Size of the Platoon and Company

[COMMAR]

When you said the third team becomes 3rd C2 Cel?

Is that the short team from each Squad? The numbers don't work if the third team becomes C2-C The Squad has become your standard 9 man Meck and Lite Infantry Squad not two bigger elements of 6 and 5 + the SL = 12.

C2-A: Plt Cmdr, RTO, Plt Gde, & 1 of the Rifleman.
C2-B: Plt Sgt, Corpsman, 2 other Rifleman.
C2-C: Fires Coordinator Chief, Squad Radio Operator, Combat Life Saver.

Does this mean that the Right Guide can't be the Fires
Coordinator? Or the Plootoon Sgt.

Seems to me that the message may have gotten garbled during the sorce translation.

Perhaps someone can clairfiy the juggling!

I'll give a shot... 1st keep in mind that this is going to be at levels of Dispersion well BEYOND any previous Infantry Plt. The Plt's could be Operating at anywhere fr/ 5km-50km+ fr/ the Company or BN.

Each Squad could be patrolling at anywhere fr/ 1-10km from the PltCmdr/PltSgt. Each Fire Team at up to a km fr/ the SqLdr.

The EACH Squad becomes:
2x 4 man Fire Teams
1x 4 man C2 team made up of:
1x SL
1x Fires Chief(former 3rd tm ldr)- Draws up complex Fire Mission including Level II CAS, much like a 0861 Fire Support Specialist(lite).
1x Squad RTO- Operating at extended ranges the Sqd will need a VHF band to talk back to the Plt & SATCOM to reach back for Fires.
1x Combat Life Saver


Each Sqd when Dispersed will set up this way, to cover large swaths of land.

The Plt Cdr & Plt Sgt will each form separate Plt Command Cells:
Switching ON/OFF relieving each other they will control the overall actions in the AO 24/7. Everything fr/ Processing Intel, to assigning targets, to Handle Logistics, etc. basically operate like a CO HQ.



[/QUOTE]Especially this description of the squad becoming two 6 man elements, er, one 6 and one 5 men elements with an independent SL, should he not want to join one of the elements.[/QUOTE]

They haven't really released many details on this one yet. It was going to be utilized but is now on the shelf but is still being introduced, though not to the extent it was orignally designed to be utilized in. It is being intro'd in a package w/ the new program COMBAT HUNTER.

In the CH program Marines learn to conduct Advanced Forms of Observation & Surveillance, Camouflage & Concealment, Stalking &Tracking, & Individual Profiling of whole towns & villages. Building Profiles on suspicious individuals & activities fr/ a concealed position for capture & disruption.

The Closing event is breaking into 6man Tracking teams to track an Individual for capture or elimination.



[/QUOTE]Explain what a Combat Life Saver is????. We useta call them Corpsmen.[/QUOTE]


Combat Lifesaver is a program the Corps started in '02. 1 Marine fr/each squad is trained in CL Course which was basically a Combat Medic Course (lite).

Needles for IV, Trachea tubes for breathing etc. its a very in depth course. I believe the Army requires it now also.





Also K.I.M. this also ties into the future Concept of the "SC MAGTF" in which 1 Marine BN each would be spread across a whole Theater Command in Company sized Detachments.

These CO-DETs would be based either at sea or in friendly nations around particular regions and send out Plt sized Dets to various nations in that region to conduct various FID training missions.

These would be 6mth Deployments w/ certain Regiments Specializing in certain Regions therefore sending the same units to the same areas continuously, developing a Repoirte w/ the locals, but most importantly vital constant intel.

[RJ]

COMMAR,

Thank you for the indepth explaination. My apologies, for being terse and a little edgy. I think I'm becoming a curmudgeon.

I really appreciate the peek at this new concept. It is an eye opener. The Afghan War will be the proving ground for this application of force by Squad sized units..

With the ability to call upon Artillery and Air will really multiply the Squads impact and in turn the wider dispersal of Squads will allow a Platoon do the work of a Company, or even a Battalion if the stars are lined up right..

The Second Marine Division is standing up a Marine Expeditionary Brigade for Afghanistan this Spring/Summer and I hope some of the units in that MEB will employ the concepts listed above.

