If we have multi role divisions, then does this not theoritically make a third of your div redundant for any given operation? There are also support battalions in the Dutch Army, which specialise on a specific task: for example, supplies and transport or communications. It normally consists of a headquarters and three or more companies. This page describes the organizational structure of a typical US Infantry Division. The infantry brigade combat team, as of 2014, contains 4,413 soldiers and is organized around three battalions of infantry. 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. You have robbed Peter to pay Paul. @UKLP I fully agree that the infantry platoon needs a manpower uplift. 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. In recent years the Royal Welsh, RAF, Royal Navy, Gurkhas and even the Royal Malay Regiment have done it. and engineer battalions for each Infantry Division. These included air assault, light infantry, infantry, mountain infantry, airborne, and the Rangers. We recommend you cite primary sources. Maybe reserve Infantry can protect reserve loggies delivering stores and ammo. A battalion in the Indian Army is commanded by a colonel. The newer light weight medium/ long range calibres ( eg. Thoughts on the Armys Integrated Review Refresh, A Review of The British Armys Regimental System. Sniper platoons use the .338 L115A3 rifle. That idea could be developed but I dont think it is right for all British infantry. Mortar platoons with 8 or 9 x 81 mm tubes has been proven on many occasions to be sufficient. Boxer and Bushmaster. 3) What about the Royal Marines and the RAF Regiment, which tend to work at company group size? I really like your idea of sharing public duties! 1 x Fire Support Sect: SC, two-man GPMG team, two-man CG/SPIKE SR/C90 anti-tank team and three-man 60mm mortar team. The nomenclature varies by nationality and by branch of arms, for instance, some armies organize their infantry into battalions, but call battalion-sized cavalry, reconnaissance, or . The UK is likely to do the same, but only a limited number of vehicles will get it presumably Anti-tank and Reconnaissance platoons. The battalion was a standard tactical organization throughout the 20th Century, and overseas deployments were usually done with formations . You are spot on that dismounted mass should dictate the ORBAT rather than vehicle capacity. of troops assigned than an infantry company . In actuality, I agree that Ajax IFV replacing Warrior is highly unlikely. If its not can we at least work round it by concentrating on fire and manoeuvre? Higher levels are concerned with administration rather than operations. 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 has the unfortunate side effect of not creating many TA officers above the rank of major. Could we not then consider having whole crews staying with the vehicle rather than depleting them when the section has to dismount? In deployment in current year, it would be common for a Light Rifle Company to be equipped with 4 MRAPs per platoon and 2 MRAPs per headquarters section. I have always been rather sceptical that public duties require two battalions plus the incremental companies. The battalion structure is designed to readily expand to include a fourth rifle company, if required, as described above under battalion organization. I need to add a section on weapons. When it comes to ground combat, infantry mass matters. This would give the heavy infantry battalions more fire power when dealing with more formidable foes. In my world it would be EAGLE 44 and 66 to have commonality in light and medium protected mobility. Section commanders can step back without having to control 3 privates whilst planning his sections manouver. Both featured the same support units as well, with a signal platoon, supply platoon, repair workshop and medical aid station. Operating in pairs, the No.2 will have a L129A1 DMR. Losing this space (currently in the Pl HQ wagon) is a big problem. Are your Pl Comd and Pl Sgt vehicle commanders or are they additional? 01 Introduction They are not man-portable. Tank battalions and mechanized infantry battalions no longer exist. As a bonus I thought that a closer relationship with reserves at battalion might serve as a nice middle ground, with regulars perhaps choosing that as way out of the service as well as for reserves finding it a way in. 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). I was wondering how you would fill that gap as a matter of urgency. It may be worth returning such weapons to infantry sections or having at least one in Platoon HQ. On each side behind the benches is a shelf for personal kit (actually designed as a rack for a couple of LAWs). I have done a similar analysis and share your view that a companys optimal size is 36, after that we deviate for the following reasons: I have a company size of 180 that includes 4 combat combat platoons and a single combat support group (platoon), This replicates at the Battalion level so a battalion 4 combat companies and a single Combat Support Company. Unfortunately, it is only attached if a battalion deploys and may not train often enough with the battalion to which it is allocated to achieve the desired level of integration. If they are vehicle commanders of two of the four section vehicles then when they dismount their vehicle gunner will have double workload. My Army 2020 would see 1XX and 3XX each have an armoured brigade, mechanised brigade and motorised bridges. It is worth noting that the current model of the Army Reserve infantry actually achieves the endstate you seek already: generating an additional rifle company as well as generating an additional section per specialist platoon. This articles argues that it would create a more flexible and potent force as well as making it easier to re-role battalions if a universal, multi-role structure was developed. Battle Order is for informational purposes only. Nominally, an extra GPMG and DMR are proposed, but a light mortar or multi-role 40 mm AGL could be carried instead. Light Machine Gun Section and a Mortar Section. @Jed In my fantasy army its the best allocation of resources. What I have a problem with is your suggestion to pull one guy out of the turret. Option B creates three sections of 10 soldiers plus a smaller Platoon HQ of 6 soldiers. They can range from a few dozen soldiers to up to 200. The Anti-tank Platoon typically has 6-8 Javelin ATGM launchers, with each one operated by two soldiers. 