Intelligence Cell So while I like your idea of a standard, basic, modular structure, it seems very typically British in that it appears under-gunned compared to allied nations ? The Fire Support Company HQ structure is the same as a rifle company, except that it will have1 officer + 15 other ranks. This essentially gives us a diamond structure with a centralised support function for each unit and is creates a fully contained self supporting unit at battalion level that has everything it needs, crucially this structure allows for every battalion in the force to have 1 company at high readiness, 1 training up, 1 coming off and 1 at rest and this can revolve in 3 or 6 month cycles. Rifle Squad consisted of 9-12 men lead by one NCO(Sergeant) and a Ref Tank battalions and mechanized infantry battalions no longer exist. The basic platoon structure of the Universal Battalion assumes that individual riflemen within sections will be equipped with the 5.56 mm L85A3 assault rifle (SA80) including two soldiers with 40 mm UGLs. Culling BHQs may be good for the budget, but by nowhere near enough to justify trading such depth. This set up allows the squad to fire and maneuver at the same time, with one team able to act as a "support" element and the other as an "assault" element. Four section vehicles each having six dismounts with three crew is 36. The Universal Infantry Battalion by Nicholas Drummond August 29, 2019 With a smaller army limited to just 82,000 soldiers, the organisational structure of its component units and the number of personnel within individual sub-units starts to become very important. 07 Personnel summary. This means for the same total numbers as today we have a far more agile and deployable total force. As I say Im just throwing ideas around, not trying to invade Poland. This means wagons to have space for additional personnel and stores, are all properly crewed and that dismounted mass hits the desired 28 (plus crew 53=15 so 43 total). 05 Weapon requirements Whilst I absolutely do not think that that is the right way to go, perhaps a shake up of public duties manning is in order? I dont think I was spoken to once during my six years in the reserves. A heavily loaded German infantry unit marching into a new position on the Eastern Front in 1943. Headquarters Section (2Officers, 6 Enlisted, 5 Attached), , Sergeant(OR-5), armed with 1 M4A1Carbine, , First Lieutenant (OF-1), armed with 1 M4A1Carbine, , First Sergeant or Master Sergeant (OR-8), armed with 1 M4A1Carbine, , Sergeant (OR-5), armed with 1 M9/M17 Pistol. This will also be sufficient to sustain Mechanised Infantry Battalions and Light Role Protected Mobility Battalions. In addition, each section now has an organic 7.62 mm L7A2 GPMG gunner plus a designated marksman with the 7.62 mm L129A1 Sharpshooter rifle. Go to Units Select A Unit From the Menu to Learn More: There are a few distinct exceptions in the structure of each military service. Battalions consist of four to six companies and can include up to about 1,000 soldiers. is the close combat element of the Infantry Battalion, with this article specifically covering the Rifle Company as it exists in the Infantry Brigade Combat Team (IBCT). New Zealands cavalry (which would be considered mechanised infantry in the British Army) do this, having 46 soldiers and six NZLAVs per Cav Tp. & Organizations of the Italian Campaign. Why is it that everyone thinks being a Medic is something easily relegated to a part time role? Combat enemy fast air? This reduces each company by 20 personnel. Just realized your modular multi-role battalion has 42 people less than the current Armoured Infantry battalion establishment who are these 42 peeps and what do they do? The division had also an antitank and . The Medical Platoon (which establishes a Regimental Aid Post when deployed) will be comprised of 1 medical officer + 19 other ranks. Each Rifle Company had a Heavy Weapons Platoon that was divided into a Gimpy is too big and heavy for a section weapon, its hard going over walls/fences/through buildings etc and shouldnt really be fired from any position but the prone, unlike the lighter and more agile LMG. While the US army will no doubt eventually start fielding thier new 6.8mm super calibre I think 2 rifle calibres in sections will remain wise. An infantry battle group will typically be commanded by the commander of the core infantry battalion around which it is formed and can range in size from 300 to 1,500 or more soldiers, depending on the nature of the mission assigned. Different structures are all very well, but if we needed to deploy a substantial size force in a hurry, there is a risk that we might fail to achieve critical mass. Weapons companies do not receive a letter designation. What it does do is massively hollow out the capability and capacity of the Reserve Infantry for little tangible gain beyond having a structure which is more aesthetically pleasing on an ORBAT chart. Your email address will not be published. All infantry ideally would then become mechanised infantry. However, your suggestion of four rifle sections will require even greater manpower to maximise effect. They may be armed with a M4A1 Carbine with a high power optic, Mk 14 Enhanced Battle Rifle (EBR), M110 SASS, or newer M110A1 CSASS (as of 2018-9). With all these components, a battalion is the smallest military unit capable of "limited independent operations".