Fiddle's Green

[dragoon500ly]

Even being Army I have to admit the ones who really get hind tit are the Marines. They have the oldest gear, and get the good stuff last.

They also boost that they are the only branch that returns part of their budget back to the Treasury at the end of the fiscal year.

Remember the buying sprees that went on when October came around

Where in heaven's name did a armored company need 12 pizza ovens!!!!!

[Abbott Shaull]

Well you know that is 3 Pizza Oven per Platoon and three for the HQ element of the Company. Have to keep the company well fed...lol

[Panther Al]

The ole fritz was replaced with one with improved webbing suspension...then updated with padding. The new advanced combat helmet has a different mix of plastic and kevlar, the improved suspension and padding and adds the bolt on plate to attach a NVD.

As for the VII Corps and its use of woodland BDUs in Desert Storm...it worked out in the end, the PSYOP people were dropping leaflets telling the Iraqis that the Allies had even pulled the troops from Germany to fight them, you know, the ones that had spent 20+ years training to kill Russians! And the Iraqis could tell these Soviet-killers apart becuase they would wear green and brown camouflage. It always comes down to the delivery, doesn't it

And it was also a sad testiment that the Army was simply not equipped to conduct large scale desert operations.

*laughs* I remember that. They still thought that when we went back over this last time. I recall talking to an IP in Fallujah, who was wondering if he should be glad we didn't send the Russian killers down this time, or insulted that we didn't feel the need to send our best troops.

[Abbott Shaull]

*laughs* I remember that. They still thought that when we went back over this last time. I recall talking to an IP in Fallujah, who was wondering if he should be glad we didn't send the Russian killers down this time, or insulted that we didn't feel the need to send our best troops.

LOL... There are times when PSYOP did too good of job. Just think if the 3rd Mechanized and the Marine units in the initial invasion would of been in their woodland cammies instead of the desert cammies...lol

[Abbott Shaull]

No it just a testament to an Army that was geared to fight a war in Europe. Every where else is secondary option that they hope they had time to build up for.

[dragoon500ly]

Well you know that is 3 Pizza Oven per Platoon and three for the HQ element of the Company. Have to keep the company well fed...lol

Ha!

What was really funny was in Jan-Feb when IG time came around....kinda makes one wonder just how many stashes of "excess" equipment were buried around the ole motor pool!

[bobcat]

its amazing how soldiers always leave an instalation with a tons of kit that noone has any record of.

[Graebarde]

Ha!

What was really funny was in Jan-Feb when IG time came around....kinda makes one wonder just how many stashes of "excess" equipment were buried around the ole motor pool!

Sort of like the engineer company that buried two containers of excess along with a jeep that wasn't on the books.

We always had excess to hide, and I imagine most units did too. And the IG was not a bunch of duds either, as they had played hide the thimble games themselves in previous assignments.

[helbent4]

Sort of like the engineer company that buried two containers of excess along with a jeep that wasn't on the books.

We always had excess to hide, and I imagine most units did too. And the IG was not a bunch of duds either, as they had played hide the thimble games themselves in previous assignments.

Grae,

It reminds me of what a friend who was in a local militia regiment (Seaforth Highlanders) said, that when their unit was converted to light infantry and gave up their mortar section, they kept an 81mm tube (just "in case") and stored it with the signals equipment listed as a "signaling device". Further, they had C9 SAWs (FN Minimis) that had been stricken from the records as worn out but completely rebuilt, and several FN C1A1s (FALs) weren't passed along when they upgraded to C7s (AR-15s).

Tony

[Abbott Shaull]

Well that and at many units they had more M16s than they were authorized for used while under fire. I mean when a good third of the Company didn't carry a M16s when we went to the field, yet come qualification day everyone had one from the company armory. Yes the supply room was usually excessively full too.

[Panther Al]

Got something I would like to bounce off of those here for comments, ideas, suggestions, and even flames. Group I hang out with are always futzing about with various scenarios from various time frames ranging from the second world war to the next one. We've used various rules systems to game them out, and the current debate is on how things aught to be done (Yes, its a dead horse here).

Currently, I'm putting together a combined arms company like everyone else, with the idea is something along the lines of a well manned us cav troop mixed in perhaps with a little infantry.

I'm giving it a pair of command variant IFV's in the HQ along with a APC and a TOC, a maintenance section of 2 ARV's, a mortar section (Using the AMOS) of 2 SPM's, 3 platoons of 6 IFV's with 5-6 man sections in each, and a 4th platoon of 6 Large Caliber Gun vehicles (that could be held as a support force or chopped into 3 two vehicle sections attached to the first three platoons).

Naturally it being me, these are all CV90 based, but, the idea is to give a balance of mobile firepower, with enough boots to actually be able to do something outside the vehicles without being stretched.