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. While this underwent amendments, most particularly in terms of antitank weapons, its overall structure influenced all subsequent Tables of Organization issued for the Battalion. However, guarding Buck House entails huge levels of scrutiny screw-ups will be recorded and shared online. fire missions, instead the mortar team is at his immediate disposal. Perhaps I am just projecting after all as I am one of those who quietly enjoys drill. 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. Mollo, Tranquillo and Joseph Georg Mansfield The Austrian Army in 1798: the Uniform Plates of Tranquillo Mollo and Joseph George Mansfield Contemporary prints of the Austrian Army in 1798. This is in the interest of reducing the standing commitment to one Guards battalion instead of two. Eight is hard enough (the driver helpfully stows his away in the tunnel between him and the gunner although that is likely a death sentence if the wagon brews up or goes underwater). Marine infantry regiments use battalion and company designations as described above under World War II, with company letters D, H, and M not normally used but rather held in reserve for use in augmenting a fourth rifle company into each battalion as needed. Four soldiers make up a team a noncommissioned officer and three junior enlisted soldiers. US Army Infantry Battalion Numbers. Sergeants Mess Staff Great conversation going here, I am squished onto public transit in 30 c temps in Ontario, so please excuse typos ! I really disagree with the LMG being retired. This reduces each company by 20 personnel. 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. By specifically including them, you ensure that the total number of dismounts is not diluted. It will have 6 ambulances, each crewed by 3 personnel, although this may be increased to 8 or 9 for high intensity operations, creating a total headcount requirement of 1 medical officer + 25 other ranks. The other support company would have the assault pioneers and the 2-3 anti tank platoons. I just wanted to pick up on a comment by White Hackle. confronting an adversary such as the Russians in eastern Europe would require heavy and medium armour with the ability to mount a mobile defence via mobility and counter mobility along with long range fires etc what would the light brigade bring to this party? A battalion usually contains two to five organic companies (batteries in the artillery), with a total of 500 to 1,200 Marines in the battalion. 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. Radio operators, medics and anti-tank weapon operators would carry assault rifles with shorter barrels for reduced weight and increased convenience. I submit that its the job of the regular army to be equipped to fight small wars, and not to rely on civilians for what might prove an unpopular undertaking. Medical Centre Man-portable drones and UAVs could be battle-winning assets. One of the most readable and enjoyable articles on defence I have read recently. 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 ? VFHVe xC=E>wPK gk R$~(k: CQuu9#MN mb)jNE1>SCBC+l 1 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 ? In the U.S. Marine Corps, an infantry or "rifle" battalion typically consists of a headquarters and service company, three rifle, or "line", companies (designated alphabetically A through M depending upon which battalion of the parent regiment to which they are attached) and a weapons company. Rounds and weapon will be heavier for dubious long range body-armour piercing performance. ), probably Boxer SPH. Many regiments of all types are operating well below their headcount caps, meaning that very few battalions operate with the same number of soldiers. worn on US uniforms. of US Divisions, Corps and independant units that served in Italy. 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). A dedicated anti-armour team can provide overwatch and have a capability to bridge the section-level short-range NLAW and the Jav Platoon which is overworked and undergunned in the current ORBAT. Interesting thoughts and ideas covering a few topics. These mortars can be fired either from anM170 Bipod or by hand. I understand the need to count drivers and gunners in overall numbers, but in an armoured infantry platoon the actual number you put in the field is 28 because your vehicles might want to go away again, whereas (if I understand you correctly) paras would land and fight with 36, so platoon combat effectiveness is going to vary by up to 25% by unit. It usually consists of 1 officer + 27 other ranks. In 1944 an US Army infantry battalion roughly consisted of 900 men. Every review mentions making increased use of the reserves which sets alarm bells ringing for me. Bear in mind that you have to fit everybodys kit in thats not just kit to fight but to live from. Troops in IFVs will additionally benefit from 40 mm CT40 cannons and 7.62 mm chain guns for support. Does it have to be infantry? CnC can be further rationalised across the whole unarmed force by having a single force structure around 1 HQ, 4 commands, each operating 2 divisions that hold all naval, land, cyber, air, space and command assets assigned to them and having a flatter structure. . of the two vehicles seem to vary somewhat according to which source you use. . - This structure is also suitable for Air Assault infantry operating in helicopters. [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. I have proposed just what you suggest in your comment. consists of a platoon headquarters, 3 rifle squads, and 1 weapons squads. This adds-up to 2 officers +14 other ranks. Weapons companies do not receive a letter designation. BTGs are part of Russia's tiered combat readiness system. Without the operational Army, the institutional side has no purpose. 