Moreover, having an SF Pl means that you have more PIDs to play with too, which could be redistributed to REME or Anti-Tanks, both of which should be enlarged in Armd/Mech BGs (as well as the extra personnel in Coy HQs: Warrior Sergeant Major, CQMS(T) etc). Increased use of the reserves suggests to me that government wants to underpin our foreign adventures on the cheap and at the expense of the regular army. (b) In principal belongs to the auxiliary service. And as i wrote here in this blog in an earlier article especially the UK forces should be as multi-purpose and as flexible and mobile as possible, especially on the stratetigic and operational level. Over time, the regiments were turned into battalions, the reserve units amalgamated and more regular units raised and disbanded. It normally has a headquarters company, support company, and three rifle companies (usually, but not always, A, B and C companies). An infantry platoon might include a weapons squad, which is divided into two M240 machine gun teams, and two close-combat missile teams armed with Javelin missiles. 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. Other corps usually use the term "regiment" instead. It was the only infantry organization from the reserve components to participate in the war. The basic My Army 2020 would see 1XX and 3XX each have an armoured brigade, mechanised brigade and motorised bridges. One suggestion might be to convert the light-role battalions GPMG SF Pl into a MANPADS Pl? With IFVs, MIVs and MRVPs, the British Army will have a range of vehicles that can each carry a full section or 9 soldiers. Infantry platoons will typically be divided between four vehicles as they are at present. This structure is also suitable for Air Assault infantry operating in helicopters. At some point in the future it would be wise to introduce a a new light weight section belt fed ( see knights armament LAMG for example) perhaps in one of the many new calibres emerging ( e.g. British Army Infantry Battalions are a hodgepodge of different unit sizes and structures. Bear in mind that you have to fit everybodys kit in thats not just kit to fight but to live from. "[3] The standard NATO symbol for a battalion consists of a pair of vertical lines placed above a framed unit icon. Ulrich gives an alternative of all battalions being light role and armoured vehicles being in independent extreme bronegruppa units. 1945-1950. If additional, theyll require their own wagon with the necessary extra personnel as crew. 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. The Department of Defense provides the military forces needed to deter war and ensure our nation's security. The following is the current organization ofthe. 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. The Combat Medic and Platoon Sergeant are generally paired as the Platoon Sergeant is responsible for coordinating CASEVAC. However, it differed from the light infantry platoons, which lacked a weapons squad and had 2 M240 teams in the platoon headquarters, and the ranger rifle platoon, which lacked Javelins in its weapons squad. A battalion is a regimental sub-unit of infantry amounting to between 500 and 1,000 soldiers. Such a doctrine would also change the very nature and character of many infantry units which would then become mech-inf and therefore their thinking, their self-understanding, their military culture and so on will change. Operating in pairs, the No.2 will have a L129A1 DMR. Theyre usually responsible for planning and directing campaigns in particular geographic areas. Recon Each company is commanded by a major, the officer commanding (OC), with a captain or senior lieutenant as second-in-command (2IC). Same for Mech Inf, if you are happy to reduce dismounted infantry mass to 22 (36 + 4). %PDF-1.6 % Italy. The corps is the highest level of command that can provide operational direction for actual combat. As I say Im just throwing ideas around, not trying to invade Poland. Artillery battalions typically comprised four or more batteries, although this number fluctuated considerably. Catering Platoon At least in tracked / wheeled armoured infantry ? 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. I cant upload pics but their SOIs are on AKX if you have access to it and are interested. Given the requirement, identify the elements and generic employment missions of a . Or what is not getting done in the modular battalion ? 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). Battalion With a smaller army limited to just 82,000 soldiers, the organisational structure and number of personnel within individual units starts to become very important. Ensuring that infantry units can be accommodated by their vehicles can also be a challenge. 2019-2023 Battle Order. corporal. You say this would enhance their professionalism. I just wanted to pick up on a comment by White Hackle. 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). There are ways and means around problems though, if I recall correctly when they introduced warrior with its seven seats, they split a section into a four man squad and a three man squad and the warrior became a fire support squad, but therell have to be some very creative thinking with twenty four seats unless you shrink your platoon or fund a fifth and sixth vehicle. Each fire team consists of the Fire Team Leader, an Automatic Rifleman (Specialist) serving an M249 light machine gun, Grenadier (Specialist) serving an M4A1 carbine and M320 grenade launcher, and Rifleman (Private First Class). In my world it would be EAGLE 44 and 66 to have commonality in light and medium protected mobility. 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. Jed touched upon it earlier, rekindling Think Defences rather outlandish proposal to create a non-deployable ceremonial unit. That said, mounting guard for a month would I think be novel and exciting and interesting, not least because of the opportunity for the junior ranks to live it up in London. 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. A group consists of four or five field armies and between 400,000 and 1 million soldiers. These are: The Mortar Platoon typically operates 8 or 9 mortars each with a crew of 4 plus a Mortar Fire Controller for each detachment of 2 mortars. Infantry mass do we have to give up on this concept ? Did your article mention or show pictures of the benches being kept or are they being replaced by seats? Opportunity for Reservists too? This is why the dismount numbers vary a bench seats however many can fit, a seat is for one. In the UK. Four section vehicles each having six dismounts with three crew is 36. This structure is ideal for counter insurgency operations where there is a focus on foot patrols and other dismounted operations. This allows each platoon to have a total of four GPMGs and 4 DMRs. Quartermasters Department I need to add a section on weapons. Is putting the GPMG back Into the section enough to ditch 12.7mm or 40mm GMG from a heavy machine gun platoon in the Support Company ? Could we not then consider having whole crews staying with the vehicle rather than depleting them when the section has to dismount? Welfare Office Thisproposal is in-line with what rifle companies already have. It usually consists of 1 officer + 27 other ranks. 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. The UK is likely to do the same, but only a limited number of vehicles will get it presumably Anti-tank and Reconnaissance platoons. It could be the primary weapon and role of squaddie per section to be the grenadier. After 1882, cavalry battalions were renamed squadrons and cavalry companies were renamed troops. 338 MMGs are going to make GPMG SF obsolete. Note(s) 6-10. iRO$[>_kw(y@tpKJd+D82;^*K|3sld\,xAZ|hskBA Tri-Service? 04 Battalion HQ and HQ Company structure Commando Battalion (joint para/RM group) On the LMG, I am sooo old that the LMG imteained on the in the RN was the 7.62 version of the Bren ! A Carl Gustav 84mm in the Coy. At the armoured end, I believe Boxer is designed to also carry all the kit required for an 8 man section, which does not mean extra seats / space for more stores is not a bad thing with 6 dismounts which takes us right back round to mass of dismounts. 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. I have proposed just what you suggest in your comment. 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No one wants a similar video of their cap badge. With successive rounds of cutbacks after the war, many infantry regiments were reduced to a single battalion (others were amalgamated to form large regiments that maintained multiple battalions, e.g., the Royal Anglian Regiment).