[1]. In between are the intermediate elements of Army organization, including the squad, platoon, company, battalion, brigade and division. I have always been rather sceptical that public duties require two battalions plus the incremental companies. For example, during the confusion and high casualty rates of both the Normandy Landings and the Battle of the Bulge, in order to bolster the strength of a depleted infantry regiment, companies and even battalions were moved around as necessary. To the other side you would then have more bataillons for one type of mission and if you go to another mission again more troops and as the author stated correctly this would lead to an overall more potent, more flexible force and you can also re-role the identical units much more easily. The 100th Infantry Battalion, initially made up almost entirely of Japanese Americans from Hawai'i already in the army prior to World War II, represented the first group of Japanese Americans to see combat during World War II. A platoon of 1 + 35 divides neatly into four sections of 9 soldiers, allowing 7 dismounts per section or your magic number of 28 dismounts total per section. This structure also reflects the fact that most NATO IFVs accommodate a total of 9 soldiers, e.g. Anyway, having filled all the racks with ammo for the cannon and chain gun and having packed the rations away, stowed everybodys gonk bag, admin pouch, daysack and squeezed the six dismounts in, you give them a couple of NLAWs (12kg, 1m long each), an ASM (9kg, 1m long) and hand the 2IC a couple of spare crates of ball and a couple of link, half a dozen extra smoke, boxes of cyalumes, handful of shermulies etc etc and you see that quite quickly its become so crowded that six dismounts is the absolute maximum. We already have two dedicated battalions for public duties and what youre really asking is could we make do with just one? The operational Army conducts full-spectrum operations around the world, supported by institutional units. * Each squad is authorized two disposable shoulder-fired munitions (general AT-4s) which would go to the Riflemen. The battalion is "the smallest infantry organization that can arrange for a concentration of support weapons of different kinds" (War Office training manual, 15 January 1944), and is usually grouped with other units such as armoured regiments or other infantry battalions into higher formations: brigades, divisions, corps, armies and army groups. While the UKs Warrior previously accommodated three crew plus seven dismounts, after has been upgraded, the need to stow 40mm cased-telescoped cannon ammunition is expected to reduce dismounted section carrying capacity to six. This structure is also suitable for Air Assault infantry operating in helicopters. I just wanted to pick up on a comment by White Hackle. , First Lieutenant (OF-1), armed with 1 M4A1 Carbine, , Staff Sergeant (OR-6), armed with 1 M4A1 Carbine, , Specialist (OR-4), armed with 1 M4A1 Carbine, , Specialist (OR-4), armed with 1M4A1 Carbine, Fire support personnelattached from Field Artillery Battalion, 3 RiflePlatoons(1Officer, 39 Enlisted, 3 Attached each), 1 Platoon Headquarters (1Officer and 3Enlisted + 3 Attached), , Specialist (OR-4), armed with 1 M9/M17 Pistol, , Sergeant (OR-5), armed with 1M4A1 Carbine, Forward observer and fire support RTO attached from Field Artillery Battalion. more machine guns. There is a case for a light mortar to be carried by each Platoon HQ. I would also go with an old suggestion from Think Defence to use reduced numbers of RM and Para as enablers for light infantry brigades which would provide the bulk of air assault / heliborne ops and amphibious ops. Mortar platoons with 8 or 9 x 81 mm tubes has been proven on many occasions to be sufficient. On a related subject, getting more Infantry into standard modular structured Battalions; how would you feel about an idea I think that was first floated over on Think Defence many years ago moving the ceremonial role over to a specific, non-regular setup ? My idea would be here to adept and develope the russian/soviet idea of the Bronegruppa to the extreme. consists of command and support personnel for the company. Arty - Artillery These new combined arms battalions are modular units, each consisting of a headquarters company, two mechanized