Americas Defense Meltdown - IT Acquisition Advisory Council

100 • A Traveler’s Perspective on Third and Fourth Generation Warcombat, it is possible that no member of the platoon carries a rifle; the individualweapon is a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) or a shotgun. The number of light machineguns and light mortars is also varied according to the environment. All Marines arethoroughly trained on any weapon they may employ.The Islandian infantry company is made up of three infantry platoons, a heavyweaponsplatoon and a “company commander’s unit” consisting of a three-man communicationselement, a small leadership team (first sergeant, weapons and equipmentNCO and three “gallopers”), and a full infantry squad. The infantry squad is at thedirect disposal of the company commander who can use it to reinforce his maineffort, respond to emergencies and otherwise intervene directly in the fight. “Gallopers”are provided as messengers so that the unit can maintain radio silence and thusfacilitate surprise.The company heavy-weapons platoon – mortars, anti-tank weapons, heavy machineguns and other weaponry in whatever mix the situation warrants – has twounique features. First, it has no platoon commander. The platoon itself is regarded as atraining unit, with its four squads employed independently in support of the infantryplatoons. Second, the ratio of men to weapons is high. There are seven men for eachmortar and five for each anti-tank weapon. The purpose is to keep the soldier’s individualload below 50 pounds in the weapons platoon just as in the infantry platoons.Otherwise, the mobility of the company would suffer on the principle that the speedof a convoy is the speed of its slowest ship.Four rifle companies and a “headquarters and supply” company make up a battalion.There is no heavy-weapons unit at the battalion level, reflecting the Islandian beliefthat modern combat is highly decentralized. The “headquarters and supply” companyis large, which is consistent with the fact that the infantry battalion is responsiblefor its own supply under “ordinary” conditions (i.e., when it is not the Schwerpunkt,the unit with which the commander is attempting to attain decisive results). It alsoincludes a full infantry platoon under the direct control of the battalion commander;as with the infantry squad commanded by the company commander, this unit givesthe battalion commander an ability to intervene directly in crises or take immediateadvantage of opportunities. The commander of the headquarters and supply companyis also the supply officer for the battalion, who is in charge of its “ordinary” logistics.There is no battalion staff, other than the adjutant’s office and four “gallopers,” whoin this case are lieutenants who have commanded platoons. Finally, there is a longrangecommunications platoon.This organization gives the Islandian Marine infantry battalion two salient characteristics:almost everyone in the battalion is a “trigger-puller,” and its “ordinary” supportrequirements are very small. The only maintenance requirement is for bicycles (whenemployed) and a few radios, since there are no internal combustion engines anywherein the battalion. The only significant higher-level supply requirement is ammunition;