Re: TOE was: Re: Mixed Tech forces

>> 
>> Yup.  What about an ARV and a ZADS?
>
>Well, there should be 1 recovery vehicle per line
>company and 2-3 more in a "recovery team".  As a
>general rule of thumb.  ZADs, you got plenty of.
>

Does that apply to both mechanized infantry and armoured forces?

If you have, for example, vehicles based around the new Striker wheeled
chassis (LAV III), do you have the same number of ARVs as you would for
a
tracked unit with M1's and Bradleys (or equivalent)?

>  Either way, they
>have a totally different role than combat engineers or
>assault pioneers or whatever you want to call them. 
>They should be operationally subordinate to whoever is
>responsible for unit maintinence, not the battalion
>engineer.

FWIW, "assault pioneers" and "combat engineers" in the CF are separate
(and
in the British army too, I think...).  An infantry battalion has a
platoon
of assault pioneers, who are infantrymen crosstrained in basic combat
engineering tasks (mine removal, demo, emplacements - that kind of
stuff).
You'd get actual combat engineers at the Brigade level (I believe they
attach an engineer Field Squadron to each brigade) but then there might
be
smaller units at the battalion battle group level depending on mission,
where they were sent, etc.  Having said that, I also think the CF has
recently decided as a cost-cutting measure to take the assault pioneers
out
of the infantry units and *just* have engineer units.  For that matter,
I
heard they're taking the *mortars* out of the infantry battalions and
giving them to the artillery...  more government stupidity because of
bad
policy... <grumble> but that's another story...

-Adrian

***************************************

Adrian Johnson
adrian@stargrunt.ca
http://www.stargrunt.ca

***************************************