First of all, hello to all, it's my first post. The reason that I joined this forum is that I found that many people here were discussing some of the same questions and ideas then I. I am thinking since some years about Infantry organization, tactics and weapons.

For the infantry platoon this is where my thinking currently stands:
Rifle Platoon of 32 Men: 1 Officier, 1 Sergeant, 4 Corporals, 26 other ranks (I choose 32 Men because they can ride in 4 common APC)

Basic Organisation:
- Platoon HQ and Support Section: 1 Officier, 1 Sergeant, 1 Radio Op, 1 Medic, 1 Forward Observer, 2 Mortar Operators with 1 x 60mm Mortar, 1 Sniper
- 3 x Rifle Sections with 1 x Section Leader, 1 x Assistent Section Leader, 2 x Machinegunners and 4 x Riflemen; with 2 x LMG, 2 x 40mm Grenade Launchers and antitank weapons

There various variation how the platoon can also be organised, like 4 Rifle Sections of 7 + HQ or 2 x Rifle Sections of 2 Sections of 12 + Support Section + HQ

There are also some variation the sections can be organised
- 2 x Fire Team of 4
- 1 x Assault Team of 5 and 1 x Support Team of 3 with 2 LMG and 1 40mm GL)
- 1 x Assault Team of 4 with 1 x LMG, 1 x 40mm GL and one Support Team with the anittank grenade launcher and 1 x LMG


Basic Equipment:
- 26 x Short Assault Rifles 5.56mm like HK416 or SIG SG551 (about 8 of them with a telescopic sight like ACOG)
- 6 x light machineguns like FN Minimi, Negev or Ultima 100
- 6 x 40mm Grenade Launchers like AG36 (I like the ones which you can convert into a stand-alone weapon) or HK69A1
- 1 x Long Range Rifles (8.6mm) like Sako TRG-42
- 1 x 60mm Mortar
- 3 x Antitank Grenade Launchers like Carlgustav M3
maybe some AT4CS if required
riflegrenades and handgrenades
- 9 x Radios VHF, Portable
- 2 x Radios VHF, Manpack

which weapons exactly is for me not so important. Important is a powerfull mix in the platoon and in the sections. I want some antitank , antipersonel (mortar and 40mm grenade launchers) and suppressiv fire (MG) capabilities.
It is diffcult to chose the right mix of weapons, I considered a lot of different weapons for the platoon like

7,62mm Machineguns like FN MAG or the Mk 48
7,62mm Semi-Automatic Sniper Rifles like the M110 SASS
different 40mm grenade launchers (like the M32) and light mortars
antitankweapons like NLAW, Panzerfaust 3, Carlgustav and AT4

but I couldn't integrate all into one platoon.

There is no right answer for the weapons, I also just looked for a well out-balanced platoon and for flexible weapons. One of the main problems are the antitank (support) weapons, which are heavy and have some other disadvantages.

I first started with a 8-man section with 2 x FN Minimi, 2 x M203 and 1 x Panzerfaust 3. Then I thought about a 8-man section with 1 x Carlgustav, 1 x FN MAG and 1 x HK69A1 40mm grenade launcher, which is already a good mix - I think - but not so flexible. I also thought about a squad with a 5-men AT/assault group with 1 x UGL 40mm and 1 x MBT LAW and a 3-men Support Group with a 7,62mm Mk 48 and a 40mm MGL.

I didn't want to create a very big platoon and I also believe that small sections of 8 or 9 men are easier to command and to lead. I tried to keep the organization and the weapons simple, but sometimes it contradicts with other objectivs.

Any feedbacks?