So, am I missing something, is this to off the wall, or

[Abbott Shaull]

Got something I would like to bounce off of those here for comments, ideas, suggestions, and even flames. Group I hang out with are always futzing about with various scenarios from various time frames ranging from the second world war to the next one. We've used various rules systems to game them out, and the current debate is on how things aught to be done (Yes, its a dead horse here).

Currently, I'm putting together a combined arms company like everyone else, with the idea is something along the lines of a well manned us cav troop mixed in perhaps with a little infantry.

I'm giving it a pair of command variant IFV's in the HQ along with a APC and a TOC, a maintenance section of 2 ARV's, a mortar section (Using the AMOS) of 2 SPM's, 3 platoons of 6 IFV's with 5-6 man sections in each, and a 4th platoon of 6 Large Caliber Gun vehicles (that could be held as a support force or chopped into 3 two vehicle sections attached to the first three platoons).

Naturally it being me, these are all CV90 based, but, the idea is to give a balance of mobile firepower, with enough boots to actually be able to do something outside the vehicles without being stretched.

So, am I missing something, is this to off the wall, or

How about this, for the 3 platoons. Have two APC with 9 man squad, four IFV or (two IFVs and two AFVs) with small section carrying capabilities. The APC would have something similar to .50 caliber and 40 mm Grenade launcher. This would give you an almost well rounded assortment of weapons, and still give you full dismounted infantry platoon when needed.

With the platoon of 6 Large Caliber Gun vehicles, make two platoons one standard 4-tank Platoon and then 6 vehicle platoon that LCG or something like the M901. Where the 6 vehicle platoon can be either farmed out to the three main platoons or used to protect their own sector as needed, their could be command vehicle for this platoon where the platoon leader doubles as operation officer for the company. The tank platoon could be the muscle that is needed or used as point during move out.

Yes, I know in theory this would be a very large company, but I see the one platoon mostly operating as section attached to the other platoons during most operations, adding to those platoon firepower. Also each of these platoons would have the manpower on the ground too. If the Company gets into position where they have too operate in fair size town they have enough men on the ground and still can have fair size reaction force too.

Another option is to have two of the hybrid infantry platoons in some six vehicle combination like the old ARC scout platoons with two tank platoons with again an addition 6 LCG/Anti-tank Missile Platoon that could be farmed out as needed.

Just some thoughts.

[Panther Al]

I thought about a 5th platoon, but three things kept me from doing so:

1, I thought it was getting a little on the cumbersome side, and the more vehicles the more of a tail the notational higher level unit needs.
2, I always liked the 3 line platoon, 1 weapons platoon format that the Wehrmacht used in the second world war - and occasionally you would find a pair of morts in the HQ section.
3, But most importantly, we have some limits on what we could do: No upper limits on spending - yet - but the manpower limits are in the 150-250 men range, so had to take that into account.

I based it off of the current ACR troop, but instead of straight up Cav, I flexed towards Mounted Rifle, sort of a primarily recce, but with the manpower to do line if needs be. Hence the larger number of not only dismounts, but IFV's as well. I went with 3 squads of 2 sections to keep manpower down, while making sure that the vehicles can actually carry them and their equipment easily.

I seriously considered doing the APC/IFV mix: And I might do so if the group puts a spending limit on us, I figure for most uses, a OWS is good enough. If the platoon is mixed APC/IFV, or if 3rd is a 'shock' platoon with IFV's and the first two with APC's is still up in the air. I am leaning to shock just for the coolness factor of it.

[Abbott Shaull]

The thing back in the late 1980s when Mechanized Battalion was suppose to have 4 Mechanized Companies, HQ, HCC, Support Company as well as the Anti-tank Company. Like the Light Infantry cousins with their Weapons Company, the Company rarely served as combat unit in the field with the platoons and sections attach directly to the other combat units and HQ/HCC.

About the only time they did serve together was when the Battalion would be in the defensive position and they would cover high speed avenues of approaches to the defensive position that the cross-attach armor company(ies) didn't cover. Also during the offensive they and the various M113 based vehicle was limiting factor of how fast the battalion could move forward. Kinda hard to move to fast when many of the FO, FIST, and Ambulance were still based on them.

[Abbott Shaull]

Yeah never understood how anyone could think 4 M2 or 6 M3 could provide the proper number of dismounts for an Mechanized Infantry or Cavalry/Armor Cavalry platoon to perform their functions. Then again with some Divisional Cavalry and Battalion Scout Platoon converting to 6 HMMWV still had limited number of dismounts, for the Divisional Cavalry and Battalion Scout Platoon you wanted to have smaller dismounts for it was their job to screen, locate, and give the information to higher HQs.

Where the Armor Cavalry had this mission at Corps-level as well as misleading the enemy recon units in to thinking they were facing a much stronger force than a Troop, Squadron or Regiment. Thus tying up resources before their main body ran into the Corps main body.