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). Maybe reserve Infantry can protect reserve loggies delivering stores and ammo. Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/join/mhvThis video gives an overview on the structure and organization of an US Army Infantry Battalion in 1944. 8 bazookas; 3 57mm anti-tank guns; 2 .50 cal and Table of US Divisions This adds-up to 2 officers +14 other ranks. It allows Marine Expeditionary Units (MEUs) to be generated quickly. Battalion HQ will usually be comprised of 6 officers + 10 other ranks. For purposes of . If additional, theyll require their own wagon with the necessary extra personnel as crew. It cant. It is important to include drivers and vehicle gunners in section ORBATs, because so often they are not specifically catered for in organisational structures. Given the requirement, identify the elements and generic employment missions of a . I think we need silly ideas and massive reforms, such as your ideas on simplify rank structures to fit with a much smaller army. Ill break my reply into a couple of comments. This size of unit would do much to increase the deployability and resilience of UK infantry battalions, especially if we could field at least 18 out of 32 battalions with some form of organic protected mobility. How would they operate together from a logistical view point? 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. Both consisted of a battalion headquarters of 12 personnel and three motorised rifle companies of 110 personnel each, along with a number of combat support units: a mortar battery consisting of eight 120mm 120-PM-43 mortars or automatic 82mm 2B9 Vasileks, an air defense platoon with nine MANPADs, either the SA-7 Grail, SA-14 Gremlin or SA-16 Gimlet, and an automatic grenade launcher platoon with six 30mm AGS-17 launchers. The different types of light infantry organizations were all consolidated into the one "Infantry" organization in 2007. So it is a very flexible number. 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? 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. Its more the lack of balance than PD itself. 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. There are apparently 11 demonstration versions of the Warrior being put through their paces in Dorset. Now that the GPMG has been returned to rifle sections, a separate, fourth fire support platoon is no longer needed. My preferred direction is to to look at a common organisation for the Armoured and Mechanised infantry, and a different organisation for light infantry including air assault. Significantly, you would reduce the Reserve Infantry from 16 battalions to just 33 rifle coys and so lost not just 15 rifle coys but lost all the support weapons specialists and G1/4/6 troops. This would increase the size of fighting infantry men in the bataillons heavily so that they become numerically sufficient enough for infantry combat and would protect them to become mech-infantry only troops. Platoons divided into multiples may opt for a different weapons mix, e.g. Our Army Structure in Vietnam. Increased range and lethality for less weight will kill off 7.62mm guns in the fire support/ mg section / mg plt role. Should we be looking to bring UAVs to company or even platoon-level? As the job of the Supply Sergeant is to coordinate supply with higher echelons, their duty position is with the battalion trains although they may ride with the cargo truck in a company march. 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). United States Marine Corps infantry battalions are task organized into Battalion Landing Teams (BLTs) as the ground combat element (GCE) of a Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU). So to summarize it up: my suggestion would be to create identical infantry bataillons, but without any organic protected mobility. A company consists of three or four platoons and is generally commanded by a captain. The understanding we always had with the TA was that they would fight the big one, the clue was in the name really, well until 2014 at least. . MPSA is a jointly-staffed organization, headquartered in the National Capital Region, which serves as the single point of contact with the United States Postal Service and oversees the Military. 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). The infantry battalion was a key structure in the Royal Army and thus its structure went through a fair few changes during the course of the war. [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. Battalion sizes vary between branches. The battalion must have a source of re-supply to enable it to sustain operations for more than a few days. The fourth MG platoon in each rifle company is removed as GPMG is returned to other platoons. Option B creates three sections of 10 soldiers plus a smaller Platoon HQ of 6 soldiers. AT - 40mm is under used in general in my opinion. Thoughts on the Armys Integrated Review Refresh, A Review of The British Armys Regimental System. Boxer and Bushmaster. Battle Order We have personally given to the UNHCR's efforts to help those affected by war in Ukraine. Fantastic comments. Because of the protected mobility this general purpose infantry would become to slow, to few and to dependent on specific logistical assets. In an infantry squad, the teams divide duties: one serves as a base-of-fire element, while the other serves as the maneuver element. You have robbed Peter to pay Paul. No, I am asking us to attack the sacred cows of ceremonial roles to put troops in combat formations ! Storage space is hardly ample; the wagons were designed for blokes to fight from, not live in. Unfortunately, the third rifle platoon is not present in peacetime, but is furnished by the Army Reserve should a battalion deploy on operations. A platoon consists of a few squads and up to a few dozen soldiers. Light infantry Battalion So the question is does effective dismounted mass require an increase from four vehicles per platoon? 