TF2 serves any team playing well by offering a predefined basic hierarchy. This basic hierarchy can be used by any team to their advantage, and will actually help teams get their act together.

As things stand I foresee a startup period, in which everybody will try every class, and commanders and officers will appear to be

nuisance rather then a help to the privates on the ground. However, I also foresee that clans who implement the different classes effectively will rule the scoreboards in the foreseeable future.

The commander should be aware of his function. The commander is there to lead and guide his operatives into battle. This will in most cases mean that, in fact, the commander has a more difficult job then most as he/she is to keep the overview of the battle, and in the meantime give orders to his operatives on what to do. A private on the ground will only be faced sith a direct enemy, and the direct situation. The commander will be faced with numerous situations, and numerous enemies. Therefore a lot of emphasis should be given to training. Commanders and officers alike should have a lively interest in RTS-gaming, and in tactics and strategy.

1. For future commanders and officers: A team can only be a team if the following issues are dealt with:
- Cooperation between players and between squads

The team must be divided up into squads, and these squads must learn to operate depending on themselves only. The marine in Squad A whose success depends on the spy, should be able to trust blindly the fact that the spy has done his job.

- Clear division of tasks and objectives

If squad A has been designated a target, they should work on this target only, and not start to execute the designated assignment of squad B. They should also know exactly what they are supposed to do. Remember those old war movies where you have a group of soldiers/guerilla-fighters going through an assignment? �When I blow the bridge, Pete will give the signal to the brigade...� Think in those terms. Every man should know exactly what he is supposed to do. TF2 will not allow freewheeling deathmatchers: this due to the teamscore feature, and as it can effect you later in the game.

- Clear communication

TF/TFC sometimes could look like your regular IRC-channel, lots of talk going on, no action. TF2 changes this through adding voice com. However, this feature is useless unless you as a commanding oficer learn how to operate this effectively, and your team learns to listen to orders. Many games will suffer due to ego-crashes between commanding officers and privates. This unfortunately will not only be due to privates. Commanding officers should be very direct and concrete in their communications and privates need to keep the lines clear at all given times.

- Leadership

In the end, the private on the ground will look to his officer and his commander...in the sky. As a WWI German U-boat commander once said: �The captain can be a complete idiot, but as long as we sink ships its okay�. The commanding team should form a tight band of men who know what they are doing, and especially the officers should be at the forefront when necessary. However, as I have not noted that officers will be given any �special� weapons other then smoke grenades and their ability to boost morale, it becomes vital for the squad that the officer shuns heavy combat. Please note that this doesn�t mean running away at the first sign of trouble. Pictures spring to mind of WWI where english officers would go into battle armed with a revolver and a riding crop. The commander is supposed to know what he is doing. Comments like �Squad A, why don�t you guys move to the right, maybe you will find something to do� are completely useless. First of all a squad of fine men is put on reserve, secondly they will suddenly feel that the commander is not in control of the situation, which in TF2 is basically the most important thing he adds.

2. Obedience to orders is paramount to the success of any commander. The operative must always execute orders for the full 150%. No enemy position can not be taken, no hindrance can not be overcome. A commander should remind his team regularly of this. Alexander the Great attacked at the most difficult points of enemy defences, Patton and Rommel had their troops march to the point of exhaustion. Enemy positions can always be overcome, sentries taken out, and snipers taken out.

3. The commander should regularly take up position amongst the troops. TF2 is everything but an RTS-game. Only commanders who actually know what the situation on the ground is will succeed in making the right calculations in saving the troops and inflicting as much damage as possible on the enemy.

4. Due to the new possibilities of TF2 it will be apparent that the battles in TF2 will more and more resemble �modern warfare�. Speed will be more of the essence then firepower. In TF/TFC ambushing could be very effective. However, in TF2, with the commanders overview possibilities, it is expected that the effectiveness of ambushing will be lessened due to the fact that the commander will be able to warn his troops. Therefore a commander needs to react quickly and efficiently to possible threats. A static defense for instance will be less effective here, then in TF/TFC as the enemy can spot and circumvent it. Commanders should be trained to keep the offensive on the move, and the defense positions flexible enough so as not to be outflanked by the enemy.

5. I would urge commanders and officers to train together. Commanders are not born �great�. All great historic commanders had an extensive knowledge of tactics and strategy before they were put in charge of anything. Battle experience is of a lower order then knowing what you are actually doing. When Eisenhower took over command of the Allied forces he actually had no battle experience worth mentioning. Still he managed to lead one of the biggest armies ever forward to victory. Learn the trade before becoming a commander or officer. Set up your own training or request trainings at known training �institutes� (e.g. School of TF). The commander and officers should also study as much as possible. Read up on wars and battles and try to draw the principles from there. An example is the battle of Cannae. This battle allthough fought in a dusty antiquity shows clearly what the double envelopment or pincer-movement is. Wellingtons battles will show you what it mean to put the enemy on the wrong foot by attacking with light troops.The instructor class will be able to assist you in training your fellowplayers. An excellent practice is to play RTS games: this will make the commander familiar with movements and possibilities.

6. Do not create an officers elite separated from the men (inside and outside the game). You all have a job to do. This does not include sitting in a �virtual� mess sipping cognac while the private is dying in the battlefield. Unlike current real-life war the death of an officer will not mean that his experience and knowledge is lost. In battles fought in history the tide could be turned if you killed enough officers. This is basically why the German Army of WWI selected basic grey as uniform colour for all classes. In TF2 there will probably be the same system of respawns. Therefore an officer is not a �treasure� that you need to protect. Officers will be expected in the frontlines where they can actually do something useful. Their configuration is supposed to add to the fighting ability of the team. Another point which is touched upon here is the non-match contact between commanders and operatives. Operatives should be able to trust the commander, and vice versa. A commander who is aloof from his troops will not be able to ask them for that litle bit extra which might win you a battle.

7. Officers need to be select the carefully. Bold officers may win a battle, but more often then not will lose you the war. A commander needs to select his officers based on strategic insight, agility, and flexibility. An officer waiting for orders will become a dead officer quite quickly. An officer going of on his own little escapades will only make life difficult. Therefore a commander should realize that somebody who handled a gun well in TFC does not make him a good officer in TF2.

8. The commander and officers need to be on top of everything. Not only should they �seem� to be. They should �actually� be. If they haven�t done their work well, and they seem to be running after the facts, it will mean that lots of privates will be dying for no apparent reason. A true commander takes control of the battlefield and lets the enemy run after him. This will mean that the commander acts in a reactive way, but first and foremost he should act in a proactive way.

9. Officers should take care that they keep their squad together...outside of the game. Hang out with your squaddies, be it in real life or in IRC. You want the unit cohesion to be maximum and if your marine knows you personally he will go just that little bit extra on the battlefield.

10. With the overview possibilities, the commander should be aware that the enemy has a similar view of the field, therefore the commander should adopt a dynamic style of commanding. This means that the classic set up of �defensive stance - forward move - consolidate position- defensive stance - forward move, etc.� might not be good enough for TF2. The commander should command the forces as if there were no cover at all. Instructing the officers with a general strategy, and playing it ou in training several times. This will mean that officers will relatively speaking have a lot of freedom in how they reach their waypoints, as long as they do. For even though the commander has new options, he can never check all movements or difficulties arising in attaining a goal.