Follow-up to my proposed Force Structure 2020 found in "Current Affairs" What do you think of this idea for a new Canadian Medium Brigade Group?
Just to clarify a few pieces of equipment. The LAV-III Medium Infantry Combat Vehicle (MICV) is a LAV-III with an Improved Protected Weapons Station mounting an M2 .50-cal HMG or a Mk.19 40mm AGL not the manned Delco 25mm turret. The new LAV-III MICV is basically the US Army Stryker. It would be cheaper to procure, maintain and operate than the present LAV-III APC and carries more dismounts. (See www.sfu.ca/casr.com for more on this idea). If it is good enough for the US Army, surely it is good enough for the Canadian Army. Then I have created a new class of vehicle which I called the Light Armoured Support Vehicle. It is basically my version of the UK Army's Future Command & Liaison Vehicle. This is a MOWAG Eagle IV armoured car mounting a IPWS (www.mowag.com). Many LAV-III support variants such as the RRB, FEV, MMEV, as well as the infantry's Coyotes and the engineer's Mambas can be replaced by the much cheaper Eagle IV. The HLVWs and MLVWs have been replaced with the 5-tonne and 2.5-tonne versions of the US FMTV, respectively. The VHLVW is the 11-tonne PLS version of the FMTV. The LSVW has been replaced with the 1.25-tonne version of the G-Wagon. The final stage would be to replace the Coyote and Bisons of the cavalry regiments with LAV-IIIs. The LAV-III Armoured Reconnaissance Vehicle (Coyote II) is a LAV-III with the two-man Delco 25mm turret.
The idea is to reduce all the vehicle fleets to just four basic fleets, G-Wagon (LUVW & LSVW), FMTV (MLVW, HLVW, VHLVW and artillery systems), LASV and LAV-III. This would significantly reduce maintenance and logistics costs and would pay for itself within a few years. In addition to selling off the old vehicles and equipment there would be additional money to purchase some of the new vehicles
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Briagade Headquarters (74 troops)
- Uses ISO containerized command vans carried on HLVW PLSs. This allows for quick displacement and allows staff to continue operating while moving to a new location. This eliminates the need for an alternate CP. Brigade Headquarters are more often in the static role during peace support operations anyways (ie, Bosnia, Afghanistan).
Command Support Squadron (178 troops)
- a large signal troop
- an electronic warfare troop using a EW version of the LAV-III.
- a military intelligence troop
- a military police platoon
- an administration troop for support
3 x Medium Infantry Battalions (753 troops) [Medium infantry is basically light infantry in armoured vehicles. They could operate as traditional light infantry when required]
-Battalion Headquarters (3 LAV-III Command Vehicles [TAC CP, Ops Section & Intel Section]+ RMP & Chaplain in LUVWs)
-Headquarters Company
- Co. HQ
- Regimental Orderly Room
- Signal Section (LAV-III CV, 2 x LASV RRBs and a LCIS & Stores Det with LSVW Cargo & MRT, RSO rank reduced to Lieut)
- Logistics Platoon (stores section, food service section, 4 small company tranport sections each with 4 HLVW and 2 HLVW FAR)
- Maintenance Platoon (repair parts supply det., recovery section, LAV repair section, light vehicle repair section, ancillary repair section)
- Unit Medical Station (enlarged by converting all drivers and unit litter barrers to Med As, and by adding a Physicians Assistant)
- Close Reconnaissance Platoon (8 LASV Reconnaissance Vehicles with IPWS, Plt HQ and 3 sections, each vehicle 2-man crew & 2 dismounts)
- Mortar Platoon** (three sections of 2 LAV-III 81mm or 120mm Mortar Fire Support Vehicles)
***eliminated if the close support artillery batteries are equipped with the 120mm Armoured Mortar System rather than the MAVS (see artillery regiment for more details)
-3 Combined Arms Infantry Companies
-Co. HQ (command section (2 LAV-III CVs), stores section (4-MLVWs), maintenance section (LAV-III MRV & 2-LSVW MRTs) and medical section (LAV-III Ambulance and platoon Med As)
-3 Rifle Platoons
- Platoon HQ (Plt Cdr, Plt WO, signaller, two 2-man C6 GPMG teams, vehicle driver & gunner, and a LAV NCO that commands the 4 LAVs when the platoon dismounts, all with C8A1s)
- 3 Sections (2 crew with C8A1s, 8 dismounts with 2 C9A1s and 2 C7A2s with 40mm grenade launchers, the rest with C7A2s, plus a Javelin anti-tank missile launcher and a Carl Gustav for each section)
- Fire Support Platoon (2 LAV-III MGS, 2 LAV-III TUA, 2 LAV-III DFSV with remote 25mm cannon carrying Plt Cdr, Plt WO, two 60mm mortar teams and a 3-man sniper team)
Cavalry Regiment (377 troops)
-Regimental Headquarters (same as infantry battalion)
-Headquarters Squadron (same as infantry battalion, minus mortar and recce platoons, and smaller support troops to reflect the smaller size of the regiment)
