Infantry Unit Tactics, Tasks, Weapons, and Organization

[Norfolk]

Perhaps those who have been recently trained as team, squad, and platoon leaders can shed some light on this. Is low level organization seen as a hard and fast rule or a framework for real-time adjustments as needed?

Given real-world small unit strengths when deployed for a few months, what do the actual teams, squads, and platoons look like in Afghanistan and Iraq over time? Size and organization?

No, of course they are not hard and fast. You start with a basic structure that is optimized to accomplish its tasks while sustaining a certain level of casualties; after it has suffered sufficient losses to prevent it from accomplishing those tasks, or a task arises that requires a reorganization, you just go ahead and do it. Structures, like plans, are a common basis for change, they are not fixed. But it is important to have a solid base from which to adapt to whatever circumstances may arise.

Take for example the USMC Squad in Iraq: right now, the 13-men are doctrinally organized into 3 4-man Fire Teams; but in practice, the demands of Close Quarter Battle have led many of them to reorganize into 2 6-man Fire Teams; 4-man Fire Teams don't have staying power after taking losses, and 2 out of the 4 men are carrying weapons (LMG and UGL) that are hardly handy for CQB. So they reorganize into 2 6-man teams with an LMG, UGL, and 4 Riflemen each. Much better. But you can't do that with the 9-man US Army Squad; you have to break up one Squad in the Platoon and reorganize the other two to accomplish that.