A Contact Report is a method of propagating information on sighted enemies. To get the information across as clearly and quickly as possible, give your contact report in the following order:
- "Contact."
- Type of contact and approximate number of contacts
- Compass bearing or relevant compass/clock direction
- Estimated range
Lets break that down now..
- First, preface reports with contact to let your team mates know you are reporting new enemy positions.
- Secondly, you'll give a description of the contact. Start with the nature of the contact, can you identify them? Preface with unknown, or if they're ID'd as hostile, enemy, with an indication of how many contacts there are. If it's more than one or two infantry, save time by using group names instead of numbers (3-6 = fireteam, 7-12 = squad, 25+ = platoon).
- Thirdly, give an accurate direction of the contacts in relation to your group. This part depends on the range as well. If contacts are very far, say 600+ meters, you'll need a compass bearing to pinpoint their location. But if contacts are within 50 meters, a general compass/clock direction is a better choice.
- Finally, you give an estimated range. This helps fellow team members zero in their fire quickly and helps leads decide the best course of action.
Example of a proper contact report: "Contact, enemy squad, bearing 120, 300 meters."
On the individual/fireteam level it may only seem important to say "Contact North-West!" but that information is of little help to Squad Leads or Command. In order for other elements to appropriately assist or maneuver around the threat, they need to know what kind, and how many contacts they're dealing with, and where those contacts are.