Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!att!cbnews!cbnews!military
From: carlson@gateway (Bruce Carlson)
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: Re: U.S. Army Division TO&Es (LONG)
Message-ID: <1990Oct29.030230.7511@cbnews.att.com>
Date: 29 Oct 90 03:02:30 GMT
References: <1990Oct24.115039.4212@cbnews.att.com> <1990Oct25.145938.287@cbnews.att.com>
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From: carlson@gateway (Bruce Carlson)

In article <1990Oct25.145938.287@cbnews.att.com> jepullia@copper.ucs.indiana.edu (John Pulliam) writes:
>
- TO&E listings deleted - 
>
>Someone please correct me if I'm wrong about the 25th ID; I've never
>served on the west coast.  8-)
>
>John Pulliam

25th ID was previously a non-mechanized division (howitzers are towed,
not self-propelled, etc.).  In 1984 they began the conversion to
a Light Infantry Division and I assume it is complete by now.

I was assigned to 25th ID at the time they started the conversion to
a light division some of the changes were odd/interesting.  The ones
I remember are:

- 60mm company-level mortar, 81mm at battalion level (vs 81mm and 4.2inch)
- no combat support company in an infantry battalion; only 3 line companies
  and a combined HHC/CSC company 
- largest howitzer in DIVARTY was 105mm, vs. the previous 155mm
- DISCOM was decimated; assumption was that the light division was inserted
  for a 72 hour fight and didn't need much support; support troops would
  come from echelons above division 

The Army had been criticized for having a very low foxhole strength (number
of combat troops) relative to the size of a division.  The light division is
supposed to maximize the ratio of combat to support troops, but may not
always maximize combat power (because of the smaller caliber weaponry used).

One of the original concepts of the light division development was to pick
a number of C-141's and design a division that could be transported by
that number of C-141's.  I don't know how they picked a number for how
many C-141's is reasonable.

Bruce Carlson
carlson@gateway.mitre.org