Quote Originally Posted by Bill Moore View Post
You needn't coach me on our personnel system, I am painfully familiar with it, but this is the essence of the majority of our problems, and why I think we'll more outsourcing of security in the future (see John Robb's blog for details on outsourcing). Our military organization does not adapt quickly, so we're forced to fight with inefficiently designed organizations. Our non-state enemy on the other hand can adapt overnight. We're forced to some extent (though commanders can task organize the forces they have within limits) to fight with what we have, and a squad and platoon, and company and so forth we're designed to fight a major land battle in the Fulda Gap (and we're not ideally organized for that). The danger is we design tactics based on the design of our organizations, thus in reality we define the tactical problem to fit our preconceived solution. What is a particular mission called for a 15 man squad, and another called for a 6 man squad? Of course we can do it, but how often do we? Buddy you can't grab my people, stay out of my rice bowl.

METT-TC should drive task organization, not just we need two squad here, a platoon there, but we need two squads that look like this, and a platoon with this capability.

Obviously our MTOE system doesn't allow us to simply have a pool of bodies that we can plug and play with. Furthermore unit adhesion is a combat multiplier, so the risk of too much flexibility is limited cohersion. I think our enemy gets past that with a powerful ideology.

O.K., I got that off my chest, so back to the ideal squad (presumably for combat maneuver). I think it is 12 men. A four man assault/manuever force, a four man support section, and a four man C2/floater section (sqd ldr, medic, two rifle men) that not only direct the effort, but can weight the effort either towards maneuver or support element, depending on where the squad leader places this section. I went with four per section instead of three to facilitate maintaining a viable force even with a certain % of casualties. No I didn't base this off an ODA, a perfect ODA should probably be around 15 men, and they shouldn't be maneuvering like a squad.
Bill,
In the new era of fighting, i think our MTO & E is just as pliable as our units. I am not educated, per-se in the arts of warfare (or typing, for that matter) but I DO have BOG insight. Our unit was a horizontal construction unit (read: CSE) and transformed into a trailblazer (21B) unit. By the end of our tour, the BCSM wished he had a whole battalion of units like us. Our unit was adaptive, and flexible. Yes, we all have our PMOS's, but that doesn't mean we have to stick to that MTO & E doctrine.
IDEALLY, you are correct, a 12 man movement team works. But, isn't that too big for command/control? If the whole squad is BOG in an AO, and a squad leader is trying to keep tabs on an escalated situation, seperate from any higher for days at a time, there has to be a limit on the number of personnel. Isn't 12 too many for one leader to work with?
Are there any squad leaders out there with first hand knowledge? I would be interested to hear their points of view.