For Tactical messaging you will not beat JS8Call. I have had messages print to my screen that I could not hear and could barely see on the waterfall. It works so well that even the Cuban jammers could not stop it. It is SLOW but it works. It works when nothing else will.

The benefits of JS8Call are many:

The ability to store a message for a particular operator and he will be alerted when he comes online.

Group messages can have a broadcast message sent out and all stations within the group will receive it.

All stations within an emergency network can be used to check propagation, act as a forwarding station, or function as a mailbox.

Messages can be forwarded to their destination.

Every station in the emergency network supports and contributes.

Does not need infrastructure.

JS8Call is an excellent tool for managing remote stations on an emergency network. 

When we deploy teams to the field we need to manage and interact with them. Many believe that WinLink can do this. While it is an excellent tool for moving data it is not really a tactical tool. WinLink can’t manage stations in a rapidly changing environment. It was never designed to do that. JS8Call works very well for managing remote stations on an emergency network and it has become our primary means of managing a group. 

SEEN also uses the JS8Spotter program created by Joe Lyman KF7MIX. This is a very powerful tool in the EmComm community mainly used as a tactical tool within the SEEN group. Download the program here.

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JS8Spotter Uses MCForms which are forms for JS8Call.

From the KF7MIX website:

Forms are a way to standardize and simplify communication. Unfortunately, JS8Call doesn't lend itself well to complex and lengthy forms where the user provides detailed typed information, such as the very useful forms you find in programs like Winlink. MCForms stands for "multiple choice forms" -- or let it stand for "micro forms" if you'd prefer. Rather than abandon the idea of forms entirely, MCForms attempts to distill forms down to a multiple choice format (with optional additional transmissions where custom information is needful.) The forms themselves aren't transmitted over the air via JS8Call, and so they can be as wordy as is helpful.