Mission success in today's decentralized military relies increasingly upon highly adaptive decision-making by small units. Successful adaptation requires units to communicate in ways that facilitate coordination and shared understanding within and outside of the unit (Marks, Zaccaro, & Mathieu, 2000). However, communication breakdowns are prevalent within small units, especially when operating in highly stressful environments. While unit leaders and members are formally trained in communication basics (e.g., how to operate communication devices, preparing and delivering orders, etc.), it is possible that additional training on the deeper principles of team communication can promote improved unit awareness, decision-making, and adaptation. In response, a framework was developed to support training, monitoring, and assessment of Coordinated Tactical Communications in Teams (CONTACT), particularly in the face of situational stressors that create a need for unit adaptation. Leveraging existing Navy-funded team communication research (e.g., Bowers, Jentsch, Salas, & Braun, 1998; Entin & Serfaty, 1999; Smith-Jentsch, Zeisig, Acton, & McPherson, 1998; Waller, 1999) and operational expertise from active duty Marines, six distinct communication principles were identified: Relevance; Quality; Timeliness; Frequency; Information Flow; and Confirmation and Response. These principles provide a common language that help leaders and units align pre-mission communication expectations, assess and adjust within-mission communication, and conduct post-mission reviews of communication strategy. Additionally, six situational stressors are described that significantly affect the application of these communication principles: Uncertainty, Risk, Time Demand, Mental/Physical Demand, Lack of Unit Familiarity, and Broken Communications. Present to varying degrees in most situations, units must recognize these stressors and adapt communications appropriately. Feedback from Marine Corps instructors highlights the promise and utility of the CONTACT framework to help leaders set communication expectations, assess communication during missions, and hold more efficient after-action reviews (AARs). The CONTACT framework and its intended training and assessment applications will be discussed in depth in the current paper.