Such a capability is definitely still needed and there is a strong case to re-instate the 51 mm exactly as it was. Rifle Squad consisted of 9-12 men lead by one NCO(Sergeant) and a . Infantry mass do we have to give up on this concept ? A weapons company with 160 men and a medical detachment with 30 men. 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? Brigade combat team - Wikipedia The basic building block of military capability is the infantry section. The specialised infantry are acknowledged not to have a primary combat role and if these are left unchanged then the increase is 2050. With the major reform of its armed forces in 2004, the Swiss Army abandoned the old regimental system and adopted a combat team approach centred on battalions as the building blocks of mission-oriented task forces. Current divisions include airborne, armored, infantry and mountain divisions. Four section vehicles each having six dismounts with three crew is 36. When studying World War 2, a common question that arises is what exactly each army group or unit name means? It cant. - So the question is does effective dismounted mass require an increase from four vehicles per platoon? ORGANIZATION OF THE LIGHT INFANTRY COMPANY . They are structured roughly analogous to an Army or Marine Corps battalion with staff and commanding officers of similar grade and experience. a crew of three (driver, gunner and commander) plus six dismounts. and normally have subordinate units that are identified by single letters (BatteryA, CompanyA, TroopA, etc.). on Bushmaster as their ride. 2) Would it work for the role of the specialised infantry battalions? Mortar platoons with 8 or 9 x 81 mm tubes has been proven on many occasions to be sufficient. The four companies include three line companies and one H&S; the four battalions include three lines and one H&S. There are always variations to what is the standard breakdown of Marine Corps unit structure. and engineer battalions for each Infantry Division. consists of command and support personnel for the company. In the most recent issue of Soldier magazine, there is an item headed New Warrior stays on track, in which the proposed new incarnation of the vehicle receives quite a lot of praise , including the statement On paper the platform looks impressive and offers a raft of refinements and upgrades over its long-serving predecessor. These apparently include not only the new 40mm cannon but also enhanced mechanical underpinnings, beefed-up armour and better comfort for the crews. This assumes light-role units are geared towards lower-intensity than the operations which Armd/Mech Inf will conduct: higher-intensity warfighting with an increasingly potent air threat. Service 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). This structure is ideal for counter insurgency operations where there is a focus on foot patrols and other dismounted operations. 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. Given that kit is cheaper than people in the long run, do we need fire firepower to make up for lack of infantry mass ? Required fields are marked *. Our Army Structure in Vietnam. The nine regular force infantry battalions each contain three or four rifle companies and one or two support companies. Artillery battalions typically comprised four or more batteries, although this number fluctuated considerably. Platoons divided into multiples may opt for a different weapons mix, e.g. Perhaps I am just projecting after all as I am one of those who quietly enjoys drill. 1. How would an improved/expanded capability be equipped, funded and manned? I dont understand why the commando (no bipod) version of the 60mm mortar would be less accurate or more difficult to get rounds on target than a 51mm ? UK Infantry battalions have a Fire Support Company with five elements. Four soldiers make up a team a noncommissioned officer and three junior enlisted 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. The ideal solution is to have a 30 mm cannon turret with twin ATGM boxes. [32] A regiment consists of between two and six organic battalions, while a brigade consists of between three and seven separate battalions. Its a tactical-sized unit that can perform a battlefield function on its own. This allows each platoon to have a total of four GPMGs and 4 DMRs. Provost Staff 2030 Infantry Battalions - United States Marine Corps Flagship Anti-drones? @UKLP I fully agree that the infantry platoon needs a manpower uplift. For context Ive remembered where my TA train of thought originated, it was during the general discussion on strike brigades and a resurgent Russia. 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. 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 is estimated that a typical Armoured infantry or Mechanised Battalion will operate around 90 IFVs or MIVs and have an additional 60 support vehicles including MRVPs for command and liaison, MAN 44 trucks plus MAN 44 fuel trucks for resupply, and MAN Recovery vehicles. For dismounted infantry, the US Army is looking at .338 (8.59 mm) medium weight machine guns to provide increased firepower and range. [27][28], A Soviet artillery battalion in the late 1980s consisted of a battalion headquarters, a headquarters platoon, a maintenance and supply platoon and three firing batteries, each with six artillery pieces, whether the self-propelled 2S1 Gvozdikas or the towed D-30 howitzers, and numbering 260 personnel or 240 personnel respectively. Three rifle companies with 190 men each. Achieving A Common Size and Structure for UK Infantry Battalions, Learning from how our Allies armies are organized, Matching Brainpower with Firepower - The British Armys new Ranger Regiment, A modern Royal Navy ASW corvette based on the WW2 Flower-Class, The 10 Most Significant US Aircraft of World War 2, Armoured Infantry battalions -732 personnel, Mechanised Infantry battalions -709 personnel, Light Infantry battalions 560 personnel, Air Assault Infantry battalions 662 personnel, Specialised Infantry Battalions 267 personnel, Public Duties Infantry Battalions 560 personnel, Armoured Infantry Battalions IFV (Warrior) 6 battalions, Mechanised Infantry Battalions MIV (Boxer) 6 battalions, Light Protected Mobility Battalions LPPV / MRVP (Foxhound / JLTV / Bushmaster) 6 battalions. Traditionally, most British regiments have had more than one battalion. This would give the heavy infantry battalions more fire power when dealing with more formidable foes. Arty - Artillery God Bless you man. Use tab to navigate through the menu items. The battalion headquarters is supported by a headquarters and service company (battery). Thinking about the need to operate from IFVs, Mechanised infantry vehicles (MIVs), from helicopters, and on foot, the first proposal is to standardise all Infantry Rifle Platoons around a common size that provides some degree of flexibility. 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! With common ORBATs, marine battalions can quickly be prepared for the allocated mission. 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. 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. Theyre generally headed by a four- or five-star general. Ultimately, this discussion is about maximising Boots on the ground. It can best be achieved by ensuring that British infantry units are structured around ground combat roles that ensure responsiveness and efficiency, rather than being organised according to financial constraints. Battalion | Military Wiki | Fandom In the back of the Warrior 510 are two benches, not individual seats. The number . The armoured brigade would have Ajax Recce, Chally, Ajax IFV (bye bye Warrior! [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. The current infantry rifle platoon organization is identical to the infantry, air assault, and airborne rifle platoon organizations listed in the Change 1 of FM 7-8 published in 2001. Culling BHQs may be good for the budget, but by nowhere near enough to justify trading such depth. Tactics 101 098 - The Light Infantry Rifle Company: Organization However, there is no escaping from the fact that a 40 mm grenade packs much less HE than a 51 mm mortar bomb. The United States Navy has construction battalions and navy cargo handling battalions. 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 ? This would inevitable change their way of fighting and therefore hinder them to be an true general purpose infantry. The battalion must have a source of re-supply to enable it to sustain operations for more than a few days. Why some say Warrior can carry seven and why some say less: Anti-Tank I know the 60 and LMG are going but if were doing something as radical as new infantry ORBAT then perhaps we can pretend it is done by enlightened headsheds.