16 replies to this topic

[Dexter]

It happend that i do not know, which place does sniper occupy in the US army. Also i would like to know, if they use crewserved AT weapons (if yes then how) - US army sections consist only of riflemen and squad automatic support.

Edited by Dexter, 25 June 2006 - 08:17 AM.

[Indigo]

Aren't the snipers usually for scouting? I'm not sure, too much Hollywood influences my judgement.

[Dexter]

I am not sure. In russian army sniper is usually the instrument of batallion command (one sniper per batallion), and he is some sort of "hitman", he's not in reconaissance squad. In Afganistan sniper was assigned to each platoon, but this does not seem to be the case now (at least for BTR and BMP-3 batallions).
On the other hand each chinese motorised infantry squad has a sniper.
The thing with US army seems to be much more complicated - one squad is not one vehicle, there are light infantry and motorised infantry platoons, and usual motorised infantry platoon has only riflemen and machinegunners. Whare are grenade launchers? Snipers? ATGMs?

Edited by Dexter, 25 June 2006 - 11:24 AM.

[Indigo]

Are you guys gonna introduced squad-based infantry (Angry Mob logic)?

[Paladin58]

Snipers are usually scouts, but are also in infantry squads. Usually, in special forces squads there is one rifleman, one grenadier, two machine gunners, and one sniper. Sometimes there are two riflemen, just to even things out. This is what I remember from reading books and such about US Army tactics.

[Dexter]

Are you guys gonna introduced squad-based infantry (Angry Mob logic)?

No, no angry mob logic.

Snipers are usually scouts, but are also in infantry squads. Usually, in special forces squads there is one rifleman, one grenadier, two machine gunners, and one sniper. Sometimes there are two riflemen, just to even things out. This is what I remember from reading books and such about US Army tactics.

What is a special forces squad? Is it some specialised squad that can be in any batallion, or something available only for specific forces? And once again, what is with ATGMs?

[Paladin58]

Special forces is like Delta Force, or the Rangers, for the US army. They are the elite branches of the main army, so they use most of the same strategies and squad formations as the main army. As for ATGMs, sometimes one of the gunners will carry one, for use against medium armor and bunkers.

[Dexter]

Thanks for the great reply, Towely. The thing with snipers is now clear, couldn't you explain how US antitank units work? It's not that we are going to try to reach ultra-realism in terms of organisation, i just would like to know how to pack our vehicles (yes, we'd like to let you produce infantry squads and sections instead of IFVs). For example russian BMP-3 carries in it's compartment even grater firepower then it has itself, while standart US infantry section consists only of riflemen and support (or does it?).

[Ubermedic]

US soldiers trained to use anti-tank weapons carry
AT-4's on thier back. They use them when needed.
Snipers are usually droped into an area alone and
to take out a target in a set amount of time. He is
given Intel, contacts, and a weapons. also snipers
are used to support Infantry in urban, marine, and
jungle enviroments. (nine times out of ten they have
a trained marksmen who carries a regular rifle and
and a sniper rifle in reserve.

(In recent times the units usually have a support
vehicle (Humvee, Truck, etc...) with weapons and
ammo)

Edited by Ubermedic, 13 September 2006 - 06:36 PM.

[the28ig]

Here is the basic composition of an Army squad.

squad leader-M4
Rifleman-M4/M16
Rifleman-M4/M16
Gunner-SAW/240
Gunner-SAW/240
Grenadeir-M4 w/grenade launcher
Grenadier-" "
Medic-M4
radioman-M4, Radio

gernerally two men in the squad will have AT4's to engage tougher targets, thye vary, but are generally the rifle men or gunners.

Now if you are speaking of specialized Anti-tank troops, they are generally part of a heavy weapons platoon, the main weapon for tanks being the TOW, but I believe it is now be replaced by the Javalin, which is much better. It is a two man weapon but can easily be opperated by one (unlike the TOW), can engage tanks at their range(2000m+) is Fire and Forget, and the real greatness of it is that it flies in an arc and attacks the weak top armor of the tank or armored vehicle, garanteeing a kill against any tank that exists.

[Dexter]

Could you please tell us more about US heavy weapons platoon? This is exactly the kind of information i was looking for.

[GothicSnake]

You want lots of info and most important CORRECT info? Here you go:

http://www.fas.org/m.../army/unit/toe/

That would be the TOE (Table of Organization and Equipment) for the entire United States Army, from the very top all the way down to the squads and fireteams.

That should cover most of it...if you have anymore questions just ask.

Edited by GothicSnake, 16 January 2007 - 05:01 AM.

[Dexter]

Whoa, i just.. i feel like a kid in a candy shop. Thanks a lot!
How could i have overlooked this before...

If only there were such lists for other world countries... Oh, but im already happy with this one

[Dexter]

Ok, back to the TOE. Got couple of questions.
-First i haven't been able to find snipers. Any help?
-Second, there are riflemen and automatic riflemen. What is the difference?
-Grenadier - what does he have? LAW? SRAW? SMAW? Or is there (in a TOE) a way to figure out?
-Sharpshooters - what are they and what is the difference from the riflemen? Also, several H&K rifles have basic and sharpshooter variants, while M16 seems to have only one version. Why?
-What is with support weapons such as M2 and Mk19?

[Paladin58]

Okay, let me help on the sharpshooter question, since I fudged up the units one. Sharpshooter variants are versions of normal military rifles made to be more suited for the role of sniper for long-range situations (open fields versus closed cities). The SCAR H with long barrel, M8 Sharpshooter, and the Tavor STAR21 are good examples of what you see in sharpshooting rifles. M16s don't have a sharpshooter variant because both Colt, FN and Armalite never designed specific barrels for the gun to be modified in such a way. But, of course, there are plenty of modifications, as shown here that individuals have made for it.

Automatic riflemen are the support guys, they carry weapons like the M249 SAW, or rifles with drum magazines. Grenadiers are your basic rifleman, but with one extra spade up his sleeve. He will usually have a rifle-mounted GL, or in the case of some new weapons being made for that purpose, shotgun/GLs. For an example of that, google the AA12.

Edited by Nology5890, 12 January 2008 - 02:47 AM.