I just finished reading through that 19 page monster which, on a lot of points, mirrors this one. I think it comes down to this:
I guess a TO&E sets, as discussed above, the admin foundation for a Platoon to launch. The Aussie 2012 Rifle Platoon seems to have the right idea because it appeared (at least to me) to be the most general in concept. A platoon is composed of 10 groups of 4 guys. There is a "weapons locker" - quite simple in its loadout - in weapons that they can access. The 4 man teams can be stacked to any degree and each one supplied with an addional weapon from the locker based upon the mission. The Platoon is not vehicle specific - managed readiness helps decide what platform a Platoon should focus developing skillsets on ahead of time.
Need 3 groups of 12 each with a GPMG? Go with it. How about an assault group of 16, a support element of 16 (with 2 mortars an 84mm and a GPMG) and a security element of 8 (with 2 GPMGs)? Why not? How about busting your guys up into groups of 10 to mount in IFVs (involves splitting a group of 4 - oh well) or 20 to ride in helos? Sure. Smart, adaptable NCOs will make it work.
The key for a Platoon isn't to figure out if 3 or 4 Sections of 8 or 12 men will do better in a "2 Up, 1 Back" or "1 Up, 2 Back" formation. It is about figuring out a "Playbook" - something like an American football team which has multiple plays for offensive and defensive lines (and if it keeps setting up on the line with the same play it gets hammered). I've been trying to do this with my Platoon - devise 4-6 "configurations" to dominate a certain sized area through aggresive patrolling while still maintaining a footprint (mostly around our vehicles) and allowing a certain level of rest in order to sustain operations. It is important to have a variety of configurations so the bad guy - who in this war seems to always have better SA - does not really get a grasp on what you're doing.
Anyhow, just some random thoughts.
Cheers,
Infanteer
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