Redundancy in small unit organization

[Rifleman]

I know I need a better grasp on how some minimum unit is structured and why--for example, why X number of rifleman, Y number of LMGs, Z number of grenadiers and under what circumstances? Is this minimum unit treated atomically or do planners try to achieve redundancy at that fine grain?

In other words, what is the "basic infantry element?"

Oh, boy. Go to the threads (and numerous links!) about the rife squad, fire team group platoon, etc.

Insightful (I thought) was Paul Melody's article: http://stinet.dtic.mil/oai/oai?verb=...fier=ADA225438

That will keep you busy for a while.