Re: [sg] platoon stuff and combat engineers

--- Beth.Fulton@csiro.au wrote:

> archive. <John if you've
> answered my books question you could you please
> resend that too or send it
> to derekfulton@bigpond.com with ATTENTION: BETH or
> something on it thanks>

I need to sit down with my library and dig through it
a bit.
 
> <My sad PA detachment idea>

Not sad.

Think of it this way:  Sports teams.  If your team
doesn't practice together on a regular basis, then
even if they are really hot players, they can be
beaten by scrubs who are half as good, but practice
together every day for a year.

> OK, you may win me round... eventually ;)

Try it your way, try it my way (Experimental Force
undergoing field trials), and then either your army
adopts the experimental organization, or you ditch it
and stick with the old way.  Whichever works for you.
 
> > 5c piece?  Not likely. . . 
> 
> I was teasing, but in the far future wouldn't it be
> possible that mines will
> get small and light weight? <OK maybe not 5c piece
> small...>

Depends on what your assumptions are regarding battery
miniaturization, relative effectiveness of explosives,
and antennas for whatever ninja-electronic sensors
they have to make them go boom.
  
> Seriously, I hadn't thought much beyond platoon as
> we won't be playing
> larger games. Overall though I guess I saw this as a
> more decentralised
> force (OK I know that is going to go against the
> grain based on many
> existing militaries I guess). Each "region" of the

Not necessarily.  A lot of Central American divide
their countries into 'regions' or 'districts' and
assign a brigade or batallion to cover that district. 
Plus there's a central reserve force, frequently an
"airborne" batallion and some armor.

> "nation" provides a
> platoon which has its bit to cover normally (and so
> needs a bit of
> everything) and get grouped as needed when push
> comes to shove.

Well, a platoon is pretty small.  It's got no
sustainment.  For instance, you've got medics.	Where
do your casualties go from the medics?	I'd go to the
batallion aid station, and from there to a field
hospital.  What happens when weapons, electronics, or
vehicles break and cannot be fixed by the platoon's
organic armorers/commo guys/mechanics (the first and
third of which you don't have, so you'd need to
crosstrain infantrymen to do those jobs)?  In the US
Army, they get turned in to the FSB, which is part of
the brigade structure.

Who brings these guys ammo/food/water/etc??  There's
got to be a logistical structure. 

How do you handle counterbattery fire, long range
reconaissance, antiaircraft defense, etc, etc, etc,
etc, etc?  

Who commands these disparate platoons in battle? 
After all, fighting a company as a company, or a
batallion as a batallion is a learned skill.  And if
you don't practice that skill then you don't have it
when you need it.   
 
> > So, having a squad of them in EVERY infantry
> platoon is a huge
> > investment of your total force in Pioneers. 
> 
> True enough, but I was coming from the thought that
> it was a reflection of
> the skills the population so if they were there use
> them, they can always
> use a gun if they're not needed as pioneers. 

If your populace is that explosives-happy, more power
to 'em.  That's not really _that_ strange. 

After all, the Romans didn't have any infantrymen in
the legions.  They were ALL combat engineers.  :)
 
> That's part of the reason each squad got a comms
> guy.

Yeah, but coordinating fires requires a structure to
do so at higher levels.  Each US infantry company gets
4 guys, 3 to call for fire, and 1 officer to
coordinate it.	Plus the batallion has a fire support
cell commanded by a captain with a least a couple more
officers and a bunch more EMs to coordinate.  
 
> As I said above only if you organise under existing
> military structure, I
> see my structure as being much flatter (and smaller)
> then you guys (and
> today's miltaries) use. 

Flatter, possible.  But independant operations is
nearly impossible with less than a batallion, and then
it will be a large batallion.

> The planets my scenarios are set on are high on
> walled cities, aquaducts
> etc.

I've always wanted to try blowing my way into a walled
city in an SF game. . . 


John

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