So ... you're a marine that actually wants to get sh*t done eh? Well ya got somethin' comin' for ya that you ought not to meddle in.
Squad tactics.
Alright, now before you say ">Formations ... >Competency ... >Actual organization ... FUCKIN' LMAO", this isn't a guide on how to do formations, this is a guide on how to be an effective xeno killing machine.
First off, make a friend or 2. Stick with this friend or these friends, and make sure they stick with you.
In essence, pick a battle buddy, preferably 2.
Now here's the best part about having 2 battle buddies:
You are INCREDIBLY dangerous to xenos. You may not think it that way, but if you have 2, even 3 battle buddies, then you have a recipe to fuck xenos over 3-fold.
Now I know what you're thinking "An easy 2-lurker or 2-runner pounce-attack could cripple this in less than 10 seconds".
Not if you have your sh*t straight.
Designate one person as the point-man or point-guard, whichever term you feel is fitting, and have them push fearlessly.
Now the key here is team-work. You're not going to get ANY kills or ANY work done by running around like the stereotypical delta squad (I said stereotypical, not the normal/competent ones) running around like chickens with their heads cut off and working at .02% operating capacity.
Here's the key of events, and it works every-time in remote locations/scenarios:
1: 1-2 xenos ambush your point-guard and/or another buddy.
2: The guy behind needs to have a shotgun, and blast the bug off you.
3: The guy with the shotgun backs off.
4: Get the point-man up ASAP by just 1-2 shakes, and since you're the point-man, you're the closest to the bug, and therefore can see where it's retreating to.
5: The point-man should have an m41a pulse rifle, and should push and push and push until the bug is dead.
Now you may be wondering "Ok this is useful for anti-attrition and anti-ambush tactics on a REMOTE location basis ... but what about big, lumbering, charging, numeral horde, xeno pushes?"
If the smart-gunner/sniper spec knows what they're doing, they'll be right behind you/covering you.
You actually kind of follow the same principle, except this time:
You have 3 people pushing / acting as point-guards (or in short, skinny hallways you have 2)
Put only 1-2 shotgun-men behind the point-guards, this is to minimize FF.
Put your smart-gunner and/or sniper spec behind you, as they have IFF features on their weapons to just shoot past you and wreck xenos.
Now you may be thinking "Dude ... this is formation talk ... no-one is EVER going to follow these ..."
Here's the problem with that philosophy;
no one besides me has EVER voluntarily, out of the blue, just says "I'll be point-guard, I'll take all the hits.".
... so be the point-guard.
If you blatantly say OUT LOUD that you're going to be point-guard, and that you're going to push the xenos with just YOUR life on the line until you enter crit, people will surprisingly follow you.
Do you want to know why?
Because only YOU are in danger, and THEY can get honor/glory for killing/incapacitating a xeno that pounced on you that was going to kill you.
But in the end, it was really YOU because YOU took one for the team. YOU were the fearless bait. YOU were the REASON they got the kill.
... I challenge you ... no ... I PROMISE YOU ...
Get on, right now ... and prove me wrong.
Make sure you get a battle-buddy, and if the xenos are assaulting or bunched up, take the hits like a man.
And if they don't pounce/spit on you, fire your rifle at them, push them back, and KEEP PUSHING until you can't stand on your pathetic 2 little legs.
... seriously go try this out, it's worked WONDERS for me when I'm marine.