Quote Originally Posted by William F. Owen View Post
I think the problem is that some folks seem to want a single fire-team model that does everything. I don't and I rejected it long ago.

I have concentrated on GPMGs with 1 gun in 3-5 man fire-team. That team is protected/Supported by 1-2 other teams with, with carbines/rifles only, and some HE Projection (RG, 40mm and maybe M-72A6-9).

basically a platoon has a mix of two types of team. The first type is "Recce/CQC" and the second type is stand-off fires, GPMG/Sniper team. Change emphasis and weapons mix, based on METT-C.

There is fairly substantial historical evidence that this works. We just choose to ignore it.
No argument that this will work; Fire Team roles and compositions very much tend to reflect the parent Army's real opinion of its Infantry, thus the belt-fed LMGs that have appeared over the last quarter-century. Once again, the equipping of each Fire Team with a belt-fed LMG is a sort of "safe" option, hoping that whatever else a Fire Team may or may not be able to do, it will at least be able to bury its enemies under streams of lead. Pragmatic, up to a point, but probably unnecessary with properly schooled and disciplined troops, especially ones that aren't too bad at locating the enemy before the enemy locates them. Again, a matter of an Army's real estimation of the capabilities of its Infantry. And no argument with the basic premise that the Platoon needs to be as refined as possible. My concern arises from my understanding of how the Infantry's support weapons are best used - normally.

Where we fundamentally disagree here is on where the "Main"/"Support" Weapons should normally go - though the disagreement itself is perhaps not critically important. Normal pooling of heavy weapons at either
Company or Platoon works either way; personnally, having observed how it works at Platoon level, I think it really is better for them to normally be at Company level, though of course attached out to the Platoons as needed. Easier to haul, maintain, train, supply, and coordinate their fires and to greater effect, and without encumbering the Platoons directly, except when said weapons are attached out to the Platoons. As such, one ends up with identical Fire Teams, which is not such a bad thing if the main role of the Platoon's Fire Teams is locating the enemy for the Company's Main Weapons (or Platoon if the main weapons are detached from Coy), and then providing local suppression while one Squad or Fire Team from a Platoon performs an assault. Though it certainly leads to much larger Platoons, 40-50 men easily, and with greater command requirements.

Readily conceding that your placement of GPMGs and a 60 mm mortar at Platoon is effective, and may well be fully sufficient, I do think that it may heavy up the Platoon itself a little more than necessary, while sacrificing a little of the potential effect of the main weapons if they were normally held at Company level instead. Still, it works, and with some 32 men or some such, the Owen Platoon covers its bases, and with a maximum of efficiency and simplicity. It would be interesting to see what, if any, difference in wartime sustainability there would be between these two concepts. Unquestionably, though the Owen Platoon would be easier to maintain during peacetime, and this would reduce or eliminate at least one perennial resources/funding problem.

As to belt-fed LMGs in the Fire Teams, if it were to turn out that either the ARs or magazine-fed LMGs that are contemplated for the USMC somehow don't turn out to work in practice, either because of some unanticipated defect in the weapons themselves, or by inadequate training/conditioning provided to the users, then belt-fed LMGs are certainly something to fall back on. But while GPMGs are too unwieldy for CQB, neither are most LMGs fully a match in handling compared to a well-trained enemy with a rifle or carbine in the next room or around some dark corner. But then, Infantry Squads/Sections, if they're doing things right, are using their LMGs for support or security during CQB, not assault if they can at all help it. SF are another matter, and have access to weapons that are substantially different than what their conventional counterparts normally have, and in tactical circumstances that can be radically different.