Quote Originally Posted by RJ View Post
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