infantry companies, two tank companies, and a forward support company attached from the battalion's parent brigade support battalion. It offered HE, WP, smoke and illuminating bomb types. No one wants a similar video of their cap badge. The UK has a problem with air defence. Rounds and weapon will be heavier for dubious long range body-armour piercing performance. Platoons moving around the battlefield in MIVs may additionally get the 30 mm M230LF chain gun (the same light cannon used in the Apache attack helicopter). I agree on the close relationship between regs and reserves, having been in a specialist reserve unit, I have seen it work really well. Many regiments of all types are operating well below their headcount caps, meaning that very few battalions operate with the same number of soldiers. The order of battle shows 101 German infantry divisions and 139 Soviet rifle divisions. I know that the manning requirement is already verging on fantasy but maybe pushing it a bit further could give your battalion valuable additional potency? From the 1960s through the early 1980s, a typical maneuver (infantry or tank) battalion had five companies: headquarters and headquarters company (HHC) and A, B, and CCompanies, plus a combat support company (CSC), with a scout platoon, 107mm (4.2 inch) heavy mortar platoon, along with other elements that varied between organizations. Theyre generally headed by a four- or five-star general. 27 Sep 44. I cant upload pics but their SOIs are on AKX if you have access to it and are interested. 03 Fire Support Company structure 37mm The squad is led by a Squad Leader (Staff Sergeant) and further subdivided into two homogenous fire teams designated Alpha Team and Bravo Team and each led by a Fire Team Leader (Sergeant). Following the mid-2010s, they typically ride in anOshkosh M-ATV mine-resistant ambush protected vehicle. Battalions are tactical and administrative organizations with a limited capability to plan and conduct independent operations and are normally organic components of brigades, groups, or regiments. The problem the Army has is when it wants people to do two jobs at once in two different places at the same time . How can Royal Navy Ship numbers be realistically increased? Medics require a lot of expensive training and continuous clinical exposure to remain competent, in date, and able to operate in the complex world of modern combat medicine. [26], Prior to the late 1980s, Soviet tank battalions consisted of three tank companies of 13 T-64, T-72 or T-80 tanks each, along with a battalion headquarters mounted in a command tank and a headquarters and service platoon, for a total of 165 personnel and 40 tanks; battalions using the older T-54, T-55 or T-62s tanks had 31 or 40 additional enlisted personnel. published by the Department of the Army, May 2018, published by the Department of the Army, April 2016, published by the Department of the Army, October 2016, MCoE Supplemental Manual 3-90 Force Structure Reference Data ". Equally, it can be used for vehicles that have a larger carrying capacity than IFVs, e.g. Lynx can carry 8 dismounts and would allow us to really increase the mass of the armored infantry withot adding to vehicle numbers in any significant way. They usually consist of three or more field armies, with about 1 million to 3 million soldiers. The Civil War led to the establishment of the first American staff school in order to train officers in the art of order transmission and execution. PHILANTHROPY. The Department of Defense provides the military forces needed to deter war and ensure our nation's security. I think that keeping divisions how they are is the better system and that each of the divisions should be organised into independent battlegroups (with some of their own logistics included) that can be used to bolt onto a heavier or lighter formation as and when required or massed together such as the armored div for a major confrontation. The newer light weight medium/ long range calibres ( eg. Service On the LMG, I am sooo old that the LMG imteained on the in the RN was the 7.62 version of the Bren ! I can understand not having an SF Pl in armoured and mechanised battalions because the loss of firepower is offset by 30mm but in light-role battalions it is a battle-winner, especially in the defensive battle! So i think to create such an kind of modulare force, a design in which absolut necessary abilities (here protected mobility) are not an organic part of the units, but modular abilities of the overall-forces would truly create a more potent and much more flexible force as every such mech fighting unit which can offer protected mobility for an infantry unit can also offer this to any other infantry unit as the need arises and could also fight for its own seperate from the infantry.
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