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. There is a case for a light mortar to be carried by each Platoon HQ. 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. Do we have to acknowledge the British Army lacks mass on any scale and that includes the dismounted close combat platoon ? Your email address will not be published. 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. 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. Both featured the same support units as well, with a signal platoon, supply platoon, repair workshop and medical aid station. Our unit was Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division or C/1/22/4th Inf. I dont understand what problem having a light, medium and heavy brigade in a division solves. 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. This will also be sufficient to sustain Mechanised Infantry Battalions and Light Role Protected Mobility Battalions. The central idea in proposing a universal battalion structure is to build it around platoons of 1 + 35 soldiers. Two items that the infantry cannot do without. Those regiments consisting of more than one battalion are: Tactically, the Canadian battalion forms the core of the infantry battle group, which also includes various supporting elements such as armour, artillery, combat engineers and combat service support. 05 Weapon requirements One company 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. A battalion may also contain a combat support company. Perhaps, but only if we reduced the commitment. The Rifle Battalion of October 1940 was superseded beginning in April 1942 by a new Infantry Battalion organization. If we have multi role divisions, then does this not theoritically make a third of your div redundant for any given operation? However, the usage of designated marksmen not too common. @MikeW Getting rid of minimi/ LMG was a mistake based on the assumption that medium to long range contacts will dominate future conflicts. @whitehaxkle I like this idea, keeps the flexibility of providing vehicle crews while improving the firepower ! We can tailor our forces now for a sustained operation, such as we have done for Bosnia until the present I dont think we need to radically change the div structure just refine the battlegroup concept to reflect the modularity aspect of the force but reataining the mass of the individual capability the heavy, medium and light bring when needed. Is heating/air con being installed? Part of a wider CRAM matrix? Provost Staff 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 . These were divided up in the HQ Company with 120 men. 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. If push comes to shove, the gunner or commander can do both but it is such a struggle to guide the driver (who has very constricted situational awareness in Warrior), talk on the various nets, look out for anti-armour threats, identify, track and shoot targets and watch out for dismounts and all the other stuff going on from the cramped turret (which was not designed for blokes encumbered by todays mandated PPE). A company has anywhere from a few dozen to 200 soldiers. They are not man-portable. Starting Discussions About Defence Issues. Mortar platoons with 8 or 9 x 81 mm tubes has been proven on many occasions to be sufficient. With this weapon now returned to individual sections, in lieu of the 5.56 mm L110A2 LMG, there is arguably no need for a separate machine gun platoon, especially as platoon vehicles will have a mix of 12.7 mm HMGs and 40 mm GMGs. As I said in a previous comment, IFVs do require all THREE crew to be properly effective. Though I strongly disagree with replacing the Woodentops, it is always good to see non-Guards have a turn. Their light cavalry troops are even bigger: 50 soldiers in eight LOVs (Pinzgauers). The Specialised infantry battalions should be a separate discussion because of their different role and very different strength. Administratively, battalions are subdivisions of regiments. However, forces in Eastern Europe began to standardize to a smaller formation with 135 personnel and 31 tanks total, with each tank company consisting of 10 tanks total. - [24] Normally a battalion is attached to a regiment of infantry, which is organized, as a general rule, of a number of battalions and the regimental centre battalion. 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. The Light Infantry Company. Do we need to simplify the rank structures of UK Armed Forces? ), probably Boxer SPH.. 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. consists of a Platoon Leader (Second or First Lieutenant), Platoon Sergeant (Sergeant First Class) and Radiotelephone Operator/RTO (Specialist). This page describes the organizational structure of a typical US Infantry Division. To deal with 3 points infantry mass, use of TA, and number of vehicles, which are all interconnected: 1. Quartermasters Department Organization of the formations and units of the German Army after the start of the Russian campaign until 1945. unit or a light cannon Every review mentions making increased use of the reserves which sets alarm bells ringing for me. Personnel will primarily be drivers. A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). An important issue that has to be maintained are weapons then there are radios. HQ Company is comprised of five supporting elements. Gary Uchida was an original member of the 100th Infantry Battalion. Ok thats a long post so short range air defences, and infantry use of drones later !! This is in the interest of reducing the standing commitment to one Guards battalion instead of two. For historical reasons, armor and Ranger units of brigade size are called regiments, and the equivalent Special Forces units are called groups. This would see infantry platoons switch from two calibres (5.56 mm and 7.62 mm) to a single one (6.8 mm) for rifles, machine guns and DMRs. Of course, there will always be exceptions, be you Regular or Reserve, but to dismiss them as second-rate soldiers is unfounded and outdated. If the mortar setup is still the same as it used to be, isnt that 6 x 81mm in peace time plus 3 from TA for full war time deployment strength ? 