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Purpose of XO's?


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XOs in CM:BN are rather like M801 recce Humvees in CMSF. They're in the game because the Pentagon, in its infinite wisdom, put them there in the real world. Do with them what you can. Mostly the OX's job is to laugh at the CO's jokes, fetch his coffee and occassionally procure him discrete feminine companionship. If you zoom in close you'll see the XO character has a brown nose. ;)

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Their real life role can't really be replicated in CM. However in the game, AIUI, they will take over the command role if the commander takes a hit. They're also useful for local defence around the HQ unit, and as a mobile first-aid team following up behind an attack.

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Their real life role can't really be replicated in CM. However in the game, AIUI, they will take over the command role if the commander takes a hit. They're also useful for local defence around the HQ unit, and as a mobile first-aid team following up behind an attack.

They certainly will take over from their CO if he's whacked. I've had a Battalion XO looking after a platoon before after the platoon commander and the Bttn XO both got geeked. The Coy HQ was somewhere else. Currently, in a later mission of the same campaign, the XO is still in charge and the A&P platoon leader is missing, so he's looking after them...

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I thought I saw my XO's giving first aid and this thread now confirms that...They are another unit type that I will put a circular targeting arc around them to keep them from firing at anything that moves. This will also conserve there ammo.

it is nice to know XO's are good for something, besides being like "Smithers" from the "Simpsons"...

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I thought I saw my XO's giving first aid...

Any unit will give first aid if the conditions are appropriate. If you do task your XO with that job, you might find his team end up armed with an eclectic mix of goodies :) Haven't been able to persuade the XO himself to swap his M1911A for a Thompson or Carbine or Rifle yet, though, and it's always his team which pick up the BARs and Zooks.

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If I lose a battle, as the commander, I know the failure has to be the fault of my XO not transmitting my brilliant orders correctly to my brave men. Therefore, I use the XO teams for aggressive recce in the ensuing battle. Without them as a weak link, I find the second battle goes better. It also motivates the NEXT set of XO's.

:)

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Given that most players find that XO's, 2IC's and "HQ Support Units" get in the way and are used primarily as medics, hopefully one day BF may lose these fairly superfluous HQ units and replace them with Corpsmen/medics who would actually be useful all the time.

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IRL the XOs handle most of the administrative work of a formation, leaving the CO somewhat free to command. He is, as has already been mentioned, ready to step in and take over in case the CO develops a bad case of the squirts and can't fulfill his role. On the battlefield, he is as well as the OPS team if there is one, able to perform various dogsbody roles, sometimes serving as intermediate level ad hoc commanders between the CO and his (normally) immediate subordinates.

Michael

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I use them as streetsweepers to take care of casualties my troops do not have time to deal with.

The higher level HQs are back anyway, so I send their XOs between the HQs and the front line boys to take up the medic slack. This keeps a plan moving even if an ambush vapes a squad or two.

I think we need a coffee urn and typewriter mod for the XOs to carry.

EDIT - A real idea would be to add an "unload" command so XOs/etc can drop all the goodies they scavenge into a truck or halftrack. Then others in need could stop by the store and acquire.

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hopefully one day BF may lose these fairly superfluous HQ units and replace them with Corpsmen/medics who would actually be useful all the time.

That's why it would be great if BF got rid of the Byzantine collection of excess HQ's and gave us Medic Corpsmen who we would actually use all the time.

I don't understand this, and repeating it doesn't make it any clearer.

You can already use the XOs as medics "all the time", AND you get to use them as a step-up HQ when the CO takes one for the team, AND they can be used for local defence, AND they can be used for any other or gamey tasks you set them to (scouting, attacking, OPing, etc)

If BFC replaced the XOs with dedicated RAMC personnel then you'd only be able to do one of those activities, leading to a fairly large reduction in flexibility and capability. I fail to see how that would be a net improvement.

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I don't understand this, and repeating it doesn't make it any clearer.

