Quote Originally Posted by Rifleman View Post
Artillery and mortar types soundoff: would there be any advantage (or problems) in having a mixed battery of 105 howitzers and 120 mortars? Say a battery of four 105 tubes and four 120 tubes?

Would two types of ammo in the battery be a logistical problem? We have more than one type of small arms ammo in a company now and it doesn't seem to hinder operations.

I was just thinking (dangerous, I know): why to we need a heavy mortar platoon at battalion level at all when battalions have an artillery battery attached? It seems the 120s might fit better there.
The logistic problems of dealing with the different munitions would be a huge pain plus there is huge difference in the FDCs. Most of the infantry battalions I have seen have habitual relationships with external units that support them, ie. artillery, engineers, ADA etc. That frees up the battalion from logistical, administrative and maintenance support of these units but allows them to work together. Furthermore, this allows more flexibility to the brigade commander. If he needs to push more assets to one battalion he can do so without having to pull it out of the other battalions.

SFC W