having run the gamut from 13 man to 11 man to 9 man rifle squads plus playing around here and there with six man scout squads I don't really think it makes much difference. IMO, the quality of the troops is the biggest determinant of success or failure. You take what you have and use it to the best of your -- their -- ability. This was before the days of easy Chaptering people out so you had to work a bit.

The three fire teams and 13 men of the Marine squad give you a lot of flexibility so that's the easiest to use but all of them work. I've gone out with none, one, two and three automatic weapons; three is better (not for the added 'firepower' but for redundancy and flexibility), two will work fine, one is okay and none, job dependent, can range from okay to not so okay...

If the element is well trained, they all work.