Get their direction from the Platoon Commander. They are expected to be able to take a broad goal set by the Platoon Commander and turn it into a plan that they can pass down to their fireteam leaders. This includes setting rules of engagement, formations, waypoints, rally points, movement speeds, and any other relevant information.

Ensure that their team leaders and squad members know what the plan is. The "commander's intent" is conveyed to all squad members so that whatever happens, regardless of casualties, everyone knows what the end goal is and can adapt and work towards that with flexibility and responsiveness.

Position themselves so that they can best observe their fireteams and exercise command and control over them. A squad leader who isn't staying close to his fireteams is quickly rendered ineffective. Squad leaders must always be with their fireteams, in a position from which they can make sound and timely tactical judgments and issue clear and appropriate orders. Typically a squad leader will be just behind the 'front line', positioned to where he can see as much of his squad as the tactical situation allows for.

Dictate squad formations, rules of engagement, and general combat posture, adapting to the situation at hand and the Platoon Commander's guidance. The squad leader must be ever vigilant regarding the tactical situation and must be able to make timely adjustments to the squad's formation, ROE, posture, and more.

Communicate key information across to other squad leaders and up to the Platoon Commander. This includes information like casualties incurred, enemy contacts, ammunition status, and other vital pieces of information that maintain the platoon's situational awareness and assist the other squad leaders and platoon commander in their planning. This also requires a good understanding of how to employ the "Channel Commander" functionality of our Teamspeak setup, as well as being able to be concise and clear in speaking on that channel.

Maintain situational awareness on the platoon's disposition, as well as that of the enemy. Knowing where friendly forces are is critical to avoiding friendly fire incidents, and knowing where the enemy is gives the squad leader important information to use in making tactical decisions. The SL should be actively telling his squad members where friendly forces are, to ensure that the risk of blue-on-blue is minimized.

Wield their fireteams as their weapons by directing and controlling their fire, picking out and assigning key targets, and maneuvering the fireteams across the battlefield. A squad leader who is giving good, timely orders, maneuvering his fireteams through combat and directing their fire, does far more damage to the enemy than one who is preoccupied with his own rifle. A squad leader avoids becoming personally engaged in firefights when possible, instead focusing on designating targets, maintaining awareness of the tactical situation, communicating with higher, maneuvering the teams, directing and controlling their fires, and coordinating the handling of any casualties that occur. The squad leader may use his rifle's tracers to direct fire, or M203 smoke or flare rounds to designate targets or screen movement, but he generally spends more time commanding than he does shooting. This has the additional benefit of making him less likely to draw the attention of the enemy, and helps to prevent 'tunnel vision' from taking effect.

Know how to consolidate and reorganize teams when casualties occur. This includes using group management features in an expedient fashion, as well as consolidating communication channels when required.

Keep his squad tied-in with other friendly squads when moving in a platoon formation. The SL must stay aware of how close his squad is to other squads, to ensure that dangerous gaps do not develop in the overall formation. The tighter and more broken the terrain, the more important this becomes.