A battalion comprises two or more primary mission companies which are often of a common type (e.g., infantry, tank, or maintenance), although there are exceptions such as combined arms battalions in the U.S. Army. Many regiments of all types are operating well below their headcount caps, meaning that very few battalions operate with the same number of soldiers. Theyre generally run by a lieutenant, often with a noncommissioned officer as second in command. Morale is low (not unique to Guards but across the Army) for a number of reasons, a big one being that Guardsmen feel they are stagging on without the return of getting a tour in. Ensuring that infantry units can be accommodated by their vehicles can also be a challenge. This where I would fit the reserve infantry into the mix, sticking with 1 inf battalion providing 1 Coy on the 1 in 3 rotation to their twinned regular battalion for the regular motorized inf Battalions. Reconnaissance Troop, company-size unit With that in mind Id suggest four sections of six, so that everyone off a given platform is on the same page, four sections could also divide neatly down the middle with its vehicles to give two patrols of twelve under a platoon sergeant and a platoon leader respectively. 1945-1950. They can range from a few dozen soldiers to up to 200. So the question is does effective dismounted mass require an increase from four vehicles per platoon? These are: At one end of the spectrum, Armoured infantry battalions are well-resourced with 732 soldiers, while Specialised Infantry battalions have just 267, but this is for training and mentoring, not a primary combat role. 1) What is the total manpower bill of the new proposed battalions compared with the current manpower liability in all infantry battalions? Are your Pl Comd and Pl Sgt vehicle commanders or are they additional? Light Role Battalions are likely to need fewer mechanics, so there is room for downward adjustment. Tri-Service? Considering something like Mali or from our experience Afghan what would the heavy bring to the party? A battalion's subordinate companies and their platoons are dependent upon the battalion headquarters for command, control, communications, and intelligence, and the battalion's service and support structure. You say this would enhance their professionalism. After 1882, cavalry battalions were renamed squadrons and cavalry companies were renamed troops. If you look only at the bataillon here one should realize that a bataillon because of its small size is very insufficient for any real infantry combat in terrain which is suited for infantry. Theyre generally headed by a four- or five-star general. Perhaps in Armd/Mech it could even be comverted into a 120mm Mortar Pl, complementing the 81mm which can struggle in the faster-moving and dispersed Armd battle? Are you implying that there is a problem with their professionalism and, therefore, competency? General Creighton Abrams, from 1968 to 1972. consists of a platoon headquarters, 3 rifle squads, and 1 weapons squads. none: 6-10-1 . 2) Would it work for the role of the specialised infantry battalions? The Reconnaissance Platoon usually operates 6 vehicles, with each crewed by four soldiers, or 8 vehicles, with each crewed by 3 soldiers. A heavily loaded German infantry unit marching into a new position on the Eastern Front in 1943. It enables a return to pre-1950s rule of four: assault, suppress, reserve, exploit. Many armies are adding Javelin mounts to their 12.7 mm remote weapon stations. Print Cite. 07 Personnel summary. on Bushmaster as their ride. If we have multi role divisions, then does this not theoritically make a third of your div redundant for any given operation? 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. This amounts to 1 officer and 38 permanent enlisted personnel, as well as 3 usually attached enlisted personnel. Forgive me if Ive misunderstood, but I dont see how counting drivers makes for a bigger platoon, surely we should be counting dismounts, which given the ever shrinking number of seats and the ever increasing size of our soldiers should be 28. The Light Infantry Company. Total battalion headcount can be determined by considering how many soldiers are needed within each component unit type. So that the tanks can seperate from the infantry completly and then act as an force for their own. Almost as potent as 12.7 mm HMGs, .338 MMGs are man-portable, so could help to increase overall platoon lethality, especially when operating dismounted. A battalion is a military unit with 300 to 1,200 soldiers that usually consists of two to seven companies and is commanded by either a lieutenant colonel or a colonel. Your email address will not be published. The way my unit does it is to strip kit down to belt kit and daysack for fighting and then have gonk bag in a canoe bag and a single rocket pouch containing admin kit. It would be no problem to fit 9 soldiers in a Warrior IFV, Boxer MIV or Bushmaster PMV. In the 1980s, BAOR armoured infantry units mounted in the FV432 APC routinely had 10-soldier sections. In January 2006, the 2nd Battalion, 16th Infantry was reactivated at Fort Riley under the U.S. Army's new "modularity" concept as an element of the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division. Beginning in the early 1980s, some elements of the combat support companies (the mortar and scout platoons) were merged into the headquarters company with the staff and support elements, others were moved to their parent type organization (ground surveillance radar and air defense), and in infantry battalions the heavy anti-tank missile platoon was organized as a separate company (ECompany). Under the observation of the Marine Corps. 