance and an understanding of EPW-handling standard operating procedures.

Guidelines for Handling EPWs

• Always designate a cover man to watch an EPW.
  • The cover man always treat an EPW like they have a stashed pistol or grenade and will use it the moment the cover man is distracted.
  • The cover man's sole job is to watch and maintain control of the EPW. The EPW is never out of his sight.
  • The cover man uses good judgment to determine if the EPW presents a threat, and if so, he takes the EPW down with well-aimed shots. The cover man knows that his judgment will be given the benefit of the doubt and does not hesitate to protect his teammates.
• Always designate a control man to command an EPW.
  • The control man is the primary person to give commands to the EPW and is in charge of getting the EPW from place to place. This avoids having multiple people giving conflicting and confusing orders to an EPW, which can get ugly quickly.
  • The cover man can serve as the control man if the tactical situation requires it.
• Always search and disarm EPWs. Never assume that they were only armed with a rifle.
• Always maintain a safe distance from an EPW. 5-10 meters is typically acceptable.
• Force EPWs to always use a walking pace unless explicitly directed otherwise.
• Let the EPW know that they can speak only when spoken to. This helps to prevent them from chattering away and giving away friendly positions. If they do not comply, knock them out () and drag them as need be.
• Force EPWs to stand with their hands on their head, facing away from friendly units. Alternatively, force them to stay prone, facing away from friendly units. A player cannot move when they have their hands on their hand, allowing you to more easily see when they attempt to do something, since their hands will lower.
• Never allow an EPW to kneel or go prone unless specifically directed. Prone/kneeling are the stances used to place satchel charges, and any usage of those stances constitute a threat to friendly forces and are dealt with accordingly.
• If possible, place EPWs into areas where there is only one exit, and cover that exit with the cover man. This can take the form of dead-end alleyways, tents, shacks, etc. Ensure that if placed in a room, there are no windows that the EPW could climb out through.
• EPWs must never be allowed to mount vehicles by themselves. If it is necessary to transport an EPW in a vehicle, the following must happen:
  • Any weapons, explosives, etc must be removed from the vehicle.
  • The vehicle driver, once designated, mounts the vehicle in the driver position and does not dismount so long as the EPW is in the vehicle or nearby.
  • The EPW mounts the vehicle such that they are in a position from which the other occupants can clearly see them.
  • The EPW is carefully watched while in transit, to prevent him from attempting to bail out of the vehicle while it's moving. If he bails, anyone who sees it immediately conveys it to the vehicle driver, who immediately halts to allow for infantry to dismount and chase the EPW down, or otherwise deal with him.

So, there you have it - how to capture a player. While it will not always be possible or desired, taking a prisoner of a human player can result in some really interesting gameplay dynamics, and typically ends up being rather hilarious when all is said and done. Good luck, and don't kevb0 it up too much!