-Nuclear, Biological & Chemical Reconnaissance Troop (3 LAV-III NBC Recce vehicles)
-2 Medium Reconnaissance Squadrons
- Sqd HQ (same as infantry company but LAV-III CVs have the original 25mm Delco turret)
- 3 Recce Troops (6 LAV-III Coyote II ARVs)
- Anti-Armour Section (2 LAV-III TUA)
Combined Artillery Regiment (569 troops)
-Regimental Headquarters (similar to infantry battalion but with a Fire Direction Centre and a detached Bridage FSCC all using HLVW ISO Command Vans for rapid displacement)
-Headquarters & Services Battery
- Bty. HQ
- Regimental Orderly Room
- Signal Section (same as infantry)
- Service Troop (stores, transport & maintenance sections)
- Unit Medical Station
- Target Acquisition Troop (2 US FireFinder Radars, a survey team & a meteorological section)
- 3 Close Support Artillery Batteries, each supporting an infantry battalion
- Bty. HQ (TAC CP/Battle Group FSCC in LAV-III CV, command section and recce det with a LASV)
- 3 Fire Effects Detachments each with a LASV Fire Effects Vehicle and each supporting an infantry company
- Support Troop (stores, maintenance, medical, food service & ammunition sections)
- Firing Troop (CP and 6 gun detachments, either 105mm Mobile Artillery Vehicle System mounted on HLVW or 120mm Armoured Mortar System mounted on LAV-III, both would tow a trailer with additional ammo)
- General Support Battery, supports the cavalry regiment and provides counter-battery and deep strike capability
- all the same as close support battery except only 2 Fire Effects Detachments, one per cavalry squadron and firing troop has 4 HIMARS detachments in place of 6 gun detachments
- Low-Level Air Defence Battery
- Bty. HQ
- Maintenance Section
- 6 Air Defence Sections (HQ with LASV Command Vehicle and 4 LASV Multi-Mission Effects Vehicle with pedestal-mounted Starstreak missiles. New version of the Starstreak is a dual missile similar to the much heavier ADATS. 6 missiles are mounted on the pedestal mount on the back of a LUVW or LASV rather than the heavy ADATS that would require a LAV-III and would be very top heavy and unsafe.)
Combat Engineer Squadron (246 troops)
-Sqd. HQ
-Service Troop (orderly room, stores, transport, maintenance and medical sections)
-3 Field Engineer Troops (3 LASVs for Troop Commander, Troop WO and Recce Det, MLVW for stores and 4 Engineer sections each with a LAV-III ESV [US Stryker variant]. Engineer section is organized and equipped the same as an infantry section.)
-Engineer Support Troop (3 mobility support sections each with a HLVW Dump Truck, an assault bridge carried on a HLVW and 4 Multi-Purpose Engineering Vehicles (MPEV); a heavy equipment troop with a road grader, a heavy crane, 2 HLVW tractor-trailers to carry them, a track excavator, 3 HLVW Dump Trucks and 3 MPEVs; and a water section with 2 ROWPUs.)
Brigade Service Battalion (561 troops)
-Bn HQ
-Administration Company
-Transport Company (combat supplies platoon, 3 transport platoons each with 30 VHLVWs and a maintenance section)
-Maintenance Company (repair parts supply platoon, recovery platoon, heavy mobile repair platoon, medium mobile repair platoon and a maintenance support platoon)
-Supply & Services Company (general & technical supply platoon, laundry & bath platoon, decontamination platoon and ResFor finance and postal platoons if needed)
Field Ambulance (189 troops) [will function as a Role 3 facility for low- to mid-intensity peace support operations with little augmentation]
-HQ (same as present)
-Service Platoon (stores, transport, maintenance & food service sections)
-Preventative Medicine Section
-2 Medical Platoons configured as a 40 bed mini-hospital similar to the Royal Marine Brigade's Logistics Regiment's Medical Squadron
- HQ (Emergecny Medical Officer & Operations Officer)
- Stabilization Section (EMO, Physican's Assistant and 8 Med As) with ISO Containerized Facilities
- Surgical Section (General Surgeon, Orthapedica Surgeon, Anasthetist, OR Nurse & 2 OR Techs) with ISO Containerized Facilities
- Ward Section (2 Nursing Officers, ICU Nursing Officer & 7 Med As) with ISO Containerized Facilities
- Clinical Support Section (2 Lab Techs & 2 X-Ray Techs with mobile lab and x-ray equipment in MLVW Vans)
- Dental Section (Dental Officer & 2 Dental Techs with mobile clinic in an MLVW Van)
-2 Ambulance Platoons (HQ and 2 sections of 6 LSVW Ambulances each, total of 24 LSVW Ambulances)
Tactical Aviation Squadron (CH-146 Griffon would ideally be replaced by US Army UH-60L Black Hawk versions, which I will call CH-170 Hawk)
-Command Section (2 CH-170 Hawk Command & Control variants)
-4 Close Support Flights each supporting an infantry battalion/cavalry regiment (2 CH-170 Battle Hawk attack variant & 2 CH-170 Hawk)
-Medical Evacuation/Combat Search & Rescue Flight (4 CH-170 Medivac/CSAR variants)
-Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Flight (6 CU-161 Sperwer TUAVs)