27 Sep 44. Use tab to navigate through the menu items. Part of a wider CRAM matrix? A battalion may also contain a combat support company. Date. 1. it would have a very vulnerable breaching capabilty and 105mm arty that is out ranged and very vulnerable to counter battery fire. However number of boots might make the difference for protected mobility (motorized) inf. Combat companies consist of (usually mechanised) infantry, combat engineers, or tanks. . This coincided with the U.S. Army's reorganization and implementation of the Brigade Combat Teams (BCT). This is because Reserves are not expected or asked to deploy more than once per five-year period. It is important to include drivers and vehicle gunners in section ORBATs, because so often they are not specifically catered for in organisational structures. This reduces each company by 20 personnel. In a pinch, sure, but routinely just five or six. If so, what would this look like? Cross Reference Table that lists the numbered regiments and artillery There was no JCompany: the letter J was traditionally not used because in 18th- and 19th-century old-style type, the capital letters I and J looked alike, and were therefore easily confused with one another. It could be the primary weapon and role of squaddie per section to be the grenadier. Linked to above hopefully we could afford extra MRV-P APC, lets say Bushmaster, and JLTV to fully equip extra reserve Coys deployed to the motorized infantry. They are not man-portable. An armor or air cavalry unit of equivalent size is known as a squadron. It has been estimated that only 1/3 of a division actually served as combat infantrymen---the remainder were command, support, artillery, etc. Of course, there will always be exceptions, be you Regular or Reserve, but to dismiss them as second-rate soldiers is unfounded and outdated. NOTE: This summary of Army Tables of Organization and Equipment includes only combat and directly related major support units. The overall structure defined by sub-unit organisation reflects the fact that protected mobility is now needed more widely. The size of a regiment could range from 1,000 to 5,000 troops. When the German armed forces began their invasion of Soviet Union in June 1941 with . 1. It cant. These units are characterized by their lack of integral motorization or mechanization for the entire brigade, and are thus less mobile, but as a result are highly deployable. The reorganization of the infantry battalion is supported by a campaign of learning, to include wargaming, studies. $1.50. Maybe Armoured Infantry on Warrior dont need that due to their cannon, maybe Mech Infantry on a Boxer with 12.7mm HMG or 40mm GMG RWS dont need these support weapons, but general purpose Light role do, even if their MRV-P ends up with a 7.62mm RWS, as these are not Armoured fighting vehicles but battle taxis with an MG for self defence. Is this concept outdated ? I basically used six as a starting point in the interests of standardization because six dismounts seems to be where heavy IFVs are heading and so a six man section seems rational unless youre happy to play musical chairs on arrival and it means you can task one section in a vehicle; presuming you can pull one guy out of the turret you max out at 28 dismounts which is the traditional platoon size. . 1. corporal. This is vital. 1. A group consists of four or five field armies and between 400,000 and 1 million soldiers. A second issue is the now universal threat of IEDs, which means that all deployed infantry units need some form of protected mobility. 100th Infantry Battalion. Other corps usually use the term "regiment" instead. There are combat arms battalions, as well as combat support and combat service support battalions. PHILANTHROPY. Again, organisational structure is important. Id integrate a fourth rifle company from the TA into your battalion too, to train alongside it and to be fully conversant with its people and its methodology. The number in blue is the number of men within that level of command. 300 BLK ). So it looks as if the developments for the vehicle are at a pretty advanced stage, making a cancellation of the vehicle and its replacement by the Ajax IFV variant unlikely. In addition to the primary mission companies, a battalion typically includes a headquarters staff and combat service support which may be combined into a Headquarters and service company. This structure was used during Operation Banner in Northern Ireland for many years and proved to be extremely effective. Why is it that everyone thinks being a Medic is something easily relegated to a part time role? Without the operational Army, the institutional side has no purpose. A lieutenant general is in command. Important figures in a battalion headquarters include: Battalions of other corps are given separate cardinal numbers within their corps (e.g., 101Battalion REME). An infantry fire team might include two riflemen, one of whom is the team leader; a grenadier and an automatic rifleman, who is used when small reconnaissance or special missions are required. This is will mean better effect of weapons and better for load distribution. I think we need silly ideas and massive reforms, such as your ideas on simplify rank structures to fit with a much smaller army. The infantry organizational structure existing in 1969 was well suited to the strategy and tactics of flexible . How about a Corps of Infantry ? For the rest of reserve infantry I would convert to home defence force non-deployable security force for the UK home base. In the brochure it is seven. The Department of Defense provides the military forces needed to deter war and ensure our nation's security. Thoughts on the Armys Integrated Review Refresh, A Review of The British Armys Regimental System. The T/O started out as a chart-like document published by the War Department during WWII, prescribing the organic structure and equipment of units from divisional strength on down to the smallest operational entities . German Organization for Combat, 1944. %PDF-1.6