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. Option A allows the platoon to be divided equally between four combat vehicles. 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. Therefore, there may be a case to standardise all infantry battalions around a common structure with an identical headcount for each. The following is the current organization ofthe. Combat enemy fast air? Outline Organisation Structure of a Standard Infantry Battalion The following image shows the organisation structure of a standard infantry battalion in the Indian Army. The thing about 36 is that it divides neatly a number of ways 4 x 9, 3 x 12, 3 x 10 + 6, 4 x 8 +4. But war is not about comfort, I know. Go to Units 6 Javelins for dismounts might be enough if we had them fitted to Warrior turrets or RWS, but we dont. Those in IFVs or MIVs will have an RWS with a Javelin attachment so that it can be fired under armour. In an infantry squad, the teams divide duties: one serves as a base-of-fire element, while the other serves as the maneuver element. 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. 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. Sometimes it appeared confusing so I am going to try to straighten it out. Do we need to simplify the rank structures of UK Armed Forces? This creates a requirement for 1 officer + 44 other ranks. Often these will be stored in vehicles until needed. 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. w!2]ca-wA w+J_i6lG!FUo;d!1OB/nz4JRqsLj$qi0|AHUT*x)soH0rr&G99WPvY:u8h. 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 first use of the word in English was in the 1580s. It just seems a bit of an own goal to me youve got a big powerful IFV that you cant exploit fully. 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. Do we have to acknowledge the British Army lacks mass on any scale and that includes the dismounted close combat platoon ? The British Army has 32 regular infantry battalions, but six different battalion types. The Bushmaster I believe is a 2 crew, 10 pax vehicle with some room for stores and kit. 02 Infantry Platoons built around 36 soldiers These were divided up in the HQ Company with 120 men. The battalion must have a source of re-supply to enable it to sustain operations for more than a few days. With the US Army planning to adopt a new 6.8 mm High Velocity Armoured Piercing Ammunition (HVAP), the rest of NATO may follow its lead. Moving from the micro to the macro, the organization of the army overall is a little wacky, given the number of infantry battalions youd expect to see simple structures equivalent to ten brigade combat teams, but you dont; Id say this is a worry not just operationally but because it lends itself to questions and to cuts, the fighting and the support units should explain and justify each others existence. This option maximises dismounted mass. Indeed, I can see Warrior being used for the next ten, fifteen, even twenty years. Three platoons of 36 soldiers would need to be supported by a Company HQ comprised of the Company Commander, Company 2IC, CSM, CQMS, two storemen, two clerks, two radio operators, four drivers, and two runners. 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. Police. 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 ". Infantry Organization. Equally, it can be used for vehicles that have a larger carrying capacity than IFVs, e.g. In the Canadian Forces, most battalions are reserve units of between 100 and 200 soldiers that include an operationally ready, field-deployable component of approximately a half-company apiece. 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). Thanks for the idea. The problem the Army has is when it wants people to do two jobs at once in two different places at the same time . The Army currently has 13 Active Component and 20 National Guard IBCTs. 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. 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. Light Role battalions had 8-soldier sections. A sacred cow! With common ORBATs, marine battalions can quickly be prepared for the allocated mission. In some countries, battalions are exclusively infantry, while in others battalions are unit-level organizations. It is important to include drivers and vehicle gunners in section ORBATs, because so often they are not specifically catered for in organisational structures. 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. Theyre usually responsible for planning and directing campaigns in particular geographic areas. none: 6-10-1 . Steven Aftergood We have discussed these in great detail in prior articles so we will not elaborate here. I agree fully that each section should have its own vehicle for so many reasons. 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. 100th Infantry Battalion. This would inevitable change their way of fighting and therefore hinder them to be an true general purpose infantry. It was the only infantry organization from the reserve components to participate in the war. An armor or air cavalry unit of equivalent size is known as a squadron. In the late 1980s, there was a fourth "line" company added (DCompany) in most infantry and tank battalions. 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. Gymnasium & Organizations of the Italian Campaign. I think that wider structures, instead of ten BCTs we should look at the French and Australians. Why are we tethering ourselves to four? 1. 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.
infantry battalion organization chart