Tactical Insertion

A Tactical Insertion (commonly abbreviated to TI or Tac Insert) is an equipment that is available in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Call of Duty: Black Ops and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. Tactical Insertions appear in the form of flares in Modern Warfare 2, and a small beacon in ''Black Ops. ''They can be placed wherever a player chooses, allowing the player to choose where he or she will respawn. Friendly TIs appear green, while enemy TIs appear red.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Tactical Insertion is an Equipment in Modern Warfare 2. It takes a few seconds for the TI to activate after hitting the "equipment" key. It can be deactivated by enemy players by hitting the "use key" near the TI. A crosshair-like chevron (V) is shown when the TI is being placed, and points in the direction the player respawning will face. The Tactical Insertion can be destroyed by enemy players. The Tactical Insertion is unlocked at level 11.

Tactical Insertions are useful in objective game modes such as Domination or Demolition, as the player can respawn near objectives, saving the player the time and effort to run across the map, which can possibly prevent enemies from capturing objectives or planting/defusing a bomb. However, placing a Tactical Insertion takes some time and can delay one's assault. Also, using a Tactical Insertion means that one has to give up another, possibly more lethal Equipment, such as C4 or Semtex. The Tactical Insertion is useless in Search and Destroy, as the player cannot respawn.

Call of Duty: Black Ops
"Drop-zone beacon that allows you to place your next spawn point. Unavailable in Free-for-All game modes."

- Create-a-Class 2.0 description

The Tactical Insertion returns, but this time the player can cancel the insertion between lives, which can be useful if an enemy is camping at the insertion just to kill the player upon respawning and to discourage Tactical Insertion Spawn Camping. In addition, it is now unusable in the Free-For-All game mode to prevent boosting.

Placing the Tactical Insertion is less audible than in ''Modern Warfare 2. ''The beacon flashes red to enemies, but green to allies, once per second and has a fairly large area. In addition, it emits a low beep with every flash, making it easier to find. However, many players may mistake it for being part of the scenery, as many maps have flashing lights, therefore making it much less distinct than the bright flare in MW2.

Tactical Insertions can still be destroyed by any enemy player by hitting the "use" button in its vicinity, or by explosives. Shooting or knifing them can work as well. Flashbangs and Concussion Grenades can also destroy them.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
Tatical Insertion is unlocked at level 61 in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 multiplayer. It can be picked up and replaced at any time. Not much else is known currently.

Trivia

 * In Black Ops, the Tactical Insertion is sometimes referred to both affectionately or scornfully as the "deodorant stick", due to it's distinctive shape.
 * The flare that is fired at the end of the mission "Whiskey Hotel" is a complete reuse of the Tactical Insertion model and skin. Also, red Tactical Insertion flares can be found on the floor in the mission "Of Their Own Accord".
 * Occasionally, when spectating, the player cannot see the Tactical Insertion.
 * During the Alpha phases of Modern Warfare 2's multiplayer, the Tactical Insertion was going to be a green/red glow-stick, not a flare. Proof of this can be seen in Robert Bowling's (fourzerotwo) Twitter account during later Q&A sessions and the official strategy guide. It was changed to a flare because the developers thought the glow-stick, "wasn't cool enough".
 * The Tactical Insertion does not have a third person animation for "preparing" the flare, or placing it. It uses the standard grenade animation instead.
 * If the player sees an unattended Tactical Insertion, it may be a good idea to wait for the person to spawn for an easy kill, but this can be harmful as it could be a trap or the player using the Tactical Insertion could spawn and kill the player before he can kill them.
 * Planting a Tactical Insertion can be useful as a warning system when used in Search and Destroy, as the player will be alerted when an enemy destroys it, alerting the player to their presence.


 * There was a glitch that could be achieved with a Tactical Insertion and One Man Army. To do the glitch, the player would have changed his class with One Man Army and while he was changing classes he would lay down a Tactical Insertion. When he finished doing both he could fire with the equipment of the class he choose. The equipment shot the way the primary weapon of the class does. However, the player couldn't run or jump during the glitch or it would take them out of the glitch.
 * In Multiplayer, if the player cancels the Tactical Insertion while they are putting it down, they can still hear it clicking.
 * The map Launch is one of the best places to hide a Tactical Insertion due to the flashing lights in the maps.
 * In Modern Warfare 2, the Tactical Insertion is most used by boosters as the player can keep respawning in the same place so he can quickly get kills. However, in Black Ops, Tactical Insertions cannot be used in Free-for-All, the gametype most boosters play in.
 * In MW2, if the player were to look carefully, the words 'Golden Beard' can be seen over the words 'Emergency Flare', the latter of which are in a smaller font size.
 * In Black Ops, a Treyarch logo can be seen on the label of the Tactical Insertion while prepping it.
 * When a Tactical Insertion is placed close to a wall, it can be seen glowing outside the wall/room.
 * In Modern Warfare 2, the Tactical Insertion was originally going to be a Tier 3 perk, as there is a image file in the PC game files named specialty_tactical_insert.iwi.