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The Table of Organisation and Equipment (TOE) is based on document from the early 80s. Starting Discussions About Defence Issues. The Units As we addressed in an earlier article, any unit is a sum of its parts. Perhaps, but only if we reduced the commitment. 6 Javelins for dismounts might be enough if we had them fitted to Warrior turrets or RWS, but we dont. It was the only infantry organization from the reserve components to participate in the war. [33] That is, rifle companies A, B, C along with heavy weapons CompanyD were part of the 1st battalion, rifle companiesE, F, G, and heavy weapons CompanyH constituted the 2nd battalion, and rifle companies I, K, L, and heavy weapons CompanyM were in the 3rd. 3 x Rifle Sect: eight soldiers. its principal allies and enemies. It usually consists of 1 officer + 27 other ranks. The newer light weight medium/ long range calibres ( eg. equipped with heavy Machine Guns and 81mm Mortars(See chart for They usually consist of three or more field armies, with about 1 million to 3 million soldiers. Company HQ will be extremely lean with just one officer and five other ranks. Opportunity for Reservists too? As you say Marcus part time Medics would not know what there about compared to full time regular army medics, I was told this many a time in my time in the TA/Army reserve/ what ever its called this week, a large number of which tend to work in the NHS and Private Health Care and although my abilities to get the shine of my boot to dazzle the sun, the razor sharp creases in my trousers to cut the RSMs eye balls is very poor, I did 12 years of medical training and working in A&E. The discussion has been first -rate too. I of course being TA/Army reserve would have any idea how to be a Regular Army medic keep my medical competencies up etc as I do the job five days a week and not spend an inordinate about of time counting tent pegs. This is why the dismount numbers vary a bench seats however many can fit, a seat is for one. A staff sergeant is often in charge. Instead of an ISTR platoon it there would be a mort company with 3 platoons with 120mm mortars, plus a patrol platoon combining the sniper and recon platoons, and finally a UAV company. The Fire Support Company HQ structure is the same as a rifle company, except that it will have1 officer + 15 other ranks. Not being Guards and having never done public duties, how would this sound: The corps is the highest level of command that can provide operational direction for actual combat. This would truly maximise the boots on the ground and moreover at the same time the tanks in the open and moreover the overall agility, speed, deployability and so on because of smaller units sizes for both the infantry and the Bronegruppa Tank Units (which are complete seperate independent units) which then can assist them if the need arises. The support company usually contains anti-tank, machine gun, mortar, pioneer and reconnaissance platoons. Go to Units Teams with special functions may also include officers or warrant officers. Instead, why cant be we be open to moving beyond the status quo of four vehicles per platoon? 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. 02 Infantry Platoons built around 36 soldiers. You have ended my four day long hunt! However, what about this suggestion with platoon manning lifted to 36 as follows: Pl HQ: Pl Comd, Pl Signaller, Pl Sgt, Pl Medic. C1: S: 9. An MEB is one of the standard Marine Air-Ground Task Forces (MAGTF), is commanded by a brigadier general or major general, and consists of command element, a ground combat element (usually one reinforced Marine infantry regiment), an aviation combat element (a reinforced Marine aircraft group including rotary wing, fixed wing, and tiltrotor aircraft), and a combat logistics element (a Marine combat logistics regiment, which includes naval construction forces [Seabees] and naval medical elements). My Army 2020 would see 1XX and 3XX each have an armoured brigade, mechanised brigade and motorised bridges. Infantry Battalion. This can either be decided before hand by the squad, or when contact is made the team that makes contact first becomes the supporting element. Battalion sizes vary between branches. REME do not just fix vehicles, an Infantry Battalion has a huge amount of other equipment that REME have to support. There are also support battalions in the Dutch Army, which specialise on a specific task: for example, supplies and transport or communications. Secondly, top-slicing the Army Reserve and a Regular-Reserve integrated ORBAT: I struggle to see what the problem is you seek to solve and what the advantages are of integrated Reserve companies compared to the current system. I appreciate, cause I found exactly what I was looking for. This creates a requirement for 1 officer + 44 other ranks. This means units/sub-units pinged would spend a colossal amount of time rehearsing at cost of other training and tasks. Its a tactical-sized unit that can perform a battlefield function on its own. In Northern Ireland, infantry platoons were often divided into multiples of 12 soldiers. 