MCG said:
So, you envision that the medium forces would not have the ability meet the enemy in a dismounted fight? I know Mark C will confirm for me, if you get mounted forces caught in close contact with a dismounted enemy, that mounted force will be killed if it does not have a dismounted force to protect it.
Of course not!
As I said in my disclaimer, I think that, staying consistent with the "Every Soldier a Rifleman First" mentality, all Army soldiers in general need to develop a better understanding for small-unit tactics. Most won't be SME's, but they should be able to maintain personal weapons and perform small unit fire-and-movement. Cavalry Forces getting tagged will be no different in requirement then Engineers getting bumped on a task, Truckers getting ambushed, or a rear-area attack on an Artillery position, a headquarters, or a UMS - we all need to know how to fight. Like the Royal Marines, I think there should be an "Army Basic Course" that puts all soldiers, regardless of trade, up to Platoon Live Fire.
However, that is a bit of a shift, for now, the two maneuver branches can focus in on dismounted, small unit tactics following their SQ when they attend a "Infantry" course or a "Cavalry" course.
Now, the main reason I'm arguing that we merge Mech Infantry and Armoured into a Cav trade to supply soldiers for Cav positions is that we do not, in reality, need either. We don't need Armour and Mech Infantry designations because we won't be doing Combat Team attacks or breaches into the teeth of enemy defences. As 2Bravo said in his intro to his Cavalry concept:
2Bravo said:
I believe that a force equipped solely with LAVs, Coyotes, LAV TOW and even the MMEV (ADATS) and MGS cannot try to function as a normal "heavy" mechanized battlegroup. It cannot manoeuvre in the face of the enemy and cannot conduct breaches or mounted assaults against prepared defences without sustaining heavy casualties. US and UK forces can take hits from enemy anti-tank fire with a much more reduced chance of fatalities than a force with only LAVs. With the tank gone we must adapt and find a role that we can do with our mounted forces.
I don't think that the Cavalry Force needs to bring across the Mechanized Infantry wholesale into its TO&E - it may not suit the new doctrine we are attempting to create. Just because the Cav force may do some dismounted fighting doesn't mean that these guys have to come from the Infantry - the Armoured Corps seem quite capable of providing itself with Assault Troopers. It seems like stating that "Any dismounted fighting shall be done by the Infantry MOC" is akin to the turf wars that say "DFS assets should go to the Artillery". Mechanized Infantry organizations seem to be suited for the Combat Team - which we don't do anymore, so I'm not sure we need to maintain the capability.
Rather, I envision a entire new organization for the "Dismount/Scout" side of the Cavalry. Right now, I really like the Aussie organization of "Brick" or "Patrol" of 2 DFS LAV's (loaded with stores and weapons) and 1 Command LAV with a 4 man dismount team in the back. These dismounts use the LAV's as "Armouries" taking from them a Javelin, a 60mm mortar, a C-6, or their rifles to get out to do dismounted scout duties. They got some serious horsepower behind them with a few 25mm chain-guns. The Aussies have 4 of these Cav "Patrols" in a Troop and three Troops in a Squadron. Combine 1 or 2 of these "Scout Squadrons" with our fancy new Coyote-based (add LUVW) "Recce Squadron" and spice it up with Arty and Sappers, and I think you have quite a unique and flexible Cavalry Organization.
My hope with a fusion towards a Cavalry MOC which works both with the vehicles and dismounts (somewhat like our current Mech Inf) is to make a seamless career structure. The Cav Officers take a "Cavalry" Phase III and IV which allow them to master both mounted and dismounted tactics - they become like the "Maneuver Officer" MOC we talked about. The Cav NCM can work in both tasks (perhaps with additional skills train QL4's for either role) - as 2Bravo says
"The Cavalry units would be mounted and would share an MOC that includes vehicle skills and dismounted skills. It would have similarities with both the current Armoured and Infantry MOCs. Cav soldiers would start out as "dismounted scouts" with close combat training". I think if we muddied the waters with a Armour-derived "Cavalry" MOC and a bastardized "Mech Infantry" trade in the Cavalry units, it may confuse rank progression, responsibilities, career patterns, etc, etc (Who commands a Cav unit - Infantry or Armoured Cav? A split MOC organization may leave only half the accession opportunities, with stagnation as a outcome). A single, well-trained trade would help to focus on the "Cav" mindset.
The reason I'm saying this is that I feel that with the medium weight "Cavalry" force we are aiming for is something completely different then a simple "scrambling" of Light Armour and Mechanized Infantry. There will have to be new doctrine, tactics, SOPs, etc. Again, this is one of the reasons why I don't really want to see traditional "Mech Inf" plugged into a Cav Force - it may not be the right tool for the job.
That being said, I'll restate my earlier caveat that if, by some chance, a nice fleet of Bradley/M1's, Marder/Leo 2's, or Warrior/Challenger 2's (or some sort of tracked FCS system) were to end up on our laps then I would support the traditional "Heavy Combat Team" orientation. I could see it being added to a Cavalry Army in a few ways.
1. New "Heavy Force" gets its "Crewman" from the Cavalry MOC and its "Mech Inf" from the Infantry MOC - they are given a "Heavy Force Indoc" when they are posted to their Heavy "Regimental Formation". They assume unique "Heavy" career patterns and are distinct from their "Light Force" and "LAV CAV" brethren.
2. A new "Panzer/Panzergrenadier" MOC is created, which, like the hybrid Cavalry MOC, turns out Heavy Force soldiers and crewmen - only these soldiers will focus and train towards "meeting engagements, breaches, and battlefield maneuver under the tactical mobility, firepower and protection of their fighting vehicles".
Anyways, since I don't see that kind of gear coming our way anytime soon, I figure we can just tuck that idea into our pockets and focus on our "Light Force" and "LAV CAV" that we can get right here, right now.
Cheers,
Infanteer