You can already use the XOs as medics "all the time", AND you get to use them as a step-up HQ when the CO takes one for the team, AND they can be used for local defence, AND they can be used for any other or gamey tasks you set them to (scouting, attacking, OPing, etc)

If BFC replaced the XOs with dedicated RAMC personnel then you'd only be able to do one of those activities, leading to a fairly large reduction in flexibility and capability. I fail to see how that would be a net improvement.

Darntootin'. I lose commanders all the time. Dashed careless of me, I know, but I do try and keep them in safe places. Having XOs take over is a frequent use IME.

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I thought I saw my XO's giving first aid and this thread now confirms that...They are another unit type that I will put a circular targeting arc around them to keep them from firing at anything that moves. This will also conserve there ammo.

it is nice to know XO's are good for something, besides being like "Smithers" from the "Simpsons"...

EXXXXELENT........;)

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I don't understand this, and repeating it doesn't make it any clearer.

You can already use the XOs as medics "all the time", AND you get to use them as a step-up HQ when the CO takes one for the team, AND they can be used for local defence, AND they can be used for any other or gamey tasks you set them to (scouting, attacking, OPing, etc)

If BFC replaced the XOs with dedicated RAMC personnel then you'd only be able to do one of those activities, leading to a fairly large reduction in flexibility and capability. I fail to see how that would be a net improvement.

I couldn't agree more. In addition to all the above uses, XO teams are also a handy small unit with binoculars (falls under your "OPing" use above, I guess). I think players sometimes forget how important binoculars are to spotting at a distance in CMBN. I often just set up my XO teams in a fairly safe, concealed position with good LOS, and wait to see what they spot. You can get more information than you might think if you just leave a unit in one place for several minutes, and let them study the terrain.

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Re XO's I thought that we/this game was all about trying to be realistic. Is it realistic to use XO's for recon, medics, suicide missions etc? If it is/was I stand corrected.

My point is that we use medics ALL the time, and so the game would benefit from having em. So if there is a (programming workload) choice to be made, I hope that in the future BF will reduce the plethora of HQ units that cannot be used in a "realistic" manner in the game.

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Well if CMBN "used" them realistically I think the closest they could come would be some type bonus/penalty to CnC of the HQ they work for.

I think the XO could reasonably be given the right to 'step down' command units in their formation, as the CO can. Either in the case of a missing subordinate command unit or in the case where the usual commander is just not in range. So the Coy XO could be detailed to keep the weapons platoon MGs happy while their platoon CO is being the radio link for the mortars in the rear, for example. Or be given the task of keeping the Tube Guys confident if you split them from their platoons/squads into a little Tank Hunter platoon. Or provide higher level non-radio C2 for a platoon that's split from the others.

Re XO's I thought that we/this game was all about trying to be realistic. Is it realistic to use XO's for recon, medics, suicide missions etc? If it is/was I stand corrected.

I think it's entirely reasonable for XOs to be used for recon. He's supposed to be the CO's right hand, and should be a pretty reliable pair of eyes up front where the CO should not be. When you consider that (if I remember the last time this came up correctly) there were only a couple of Corpsmen per Company, and the "Buddy Aid" given by normal troops is only of the most basic nature in WW2 (and its outcomes in-game very abstract and vague indeed), making the Coy XO team 'just' a couple of medics (who really ought to be two single-man teams operating relatively widely separated) does both the XO team and the medics a disservice. Anyway, you don't want the medics to be the ones who end up with all the spare ammo. And suicide missions aren't really something the designers can consider part of the function of any of the formations represented in CMBN...

It's probably worth noting that if you're doing the setup (either as a scenario creator or as prep for a QB) you can freely eliminate any XO teams you feel are surplus and supernumerary :)

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From Wikipedia:

In the United States Army and Marine Corps, for example, there are XO billets in each company, battalion, and brigade, though not at higher levels of command. The XO billet is not a command; rather it is considered staff. The XO is typically responsible for the management of day-to-day activities, such as maintenance and logistics, freeing the unit commander to concentrate on tactical planning and execution. The XO also takes charge in the absence of the CO. While the experience gained as an XO is highly beneficial for an officer's professional development, never serving in the position will not preclude an officer from commanding later.

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