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.. I think its generally accepted that reserves simply cannot be expected to attain or maintain the same level of professionalism as regular soldiers, because its not their day job, so I posit their embedding with regular formations and should the need arise, the two diluting. none: 6-10-1 . So back to my original question , can firepower and manoeuvre replace infantry mass, at least for armoured infantry units for the missions they will be used for, while maximizing boots on the ground for protected mobility Battalions which would have a different primary mission set ?? 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 ? Carl Gustav could perform many of the roles that 51mm/60mm mortars were employed for and also do a better job of it than 40mm MV weapons. 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. In turn each rifle company consists three platoons. Doing this has massively increased the company in vehicles (+6) and personnel (platoon now being 9+9+9+9+4+4=44 without a Signaller or medic). The armoured brigade would have Ajax Recce, Chally, Ajax IFV (bye bye Warrior! The division had also an antitank and . The current active corps are I Corps at Fort Lewis, Washington; III Corps at Fort Hood, Texas; and XVIII Airborne Corps at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. In the U.S. Marine Corps, the brigade designation is used only in "Marine Expeditionary Brigade" (MEB). Rocket launcher artillery battalions consisted of a headquarters and headquarters platoon, a service battery and three firing batteries equipped with BM-21 Grads for a total of 255 personnel.[29][30]. First Army serves as a mobilization, readiness and training command; Third Army, or U.S. Army Central, commands all Army forces for U.S. Central Command; Fifth Army, or U.S. Army North, commands all Army forces for U.S. Northern Command; Sixth Army, or U.S. Army South, commands all Army forces for U.S. Southern Command; Seventh Army, or U.S. Army Europe, commands all Army forces for U.S. European Command; Eighth Army commands all U.S. Army forces in South Korea; and Ninth Army, or U.S. Army Africa, commands all Army forces for U.S. Africa Command. Print Cite. Infantry Battalion Structure - Bharat Rakshak - Indian Army & Land Forces Units Infantry Battalion Structure Email Created: 12 October 2006 Written by Table of Equipment Hits: 69412 Note: Figures in Red denote the number of personnel in that particular section. The overall structure defined by sub-unit organisation reflects the fact that protected mobility is now needed more widely. The ideal solution is to have a 30 mm cannon turret with twin ATGM boxes. Weapons like the 12.7 mm HMG and 40 mm high velocity grenade machine gun are primarily vehicle-mounted systems. Go to Units Battle Order is for informational purposes only. I dont think I was spoken to once during my six years in the reserves. Tactically, battalions are grouped into brigades. Theyre generally headed by a four- or five-star general. SAAB has produced a lightweight version of the Carl Gustav 84 mm recoilless anti-tank weapon. Perhaps theres an article to be written somewhere in there, UKLP, especially being an ex veg head? This means instead of giving every infantry unit organic protected mobility, i would even take the units that have such now this vehicles and would create own fighting units out of them which are then part of the tank troops. [1] and engineer battalions for each 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). corporal. Catering Platoon Regimental Administration Office On each side behind the benches is a shelf for personal kit (actually designed as a rack for a couple of LAWs). Why is it that everyone thinks being a Medic is something easily relegated to a part time role? I suppose they might have a home defence role or be trained as medics or something, but they would be on a specific contract and would not be deployable. 1. 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. 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. The motorised (Light) brigade would have MRVP/Bushmaster. Co. - The centerpiece of the Army's operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, the infantry brigade combat team, is in danger of becoming obsolete in the face of near-peer opponents. However unlikely it is, I think it is desirable though: replacing CVRT, Warrior and Bulldog with a common base platform would be hugely beneficial. 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. It may indeed prove a good idea if explored and developed further but I dont understand what problem you seek to solve nor what the advantages are: it will do nothing for quality of training, Reserve professionalism and competency, morale and retention or, crucially, deployability. 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. This said i think such an general purpose infantry would make much sense especially for the UK despite the higher costs but: i think also, that one of the main arguments with which the author started is a problem here: He said, that the now universal threat of IEDs leads inevitable to the logical result to equip all infantry units with protected (and therefore expensive, heavy, less mobile etc) mobility. I agree fully that each section should have its own vehicle for so many reasons. Ser. The support company usually contains anti-tank, machine gun, mortar, pioneer and reconnaissance platoons. endstream endobj 3744 0 obj <>stream Battalion A U.S. Army battalion includes the battalion commander (lieutenant colonel), executive officer (major), command sergeant major (CSM), headquarters staff, and usually three to five companies, with a total of 300 to 1,000[31] (but typically 500 to 600) soldiers.