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 ? Most previous reorganizations focused on reducing the size of the infantry and bloated higher-echelon headquarters, turning over entire organizations, such as the railway corps, to civilian control, and transferring units to the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) and the People's Armed Police (PAP). A division would consist of 2 Brigades and a CnC org (900) there would be 8 Divisions bringing the deployable combat force to 79.2k with an army HQ (4.5k) and Support division of 22.5k personnel inc. Army reserve backing this all up. This means that you have moved a battalion of Foot Guards out of LONDIST and back into the deployable force thats good, right? Artillery battalions typically comprised four or more batteries, although this number fluctuated considerably. There are pouches hanging off the turret cage. Mechanised Transport Platoon The problem the Army has is when it wants people to do two jobs at once in two different places at the same time . 1 Combat Support battalion. Infantry mass do we have to give up on this concept ? consists of 9 enlisted personnel. They are also Emergency Care Sergeants and can maneuver with either the Company Commander or First Sergeant. A nominal structure of 1 + 35 soldiers is proposed. Automatic 120mm mortars have small crews for high firepower. 37mm The BTR battalion also featured an anti-tank platoon with four AT-3 Sagger or AT-4 Spigot launchers and two 73mm SPG-9 recoilless guns; BTR units on high-readiness status sometimes had six missile launchers and three recoilless guns. The U.S. Army also created independent tank battalions to attach to infantry divisions during World War II in order to give them fire support. Light infantry Battalion However unlikely it is, I think it is desirable though: replacing CVRT, Warrior and Bulldog with a common base platform would be hugely beneficial. 6 Battalions of Foot Guards (armoured infantry), 6 battalions of The Light Infantry 6 Battalions of The Fusilliers (Mech infantry in Boxer) and 18 Battalions of The Rifles ? Heavy armour battalion Anti-drones? For purposes of clarity, this display is simplified through the elimination of numerous headquarters, maintenance and other support units which are normally attached to or associated with the listed combat units [despite the well known fact that amateurs talks tactics while professionals talk logistics]. In this respect, the number 36 is important, because it allows a range of groupings: 3 x Rifle Sections with 10 soldiers each plus a Platoon HQ of 6 soldiers = 36 total, 3 x Rifle Sections of 9 soldiers each plus a Platoon HQ of 9 soldiers = 36 total, 2 x Rifle Sections of 12 soldiers each plus a Platoon HQ of 12 soldiers = 36 total. Company, a support unit of a Regiment Because of the protected mobility this general purpose infantry would become to slow, to few and to dependent on specific logistical assets. Service Company, a support unit of a Regiment Generally, the RTO sticks with the Platoon Leader to keep them in constant communication with their squads and company headquarters. But each platoon then gains four or five extra soldiers. Units A nominal structure of 1 officer + 19 other ranks is proposed. Personnel will primarily be drivers. A weapons company with 160 men and a medical detachment with 30 men. Nagy, Istvan Austrian Cavalry & Organizations of the Italian Campaign. (just to muddy the waters). When infantry commanders are able to plan around having 36 soldiers in all circumstances, this is bound to have a positive impact on training, tactics and procedures. Mortar platoons with 8 or 9 x 81 mm tubes has been proven on many occasions to be sufficient. This would prevent your rifle sections from becoming overburdened and also allow greater autonomy at company level, perhaps creating miniature battlegroups akin to French SGTIAs. It offered HE, WP, smoke and illuminating bomb types. In actuality, I agree that Ajax IFV replacing Warrior is highly unlikely. This option also ensures that each section within a platoon has a dedicated vehicle driver and gunner. The Rifle Battalion of October 1940 was superseded beginning in April 1942 by a new Infantry Battalion organization. In the TA i carries both L85A1 and Browning 9mm. To take, and then hold ground is the usual answer. HQ Company is comprised of five supporting elements. Over time, the regiments were turned into battalions, the reserve units amalgamated and more regular units raised and disbanded. Are ~1,200 troops really needed?? There are four companies to a battalion and four battalions to a regiment. Building on Captain Nemos comments: in solving the problem of dismounted infantry mass the starting point should be what is the minimum number of dismounts sufficient not how do we fit more troops and firepower into four vehicles. By having so many different existing battalion structures, it is more difficult to asses overall manning levels.
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