Inkompetent

What I mainly use them for is to attack enemy APCs and other lighter vehicles from hull down positions, or to be used as direct fire support against buildings, simply shooting out whole floors with HE rounds, instead of waiting for howitzers or air planes to do the job of protecting my assaulting infantry and vehicles. Also with the new smoke screen fire mission you can cover you position and engage enemy tanks through the smoke with your Stryker MGSs. Only do this against older, non-upgraded armour though, since the modern systems will have passive IR that can see through the smoke just as well as you. Know that the Strykers' own smoke is IR-blocking to give them full protection, so you can't 'Pop Smoke' and see through that.

Well, at least my Bradleys were very, very slow in using their TOWs in vanilla. I spotted a stationary T-54 and halted my pair of Bradleys who immediately engaged with AP rounds at about 600-800 meters range. I waited and waited for that TOW to come, had to pop smoke after about 30 seconds since I feared the tank would shoot back (which it finally swivelled its turret to do. Good timing by me). Not until the smoke dissolved one of the Bradleys finally let off a TOW, just before my emergency-disembarked infantry got their Javelin gunner ready. How is it with the Humvees, by the way? Are those under the same limitations as the APCs? Just asking since I did, after failing mission 3 in Marines, using my TOW-equipped Humvees very aggressively, both racing through housed areas and down into defilades, distracting tanks with Mk 19s and .50 HMGs, and then speeding up with 'Fast' orders to get into LOS with the TOWs, shoot them to pieces, and immediately reversing down into the defilade again to reload.

During the 3rd mission of the campaign my FO apparantly was spotted, because all of a sudden I had air-bursting mortar shells all over his position. Really nice to see 'counter-artillery' that at least tries to make me blind. I also think SgtMuhammed is correct, sadly enough. They only seem to shoot on visible targets, rather than on a suspected or known enemy positions, whether they still can see the enemy or not.

Well, I bet the Marines are missing the Javelins since they provide a vastly superior anti-armour capability. A SMAW is more all around though, with thermobaric, HEDP and HEAT warheads, and I'd say it serves much better as long as you fight in urban areas. They sure need all those extra SMAWs, AT-4s and M72s when they come up against tanks. And indeed, a very good OP. In one way it benefits the Syrians with small platoons though. If their HQ (and thus the radio) gets knocked out they don't lost contact with a very large portion of their force. This doesn't really apply to the US forces to the same degree with their incredible amount of communications equipment, but with a different platoon structure (for example 1-2 squads and one or two teams with PKM machine guns more than at the moment) it would be a significant part of the force out of contact with company HQ.

After having played the first mission on Elite I got to say I *love* it! Incredibly more immersive, radio chatter for fire/air support helps a lot, and the general survivability and fighting ability of the infantrymen seem to have increased vastly in FIBUAR. To als have some real snipers with M40 is wonderful for the feeling. I got really impressed with the first mission, where I'm for once far inferior in number of soldiers and firepower (total fire power, that is. Individually these Marines seem twice as good as the Army dudes from vanilla) and can't just roll over the enemy, but actually have to pick my encounters carefully and move slowly with good use of fire support.