And the US Army is sending its first Stryker Brigade there as well.

Interesting times. A lot of new "stuff" to get the wrinkles
smoothed out.

The Fires Coordinator, Combat Lifesaver and Squad radio operator now make sense.

Thanks again!

[COMMAR]

With the ability to call upon Artillery and Air will really multiply the Squads impact and in turn the wider dispersal of Squads will allow a Platoon do the work of a Company, or even a Battalion if the stars are lined up right..

The Second Marine Division is standing up a Marine Expeditionary Brigade for Afghanistan this Spring/Summer and I hope some of the units in that MEB will employ the concepts listed above.

You've actually seen light flashes of it in one form or another since '04 Marines went into Anbar & started Distibuting Plt's out in COPs 60-70mi fr/the BN HQ.

It was seen & proven effective in Full Glory in a deployment of a Platoon that attached to the US Army's 10th Mtn in '06.

But its doubtful if they'll fully unleash it again for a few yrs, although Combat Hunter is standard PTP now. They want to get all the bugs worked out of the "Enhanced Company Operations", ECO Concept, before they fully expose it.

I don't see that happening until they solve Logistics & that won't be for another few yrs. They have alot of good ideas in the works but it will be 1-3yrs until they're proven effective.


Actually a few of the Log ideas are slated to be proven in A'stan next yr. One is the Ultralite J-PAD, the GPS guided parachute resupply system of about 200-700lbs of gear.

Another is the AH-6X "Little Bird" UAV slated to be able to carry 4 Marines, weapons, & over 2,000lbs of payload AUTONOMOUSLY. Now that is some serious Juice.

At about $5mil a pop, even at 10, if you could get 3-6 of them allocated per Dispersed Company it would change the game. They can be used for Log & Resupply, Manuever, CasEvac, Weapons Platform, Surveillance & Reconnaissance, the possibilities are endless..


"Future Weapons" video clip.
http://awwar.com/Military-Weapons/Ai...ittle-Bird-UAV

[Ken White]

COMMAR said:

"Combat Lifesaver is a program the Corps started in '02. 1 Marine fr/each squad is trained in CL Course which was basically a Combat Medic Course (lite).

Needles for IV, Trachea tubes for breathing etc. its a very in depth course. I believe the Army requires it now also.

The Army introduced the program in 1985, firmly pushed it into full execution in 1988. Troops from the 82d on an MTT to get Canada's first rotation to Kandahar were responsible for the Canadians also adopting the program.

We can all learn from each other.

[RJ]

The widely disbursed platoons and squads could be protected by this new artillery concept in Afganistan 24/7.

The Marine Corps Times posted this today about a Marine Reserve artillery battery in Helmand Provience

The reservists with Battery D, 2nd Battalion, 14th Marines, had been at Camp Barber only three weeks in February when they conducted a successful field test of their High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, a first for any Marine unit operating in Afghanistan and a sign of what’s in store for the insurgency there, officials said in a news release.

HiMARS is more advanced than a traditional howitzer, Maj. Frankie P. Delgado, battery commander, said in the release. With its three-man crew, the system cradles six 200-pound rockets. Its range can exceed 40 miles, and the rockets, guided by a Global Positioning System, are accurate to within 26 feet.

Has the US Army used HiMARS in Iraq or Afganistan?

Any pros or cons on the rockets and their accuracy would be appreciated.

Will the Squad or Platoons be the FO elements for this 40 mile radius weapon?

[William F. Owen]

Has the US Army used HiMARS in Iraq or Afganistan?

Any pros or cons on the rockets and their accuracy would be appreciated.

Will the Squad or Platoons be the FO elements for this 40 mile radius weapon?

Dunno, but the UK has been using GMLRS for the last 2 years. Last I heard, airspace de-confliction meant that missions took about 12 mins from request to attack.

Remember rockets attack in the low trajectory, so there are issues there, but in this day an age, it's not much of a step forward.

[jcustis]

Dunno, but the UK has been using GMLRS for the last 2 years. Last I heard, airspace de-confliction meant that missions took about 12 mins from request to attack.

Remember rockets attack in the low trajectory, so there are issues there, but in this day an age, it's not much of a step forward.

Accuracy differences between the systems are indeed significant steps forward.